LearnWorlds lets you issue refunds for completed payments directly from the Payments page or a user's profile, giving you flexibility in managing refunds.
This feature helps you handle refund requests efficiently and maintain accurate records within your admin dashboard.
What Happens When You Refund a Payment?
When you issue a refund in LearnWorlds, the system automatically records it by creating a payment entry under E-commerce → Payments, linked to the original invoice. If the LearnWorlds built-in invoicing system is enabled, a credit note PDF is generated. In cases where Quaderno tax management is enabled and invoices are fetched from Quaderno, the corresponding credit note will be retrieved from there instead.
The refunded amount is returned to the same payment method the purchaser originally used, unless you choose to process the refund externally. When processed externally, no money is transferred at the time of the refund in LearnWorlds; a payment record is logged in the system to ensure your financial records remain accurate.
You may also choose to unenroll the user from the product(s) associated with the refunded payment. This step is optional and can be applied based on the circumstances of the refund.
Supported Payment Methods for Refunds
You can refund payments directly through LearnWorlds if they were made via supported payment processors. Here are the details:
Payment method | Availability |
Stripe (Visa, Mastercard, AMEX, etc.) | Refunds supported. Also applies to Apple Wallet and Google Wallet, since these are simply card payments stored in the wallet. |
PayPal | Refunds supported. |
iDEAL | Refunds are supported up to 180 days after payment. Refunds may remain pending up to 7 days. Find more details here. |
Bancontact | Refunds are supported up to 180 days after the original payment. Find more details here. |
Klarna | Refunds are supported up to 180 days after the payment completes. Check more details here. |
Przelewy24 (P24) | Payments made with Przelewy24 can only be submitted for refund within 180 days from the date of the original charge. Check more details here. |
Shopify | Refunds are not supported. |
Boleto | Refunds are not supported. |
For methods that do not support refunds (e.g., Boleto, Shopify), you can still process the action as a Manual Refund in LearnWorlds. This creates a negative payment record and, if invoicing is enabled, generates a credit note PDF, ensuring your financial records remain accurate while you return the money outside LearnWorlds.
Refund from the Payments Page
Use this method for quick, direct refunds on paid invoices.
1. Navigate to E-commerce → Payments.
2. Locate the Paid invoice you want to refund. Refunds only apply to completed payments.
3. Hover over the three dots next to the invoice and choose Issue a Refund.
4. On the refund screen, you can see the invoice details and:
- Review the refund amount. At this time, only the Full Refund option is available (Partial refunds will be supported soon).
- Choose the refund method: You can return the payment to the same method the purchaser used, such as their card or PayPal, or handle the refund outside the platform. You can only refund payments that have been successfully paid.
- Select a reason for the refund from the following:
- Product not as expected
- Technical issues
- Customer support issues
- Unauthorized purchase
- Financial hardship
- Other (Explain the refund reason)
- Decide whether to notify the user by email. Find more information about your school emails here.
5. Review all the details and click Refund to confirm the action.
A confirmation message will appear. There, you can unenroll the user from the product at the same time the refund is processed.
Before proceeding, ensure that all information is accurate and that you thoroughly understand the process.
- Manual payment records,
- Shopify payments,
- Stripe payment methods that don’t support refunds,
- Payments outside the refund window determined by each payment processor
Refund from the User's card
An alternative method to issue a refund is through the user's profile. To proceed:
1. Navigate to the Users → All Users section.
2. Select the user whose payment you want to refund.
3. Click on the Payments tab.
4. Find the specific payment, hover over the three dots, and click Issue a Refund.
5. Review all the details and click Refund to confirm the action.
A confirmation message will appear. In this confirmation message, you have the option to unenroll the user from the product at the same time the refund is processed.
Before proceeding, ensure that all information is accurate and that you thoroughly understand the process.
When a payment is refunded:
- A "Refund" payment record is added, including a credit note PDF, provided you have enabled either our built-in invoicing system or are fetching invoices from Quaderno.
- The original invoice remains marked as "Paid", but an info tooltip appears next to it, clearly indicating that the payment has been refunded. This is shown in the Status column under the Payments tab.
Viewing and Verifying Refunded Invoice Details
Click on the refunded invoice (marked as completed) to view full payment details in the side panel:
- Invoice for: [amount]
- Date issued, Total amount, and Type (Refund).
- Product name and price are listed under the "Products" section.
- Billing details and User information appear at the bottom.
- A "Send email" option allows you to notify the user about the refund.
You can click edit details to update the billing details. However, changes to billing details in this view apply only to this payment record. To update the user's billing info for future payments, modify the user's billing info in their profile directly.
The original payment record has an indiciation that it has been refunded.
Unenrollment and refunds are separate actions; you can issue a refund without unenrolling the user, or unenroll the user without issuing a refund.