Refunds

A refund records the return of funds to a student when an overpayment has been made, a fee is no longer applicable, or a payment needs to be reversed. Refunds are separate records from receipts — they document money flowing out of the organisation back to the student. Refunds can be linked to the original receipt and may require approval before payment is processed.

How Refunds Work

When a student is due a refund, a finance officer creates a refund record in Kampus SIS. The refund captures the amount, method, reason, and the original receipt it relates to. Depending on your organisation’s configuration, the refund may need to go through an approval step before the actual funds are returned. Once approved, the officer marks the refund as paid to confirm the money has been sent to the student.

Refund records are visible to finance officers in Finance → Refunds. They appear in financial reports and can be filtered by status to identify refunds pending action.

Refund Statuses

Every refund moves through the following statuses:

Note: If your organisation has an approval workflow active for refunds, a refund must reach Approved status before it can be marked as paid. If no approval workflow is configured, a refund can be moved directly from Draft to Paid.

Refund Methods

The refund method records how the funds will be (or were) returned to the student:

Bank Transfer

Funds are returned by direct bank transfer to the student’s nominated account. Record the bank reference in the Reference Number field.

Cash

Funds are returned in cash. Applicable for students who originally paid by cash or for small adjustments returned at the counter.

Card Reversal

The original card charge is reversed through the payment gateway. This typically requires the same card used in the original transaction. Record the gateway reversal reference in the Reference Number field.

Gateway

Funds are returned through a configured payment gateway. The gateway processes the refund directly; record the gateway transaction ID as the reference.

Create a Refund

To create a refund for a student:

1. Go to Finance → Refunds.
2. Click New Refund.
3. Fill in the refund details:
   • Refund Number: Auto-generated based on your refund numbering settings. If using manual numbering, enter a unique identifier.
   • Student: Search and select the student receiving the refund. Required.
   • Receipt: Optionally link the refund to the original receipt that is being refunded. This creates a clear audit link between the incoming and outgoing payment records.
   • Refund Method: Select how the refund will be paid (Bank Transfer, Cash, Card Reversal, or Gateway).
   • Currency: Select the currency of the refund. This should match the currency of the original payment.
   • Total Amount: The amount to be refunded, to two decimal places.
   • Refund Date: The date on which the refund will be or was processed. Defaults to today.
   • Reference Number: Optional. Enter a bank transfer reference, gateway transaction ID, or other external reference for reconciliation.
   • Reason Code: Select the reason for the refund from the available reason codes (e.g., Overpayment, Withdrawal, Fee Cancellation).
   • Notes: Optional internal notes for the refund record.
4. Click Save Refund. The refund is saved in Draft status.

Note: Creating a refund does not immediately move any funds. The refund record is a documentation and approval tool. Actual fund transfer happens outside Kampus SIS (e.g., through your bank) and is recorded by marking the refund as Paid.

Submit for Approval

If your organisation requires refunds to be approved before payment, submit the draft refund for review.

1. Open the refund from Finance → Refunds.
2. Review all details to ensure they are correct. Once submitted, the refund cannot be edited.
3. Click Submit for Approval.
4. The refund is submitted to the approval queue. An approver with the appropriate permission will review and either approve or reject it.

When the refund is approved, its status changes to Approved and you will be notified. If the refund is rejected, a rejection reason will be provided and you will need to create a revised refund.

Note: Approval workflows are configured under your organisation’s settings. If you do not see a Submit for Approval button, your organisation does not require approval for refunds — you can mark the refund as paid directly.

Mark a Refund as Paid

Once the actual funds have been returned to the student, mark the refund as paid to complete the record.

1. Open the refund from Finance → Refunds. The refund must be in Approved status (or Draft status if approval is not required).
2. Click Mark as Paid.
3. Confirm the Refund Date — the date on which the funds were actually returned. Update this if it differs from the date on the refund record.
4. Optionally enter or update the Reference Number with the bank or gateway transaction reference.
5. Click Confirm.

The refund status changes to Paid and the refund is complete. Paid refunds appear in finance reports and are included in the student’s transaction history.

Important: Once a refund is marked as paid, it cannot be edited or reversed. Ensure all details are correct, particularly the amount and date, before confirming.

Refund Settings and Permissions

Refund Numbering

Refund numbers can be auto-generated or entered manually. Configure the numbering mode under Settings → Finance → Refund Numbering. Auto-numbering uses a configurable pattern such as REF-{yy}-{seq:4} (e.g., REF-26-0001).

Permissions

Access to refund functions is controlled by the following permissions:

Permissions are assigned to roles under Settings → Users & Roles.

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