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Admins Issuing a Refund

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Haley S.
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Summary: This article explains how to process refunds for donations made via Credit Card or ACH/Bank transfer within Tithely, including important limitations and timelines.

Before You Begin

  • Permissions: You must be an Account Owner, Admin, or have Limited Access with specific permissions for the Giving Product.

  • Time Limit: Refunds can only be issued for transactions made within the last 90 days.

  • Refund Limits: Admins are limited to processing 5 refunds per 24-hour period. If you need to refund more than 5 transactions, please contact priority@tithe.ly. 

  • Partial Refunds: Partial refunds are not currently supported. The full amount must be refunded.

  • Tithely Pay: If you are looking to refund a Tithely Pay purchase (Point of Sale), the process differs from standard donations.

  • Transaction status: Needs to be marked as 'Success', cannot be Pending or Failed to process a refund. 

Step-by-Step Instructions

Option 1: Credit Card Refunds (Self-Service)

You can process credit card refunds directly through your dashboard.

  1. Select Giving from the main menu. Login to your Tithely account and choose the Giving icon on the left-hand side.

  2. Select Transactions. This will display a list of recent donations.

  3. Locate and Click the transaction. Use the search function to find the donor's name or email address quickly. Click on the transaction row to open the Details card.

  4. Click the Refund button. If the transaction is within 90 days, you will see a Refund button at the bottom of the details card.

  5. Confirm the action. Click the button labeled Issue Refund for $X.XX. The funds will be returned to the donor's account within 7-10 business days.

Option 2: ACH/Bank Refunds (Support Required)

Refunding a bank transfer (ACH) requires assistance from the Tithely team.

  1. Verify the transaction date. Ensure the donation was made within the last 90 days. Bank donations older than this cannot be refunded.

  2. Contact Tithely Support. Since these cannot be processed automatically in the dashboard, please submit a request to our support team to initiate the refund.

Troubleshooting & FAQs

  • What are "Adjustments" on my bank deposit? If you view a deposit report containing a refund, you may see a "Total Adjustments" line. This represents the transaction fees that Tithely pays back to your church after a refund is made.

    • Example: If a donor gave $103.20 (covering fees) and asks for a refund, Tithely refunds the donor the full $103.20. Tithely then credits your church the fee portion (e.g., $3.20) so you are not out of pocket for the fee. This $3.20 is the "Adjustment."

  • Will a refund take money out of my church's bank account? Yes. If the funds were already deposited into your church's account, Tithely will deduct the refund amount from a future deposit. If the future deposit is smaller than the refund amount, this may result in a debit from your bank account.

  • Why don't I see the "Refund" button? The button will not appear if:

    • The transaction is older than 90 days.

    • The transaction was an ACH/Bank donation (which requires support assistance).

    • You do not have the correct administrative permissions.

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