This article walks through how to issue refunds in ClubRight for each payment method (Direct Debit, card, and cash), the timing rules to be aware of, and the known limits. To give a member money back, first check how the payment was taken: a regular membership payment is refunded from the membership's payment schedule, and a till sale is refunded from Purchases.
⚠️ Partial refunds are not supported. If you need to return part of a payment to a member, you have two options: issue the partial refund outside ClubRight (cash or bank transfer), or refund the full payment in ClubRight and then create a new transaction for the original amount minus the refund value.
Refunding a recurring membership payment
Recurring membership payments are refunded from the member's membership schedule. You don't need to cancel the membership to refund a payment. The first steps are the same for every payment method:
Open the member's profile from Contacts.
Click the membership that contains the payment.
Click View full schedule.
Locate the dated payment showing Success.
What you do next depends on how the payment was taken.
ClubRight Pay Direct Debit
Click the refund (bin) icon next to the payment. A Refund Payment box opens.
Choose a refund reason. If you choose Other, add a comment.
Click Refund.
Card (ClubRight Pay Card or Stripe)
Click the Refund payment button next to the payment. It's a curved arrow, not a bin.
Refund this payment? opens, saying the money goes back to the card it was paid with and that this can't be undone.
Click Yes, refund it. There's no reason to choose for a card refund.
GoCardless Direct Debit
A GoCardless payment that has already been collected has no refund button on the payment schedule, so it can't be refunded in ClubRight. Refund the member from your GoCardless account instead, or by bank transfer.
⚠️ Note: A bin icon also shows on a payment that hasn't been collected yet. That one deletes the payment from the schedule (Delete this payment?). It doesn't refund anything.
Please Note - there is a time limit on Direct Debit refunds of no later than 6 months beyond the original transaction date. You cannot refund older payments than this through the Clubright system, and will have to process a manual refund (bank transfer or cash) instead
Direct Debit refund timing
You cannot refund a Direct Debit payment on the collection date itself, because the payment can still be returned as unpaid by the member's bank up until midnight that day. Wait until the payment shows as Success before refunding. Refunded funds typically return to the payer's bank account within seven days.
ClubRight Pay Card refund balance requirement
For card refunds via ClubRight Pay Card, your available payout balance must be equal to or greater than the refund amount. You can't top up the balance yourself. If it's too low, see "Can I top up my balance so a refund can go through?" in ClubRight Pay Card payout timings.
If a Direct Debit was collected but should not have been
If a Direct Debit payment was collected by mistake, follow the steps above once the payment has cleared. Waiting for the payment to clear before refunding ensures the refund actually completes and your ClubRight financial records remain accurate.
Will ClubRight take the money again after I refund a card payment?
Yes, if the membership is still active. A refunded payment no longer counts as paid, so the member's saved card can be charged for it again in the overnight card run, usually around 1am.
If the member is leaving: cancel their membership first, then refund. The overnight run only charges active memberships.
If the member is staying and you want their balance back to £0: straight after the refund, on the same day, write the amount off at the till with Complimentary / discount. The month then shows as paid, so there's nothing for the card run to charge. See How do I clear or write off a member's debt?
If you leave the balance as it is, the member owes that amount again, and their card can be charged for it.
Refunding a one-off card payment (till or terminal)
For manual card payments taken through the ClubRight till (including product purchases, credit top-ups, and one-off membership payments taken via the ClubRight Pay Card terminal), refund the sale:
Open the member's profile from Contacts.
Go to the Purchases section.
Click the transaction you want to refund.
Click Refund sale, then click Yes to confirm.
The refunded amount will be returned to the member's card. The same balance requirement applies as for recurring card refunds: your available ClubRight Pay Card balance must cover the refund amount.
Refunding a cash payment
Cash refunds work the same way as manual card refunds in ClubRight, but with one key difference: ClubRight does not return the money for you. Processing the refund in ClubRight keeps your till record accurate, and you need to hand the cash back to the member in person.
Open the member's profile from Contacts.
Go to the Purchases section.
Click the cash purchase you want to refund.
Click Refund sale, then click Yes to confirm.
Hand back the cash to the member in person.
Helpful tip
💡 Record a clear reason on every Direct Debit refund. The refund reason stays on the payment record permanently and helps you and your team understand the context months later, especially if a dispute or query comes up.
Have more questions about refunds?
If you have a refund question that is not covered here, our Customer Success team is happy to help. Reach out via the chat button at the bottom right of your ClubRight dashboard.