Use Withdraw / Return Payment when a payment was applied by mistake, for example to the wrong invoice, the wrong client or for the wrong amount. The payment comes off its invoices, and you can then apply it again correctly.
Which action runs depends on when the payment was applied:
| Applied | What happens |
|---|---|
| Today | Withdraw. The payment goes back to Unapplied right away. |
| On an earlier day | Return. Its invoices are reopened, and a new RP- payment for the same money is created in Unapplied. This runs in the background and can take a few minutes. |
Before you start
- Your role needs permission to undo payments. If the button is greyed out with "You are not allowed to withdraw or return payments.", ask your administrator.
- A return works only when all of these are true:
- The payment is fully applied.
- It was applied only to regular invoices. Payments applied to an out-of-system (OOS) invoice, a credit or an over advance can't be returned.
- Each invoice is Funded or Closed.
- It is the most recent transaction on each of its invoices. If a later payment, chargeback or write-off was applied to any of those invoices, return or withdraw that one first.
Steps
Step 1 – Select the payment
In the left-hand menu, click Payments and open the Applied tab. Tick the payment, or several payments, that you want to undo. The Withdraw / Return Payment button appears once something is ticked. A greyed-out checkbox means that payment can't be selected. See Why a Payment Can't Be Withdrawn or Returned.
1 Applied tab · 2 Tick the payment · 3 Withdraw / Return Payment · 4 Selected Payment Amount
Step 2 – Review the groups
Click Withdraw / Return Payment. The window sorts what you picked into groups:
- Withdraw now – applied today. These go back to Unapplied right away.
- Return – applied on an earlier day. Their invoices are reopened and an RP- payment is created.
- Blocked – these can't be withdrawn or returned. Nothing is processed while a blocked payment is selected, so click Remove from selection on each one first.
1 Group and what it will do · 2 Payments in that group · 3 Cancel · 4 Confirm
Step 3 – Confirm
Check the transaction numbers in each group, then click the confirm button. It says exactly what will happen, for example Return 2 payments. Click Cancel to close the window without changing anything.
What a return does
- Nothing is deleted. The original entries stay in the ledgers, and new offsetting entries reverse the applied payment, the escrow release and any collection fee.
- Each invoice goes back to Funded with its balance restored. Aging and collection fees are recalculated.
- The original payment shows "This payment was returned." with a link to the New payment (RP-). Apply the RP- payment to the right invoices the usual way.
Checking progress
While a return runs, the payment and its invoices show the status Returning and can't be edited or used anywhere else. Open the payment to see progress: step 1 reverses the payment's ledger entries, and step 2 reopens the invoices.
Each invoice's Applied Transactions section lists the payments, chargebacks and write-offs applied to it, including the payment being returned.
If a return can't finish, the payment shows "The return of this payment did not complete." with the invoices that failed. Click Retry Return to process those invoices again. If it fails a second time, contact helpdesk@factorcloud.com.