What does a refund look like in the system?

What

The refund process allows OPS-COM administrators to reverse completed transactions directly from a user's profile. This feature helps administrators return purchased items (like permits or lockers) back to active inventory or reverse payments for accounting purposes, such as handling Non-Sufficient Funds (NSF). This guide is intended for OPS-COM administrators responsible for financial processing and user account management.

Setup and Configuration

Processing refunds is a core administrative function that does not require any additional system setup or configuration. It is accessed entirely through the individual user's profile.

Using this Feature

Administrators interact with the refund feature by locating the original transaction in the user's history and initiating a reversal.

Processing a Refund

do

in OPSCOM?

1. Think of a refund as hitting the "undo" button for a completed transaction. When you process a refund:

   • Money Back: The customer gets their payment reversed.
   • Item Released: The item(s) they purchased become available again in our inventory, ready to be sold to someone else.

   Important Note: When you refund an entire transaction, all items within that transaction will be reimbursed, and all of them will be released back into inventory.  If only one item needs to be reimbursed, do an adjustment and release the item separately.

   1. Locate the user profile for the user you want to refund for. 

   Note: The top right-hand corner will always identify the name of the user that is being worked on. In our example we will refund Permit #1 at $395.50 but keep in mind the process is identicalSearch for and refundopen suchthe astarget Standarduser's Permits, Temporary Permits, Locker rentals, violations etc.
   profile.

2. 2. FromClick the History Tabtab and select All Records. Records
   .

3. Locate the specific transaction you wish to refund.

   • For Standardstandard &permits, Temporarytemporary Permitspermits, or Lockers

     3. Find the permit you want to refund andlockers, click on the Processed date link.
     

     

     For Violations

     Click on the word Processed todate accesslink.

   • 

   • For violations, click the transactionProcessed details.
     text link.

   • 

4. 4. The Transaction Details screen appears. Click on the Refund button on the Transaction Details screen to beginopen the refund process. window.

5. The Refund Payment Record window will pop up. Enter thean internal organization Requisition Code if required by your organization (this is optional).

   and

6. Enter the total Refund Amount, (includingensuring taxes).you Youinclude areapplicable taxes.

7. Enter a required tojustification enterin athe comment in order to proceed.
   field.

   

8.  5. Click the Refund Payment Record button to continue.proceed, Aand confirmationaccept pop-upany willon-screen appear. Click OKconfirmations to continue.
   

9. IMPORTANT:Select the By usingdesired refund fortype permitsfrom and lockers you will be releasing all items associated with this Confirmation Number. Violations however will simply go back to awaiting payment status.
   

   6. Thethe Adjustment Information pop-up will display showing the refund details. You have the ability to select the type of refund in this window.

10. 7. Click onthe Process This Adjustment to proceed.  You will returnbutton to the Transaction Detail window showingfinalize the detailstransaction.

    of
the

refund.

Visual NoticeCues and Status Indicators

Once the refund amount of $-395.50 is listedprocessed, asthe ansystem adjustment.

8. To see how this appears inupdates the user's profile to reflect the changes:

• Transaction Details: The refunded amount will appear as a negative adjustment (e.g., $-395.50) on the admintransaction side,record.

  go
back
• into

  User History: Under the historyHistory tab and select( All Records.  In the user history we see the record of), the original purchase aswill welldisplay as; (1)a Released date andalongside a note indicating the permititem iswas "Released back to system by refund process"process." andThe (2)financial wetransaction canwill also seebe the refundlogged under Adjustment Records. Records
  .

  

Refunding

to Deal with a

Handling NSF Payment

Payments

Sometimes, a payment fails after it is recorded (likee.g., a chequebounced bouncing –cheque, known as "NSF" for Non-Sufficient Funds)Funds or NSF). WhenAdministrators this happens, we need tomust "refund" thatthis payment in the system to keep our financial records accurate.

Why do we refund a NSF Payment?

It's essentially a bookkeeping task. Imagine a cheque came in and was recorded as a payment. If that cheque then bounces, we need to remove that "incoming" payment from our system. By performing a refund, we create an "outgoing"outgoing record that balances out the initial "incoming" record ofneutralizes the failed payment. This way, our system accurately reflects that the money never actually arrived.

After you process the refund for an NSFincoming payment, reportskeeping (likefinancial thereporting Processed Payment Report) will show both the initial "payment" and the subsequent "refund." This is perfectly normal and correct! It records the attempt to pay, and then the removal of that payment due to the NSF.

Key Tips for NSF Refunds:accurate.

• Payment Type: When you process the refund for an NSF, be sure toAlways select the sameidentical payment type (e.g., "Cheque")Cheque) as the original failed payment.payment when processing an NSF refund. This makesensures sensethe Processed Payment Report accurately reflects the attempt and the subsequent removal of funds.

• Clear Notes: Always leave comprehensive and detailed notes documenting the failed payment. This creates a transparent audit trail for anyone reviewing yourthe accounting.accounting later.

Ensure you are certain about releasing all items on a transaction before clicking the Refund Payment Record button. Once a permit is released back to inventory, it can be purchased immediately by another user.

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Best Practices and Considerations

• Partial Refunds: Refunding an entire transaction reimburses all items associated with that confirmation number and releases them back into inventory. If you only need to reimburse a single item from a multi-item purchase, process an adjustment instead of a full refund.

• ClearItem Notes:Status After Refund: It'sRefunding supera importantpermit or locker releases the item back to leavethe general inventory to be sold again. clearRefunding anda detailedviolation notesdoes documentingnot cancel the failedticket; paymentit andsimply returns the exactviolation reasonto foran the"awaiting refund.payment" Thisstatus.

  helps everyone understand the situation later on!