Interactive guide: answer 2 or 3 questions and get the refund procedure that matches your situation, screen by screen. Open the "Refund a guest" guide
Article Summary: This tutorial shows you how to refund a guest in Reservit PMS, in full or in part. You start from the guest's invoice, create a credit note linked to that invoice, then add the refund on the credit note. If the guest paid by card through Reservit, the payment terminal sends the money back to their card.
The 5 key steps to refund a guest:
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Check the invoice: the stay and the guest's payment must be invoiced. If not, create the invoice first.
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Create the credit note from the invoice: at the bottom of the invoice, click "CREATE A CREDIT NOTE". This button links the credit note to the invoice.
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Choose the amount: all services, specific lines, or a free amount if you keep a fee.
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Add the refund: on the credit note, click "ADD A REFUND". For a card payment made through Reservit, check "Access the Payment Terminal after validation".
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Send it in the terminal: "SAVE", then "SEND". The message "Successful operation !" confirms that the card is credited.
Why follow this guide? The credit note cancels the sale and its taxes; the refund gives the money back. Together, they keep your sales, your taxes and your bank account in agreement.
Warning! Refunding through the terminal only works if the guest paid through Reservit, with the payment processor connected to Reservit (Stripe, PayFacto, Paybox…). Otherwise, give the money back by your own means and record it on the credit note (step 11).
Do not confuse: a credit note created without starting from an invoice ("on the fly") is used to offer a credit. It is not linked to any invoice and cannot be used for a refund.
Properties in France: with the NF525 tax certification, the screens are in French and the button is called « CRÉER UN AVOIR » (Create a credit note). An issued invoice can be neither changed nor cancelled: any correction goes through a credit note (« avoir ») linked to the invoice. The free credit note (credit without an invoice) does not exist.
Open the invoice
1. Open the guest's billing account:
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from the booking: "Invoice(s)" tab, then "ACCESS THE BILLING ACCOUNT";
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if the booking is cancelled, it is no longer on the planning: go to "My reservations" > "Reservations", search for it, then click the 3 dots ("More actions") > "Invoicing".
2. The invoice is not created yet? In the "Invoice'S account" tab, check the stay and the guest's payment, click "BILL", check the proforma invoice, then click "INVOICE". The invoice opens: go to step 4.
Good to know: a cancelled booking keeps its stay line in the billing account as soon as a payment has been recorded.
In France: « FACTURE » (Bill) opens the « Générer la facture » (Generate the invoice) window directly, with no proforma preview. It asks for the guest's address, postal code and city: « FACTURER » (Invoice) stays greyed out until they are filled in. If the guest refuses to give them, check « Information non communiquée (refus client) » (Information not provided, guest refused).
3. The invoice already exists? Open the "Documents List" tab, then click the magnifying glass ("View details") of the invoice.
Create the credit note
4. At the bottom of the invoice, click "CREATE A CREDIT NOTE".
5. Under "Amount", choose:
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"All services" to refund everything (the amount shown is before taxes);
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"Specific lines" for one night or one room less;
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"Free amount" if you keep a fee: under "Input type", choose "Without taxes" or "With taxes" ("With taxes" is selected by default). The free amount cannot be higher than the amount of the service.
6. Click "PREVIEW" and check the total with taxes. If the amount is wrong, click "CANCEL" and correct it. Then click "GENERATE THE CREDIT NOTE".
7. The credit note opens. At the top, "Related document(s): Invoice …" confirms that it is linked to the invoice.
In France (steps 4 to 7): the button is called « CRÉER UN AVOIR » (Create a credit note). The « CRÉER MON AVOIR » window offers the same amount choices (step 5); then click « VALIDER » (Confirm). There is no « PREVIEW » step. A second window, « GÉNÉRER AVOIR » (Generate credit note), opens: check « Information non communiquée (refus client) » if the guest's address is not filled in (otherwise the button stays greyed out), then click « CRÉER UN AVOIR ». The credit note (« avoir ») opens with « Document(s) lié(s) : Facture … » (Related document(s): Invoice …).
Refund the guest
8. On the credit note, click "ADD A REFUND".
9. Under "Refund method", choose the same method as the guest's payment (for example "VISA / MASTERCARD CREDIT" or "Debit / credit card"). The amount is already filled in.
10. The guest paid by card through Reservit: check "Access the Payment Terminal after validation", then click "CONFIRM".
Warning: without this box, the refund is recorded in Reservit but the money is not sent back to the card. The box only appears with a card payment method.
You forgot the box? The refund line is recorded but nothing was sent to the card. Open the credit note, click the trash can of this line in "List of refunds", then "YES" in "Are you sure you want to delete this payment?". The amount remaining to be refunded comes back. Then add the refund again with the box checked. Check first that the guest really received nothing: deleting the line does not refund anything, it only removes the record in Reservit. In France, it works the same way: « Êtes-vous sûr de vouloir supprimer ce paiement ? », then « OUI ».
11. The guest paid another way (cash, transfer, other terminal): do not check the box, click "CONFIRM", then give the money back yourself. You are done.
12. The payment terminal opens, already filled in: type of operation "Refund", original transaction, card and amount. The amount cannot be higher than the "Maximum amount" of the original payment. Click "SAVE".
Warning: the money always goes back to the card that paid. If it has expired, process the refund anyway: the guest's bank takes care of it.
13. The summary says "… card will be credited with …". Click "SEND".
14. The message "Successful operation !" appears. Click "CLOSE".
15. The refund appears in the "List of refunds" of the credit note. In "Documents List", the invoice and the credit note are linked ("Linked documents" column) and both have the status "Paid".
Special cases
The guest has already left? (goodwill gesture after a complaint, for example) The stay is already invoiced and paid: open the invoice (step 3), create the credit note with "Free amount" and type the amount you give back (step 5), then refund it as above. Prefer to offer a credit for a next stay instead? See How to Create and Use a Free Credit Note. In France, the free credit note does not exist: offer a gift card, or create the credit note from the invoice without refunding it; it can then pay a next stay of the same guest (see How to Use the Credit from a Cancelled Booking for Another Stay).
Booking prepaid on a platform (Booking.com, Expedia…)? The guest paid the platform, not your property: the platform refunds the guest. Handle the cancellation or change on the platform side, and refund nothing in Reservit. If you already charged the platform's virtual card (VCC), it cannot be refunded like a guest's card: do not use the terminal, check with the platform.
The guest was charged twice? See How to Refund a Guest Charged Twice in Reservit PMS.
Depending on the situation: cancellation fee · refund a deposit · one night or one room less · How to Change the Dates of a Stay · How to Use the Credit from a Cancelled Booking for Another Stay