how to process refunds · gloucestershire end of year refund guide 2 ©parentpay ltd 2016 refunding...

Gloucestershireendofyearrefundguide

1 ©ParentPay Ltd 2016

How to process refunds

Refunds background Refunds occasionally need to be made for example where a child has left school and they have a positive dinner money balance which needs to be given back to the parent. You should actively encourage parents to review their accounts regularly, to reduce the amount of refunds required at the end of the year. With the introduction of My Account schools have a couple of options as to how they deal with this situation.

• Refund to a Parent Account balance • Transfer a balance from a leaver account to a sibling account

NB: Staff & Visitor accounts

As ParentPay manually settle the money relating to Staff and Visitor accounts to Caterlink, you will need to contact Caterlink, should you need to make a refund for money banked against Staff and Visitor accounts.

Refund to a Parent Account The best way to make a refund is to return the balance to the payer’s Parent Account. This means that the money is back with the payer and they can decide what they want to do, either keep it in there to pay for other items for any of the children linked to their account, or make a withdrawal. Refunds to a Parent Account are free of charge. If a parent wishes to withdraw their money they need to log in to their account and select Parent Account. At the bottom of the screen they should select ‘Withdraw’. NB: It is not possible to refund money to a Parent Account if the original payment was made manually (cash or cheque) or by PayPoint. For these payments please refer to the “All cash refunds” section below.



Refunding a payment to a Parent Account 1. Login to ParentPay 2. Select People > Pupils and staff

• Choose group 1 = Pupil • Choose group 2 = Class or Year (as appropriate)

3. Select Search 4. Using the “CTRL” & “F” function on your keyboard, find the pupil you wish to provide a

refund for 5. Select Actions > View statement against that pupil

• Choose a payment item • Enter a date range

6. Select Search 7. Identify the payment to be refunded from the list of transactions and select the link in

the Description column. Review the transaction information on screen:

8. Select Refund payment NOTE: Remember to enter the amount that you want to refund but please note that this cannot be more than the original transaction amount. 9. Select Confirm Refund NOTE: Remember to enter an appropriate Cancellation comment in the box provided – this will form part of your audit log.



All cash refunds

NOTE: A refund form must be completed (see below)

If the payment was made by cash, cheque or PayPoint, the school should pay the money from their own school fund (not from dinner money collected). All refunds to parents are made by the school by giving the parent cash, this is then recorded in ParentPay. The school will then be reimbursed by Gloucestershire County Council NOTE: There is a minimum refund of £5.00. 1. Login to ParentPay 2. Select Finance > Record adjustments 3. Choose payment criteria

• Choose Service = Dinner money • Choose method = Debit

4. Choose group criteria or search for an individual pupil • Choose group 1 = Pupil • Choose group 2 = Class or Year (as appropriate) • Or, enter the name of the pupil you wish to search for

5. If appropriate, choose the ‘Include leavers’ checkbox 6. Select Search The remaining balance is displayed for each child in the ‘Balance’ column 7. Enter the amount to be refunded under the Amount column

• Enter a relevant comment in Internal comment (e.g. Year end refund) • Enter a relevant comment in Notes to payer (e.g. Year end refund)

8. At the bottom of the page select Debit. A summary of your debits will be displayed 9. Review the summary and if the details are correct, select OK

Important: The school should fill in the electronic refund form which should be e-mailed to [email protected]. For amounts £5.00 and above, GCC will process the refund request to transfer the funds from the GCC account to the school’s own account. A hard copy of this form should be printed and signed by the parent as proof of receipt and kept at the school.



How to transfer a balance from a leaver account to a sibling account You still have the ability to transfer a balance between sibling accounts.

1. Log in to ParentPay 2. Select Finance > Record adjustments 3. Choose payment criteria

• Choose Service = Dinner money • Choose method = Debit


5. If appropriate, choose the ‘Include leavers’ checkbox 6. Select Search The remaining balance is displayed for each child in the ‘Balance’ column 7. Enter the amount to be refunded under the Amount column

• Enter a relevant comment in Internal comment (e.g. Year end transfer to Child A) • Enter a relevant comment in Notes to payer (e.g. Year end transfer to Child A)

8. At the bottom of the page select Debit. A summary of your debits will be displayed Review the summary and if the details are correct, select OK

Once you have brought the leavers balances to zero you then need to transfer the amount onto the sibling account 9. Select Finance > Record adjustments 10. Choose payment criteria

• Choose Service = Dinner money • Choose method = Credit


12. If appropriate, choose the ‘Include leavers’ checkbox 13. Select Search 14. Enter the transferred amount in the Amount column 15. Enter a relevant comment in the Internal comment column (e.g. Year end transfer from

Child A) 16. Select Credit

how to process refunds · gloucestershire end of year refund guide 2 ©parentpay ltd 2016 refunding...

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