How do I refund a donation?
This help-guide article covers how to process and account for a donation refund. You should only do this where the original donation was recorded as a 'named donation' within ExpensePlus. The article also covers what to do if Gift Aid has been claimed on the donation being refunded.
Processing a Donation Refund
When you agree to refund a donation, you should go ahead and repay the money.
You do NOT need to enter the donation refund into ExpensePlus before making the payment.
The details of the repayment get entered at the point the outgoing bank transaction is reconciled.
Important: It's important not to process this outgoing amount as a purchase, because donation refunds need to be recorded as negative income, rather than expenditure!
Top Tip: It's best to process donation refunds via the same method via which the original donation was given (e.g. avoid processing a donation refund in cash, where the original was given via bank transfer). If you are refunding a donation given via LoveGiving, see this seperate help guide article.
Reconciling a Donation Refund
When the outgoing transaction for the refund payment you made appears on your match transactions screen you need to:
- Select the transaction on the left-hand table,
- Click the + button to the right of the transaction,
- Select the Donation Refund option and enter the transaction details.
Important: It's important not to process donation refunds as an expenditure, because donation refunds need to be recorded as negative income, rather than expenditure!
This will create a negative income transaction which will cancel out the original income recorded. The donation refund will also be shown within the donation reports.
Top tip: Typically the donation refund should be coded to the same fund/category/donor to which the named donation being refunded was allocated.
What to do if Gift Aid has been claimed on the donation?
When you process a donation refund, if the donor in question has a Gift Aid declaration within ExpensePlus covering the date of the donation refund, then ExpensePlus will automatically include an adjustment for the donation refund in the next Gift Aid claim you create.
Important: If Gift Aid was claimed on the original donation, but there was no active declaration at the point the donation was refunded, then you will need to manually add a Gift Aid Adjustment for the Gift Aid amount that was previously claimed (e.g. for a donation refund of £40, a £10 manual adjustment would need to be added).
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)?
What if Gift Aid is yet to be claimed on the original donation?
In this scenario, you should manually exclude the donation from the Gift Aid claim AND also exclude the donation refund (if relevant).
What if Gift Aid wasn't claimed on the original donation, but the donor did have an active Gift Aid declaration when the donation was refunded?
In this scenario, you should manually exclude the donation refund from the Gift Aid claim.