Stop a Payment in Payment Assistant

If you've processed a payment using Payment Assistant but need to stop it, for example because a check was lost in the mail, you can request a stop payment. The steps, rules, and timelines depend on your payment provider, REPAY or BILL. These steps apply only to payments processed through Payment Assistant. You can void payments created outside Payment Assistant, such as manual checks, in Financial Edge NXT.

Note: Voiding the Payment Assistant bank draft in Financial Edge NXT doesn't stop the payment. Request a stop payment first.

Stop a Payment with REPAY

When you request a stop payment with REPAY, you can choose to refund the original payment or reissue it to the vendor. If you select reissue, the payment is reprocessed to the same vendor.

Note: With REPAY, stop payments can only be initiated for check and virtual card payments with a status of Open or Reissued, and you can submit only one request for each payment. ACH payments can't be stopped. If the vendor has cleared the funds, the stop payment can't be processed. In that case, contact the vendor directly to resolve the issue.

You can request a stop payment from three locations:

  • From Payables, go to Payment Assistant, then select the Payments tab. On the Payments tab, use the context menu for the payment to request a stop payment.

  • From the payment's bank draft record.

  • From the Payments tab of a Payment run record, use the context menu for the payment to request a stop payment.

How to Request a Stop Payment and Refund with REPAY

Use this option to stop a payment and return the funds to your account.

  1. From the context menu of an open payment, select Request stop payment. If you’re on a bank draft record, under Payment Assistant, select Request stop payment.

  2. In the Request stop payment, select Stop and refund.

  3. A confirmation screen appears showing the payment details. Review the information to confirm this is the payment you want to stop.

    Note: Requesting a stop payment doesn't guarantee the payment can be stopped. This request can’t be undone after you submit it.

  4. Select Send. The stop payment request is sent to the payment processor for review.

After you submit a stop payment request, a stop payment note is added to the Payment status column on the Payment Assistant Payments tab.

On the bank draft record, under Payment Assistant, the Payment events are also updated with the stop payment request.

When a stop payment request with refund is successful, you receive a refund notification.

Tip: If a payment processed through Payment Assistant is canceled, the associated bank draft may still appear in the bank register as paid. Learn how to resolve canceled payments.

How to Request a Stop Payment and Reissue with REPAY

Use this option to stop a payment and reissue it to the vendor — for example, if a check was lost or sent to the wrong address. Reissues are subject to a monthly limit of five. If you've reached the limit, contact the Financial Edge NXT team in Blackbaud Customer Support for assistance.

  1. From the context menu of an open payment, select Request stop payment. If you’re on a bank draft record, under Payment Assistant, select Request stop payment.

  2. On the Request stop payment screen, select Stop and reissue.

    If you've reached the monthly reissue limit, Stop and reissue is unavailable.

  3. For virtual card payments, no reason selection is required. The payment is reissued as a check.

  4. For check payments, select a Reason for the stop:

    The confirmation shows a Check print date and an Eligible to request stop on date. If the check was printed fewer than 10 business days ago, a warning appears, and Lost check and Payee requested reissue are unavailable until the eligible date, which is 10 business days after the check print date. Incorrect address, which is selected by default, can be requested at any time.

    • Lost check

    • Payee requested reissue

    • Incorrect address — Enter the corrected vendor address. Note that this doesn't update the address on the vendor record. To prevent future payments from going to the wrong address, update the vendor record separately.

  5. Select Request stop payment. The request is sent to the payment processor for review. This request can’t be undone after you submit it.

    To avoid delays, ask the vendor not to cash the original payment while the stop payment is being processed.

    Note: Requesting a stop payment doesn't guarantee the payment can be stopped.

After you submit a stop payment request, a stop payment note is added to the Payment status column on the Payment Assistant Payments tab.

On the bank draft record, under Payment Assistant, the Payment events are also updated with the stop payment and reissue requests. You can then track the status of the reissue request until it's paid.

When to Request Stop Payments with REPAY

With REPAY, stop payments can only be requested when a payment status is Open or Reissued. Stop payments should only be requested in rare cases, such as:

  • Incorrect vendor address

  • Lost or stolen check

  • Late payment that must be reprocessed immediately

Processing Time for Stop Payments with REPAY

After you request a stop payment with REPAY, allow 5–7 business days for processing and for the funds to become available in your account.

Stop a Payment with BILL

Note: Don’t see this yet? The ability to use BILL with Payment Assistant is currently in an Early Adopter Program (EAP) for some of our customers. Look for full support and general availability in a future release.

With BILL, the void or cancellation of a payment happens at BILL, and BILL returns the funds to your funding bank account. BILL also voids some payments on its own, as described in Stale Payments for Payment Assistant.

How to Cancel or Stop a Payment with BILL

Use the context menu for a payment on the Payments tab, or the payment's bank draft record, to cancel or stop a payment. The option you see depends on the payment's status in BILL.

  • A scheduled payment that BILL hasn't started funding shows Cancel payment. Canceling a payment stops it from being sent to the bank, and there's no charge to cancel. Canceling only stops the payment with BILL, so it doesn't void the general ledger transaction. After you cancel, void the corresponding bank draft record in Financial Edge NXT.

  • A payment that BILL has sent shows Stop payment if its payment method allows it. BILL can void checks and virtual cards until they clear, and ACH payments only before BILL sends them. After BILL sends an ACH payment, BILL can attempt to recover the funds, but recovery isn't guaranteed. Contact Blackbaud Customer Support for help.

  • To stop a payment, select Stop and refund to get the money back or Stop and reissue to send a new payment. A stop payment fee applies, and a reissue also includes the cost of the new payment. Learn about the fees with BILL. Unlike REPAY, BILL has no monthly limit on reissues.

  • BILL reviews check voids, which can take one business day.

How to Stop and Refund or Reissue a Payment with BILL

  1. From the context menu of the payment, select Stop payment. If you're on a bank draft record, under Payment Assistant, select Stop payment.

  2. Select Stop and refund or Stop and reissue. The fees that apply appear with each option.

  3. For a reissue, review the vendor's current delivery method and either the mailing address (check) or the bank account (ACH or virtual card). BILL doesn't ask you to select a reason.

  4. Review the fees, then select Request stop payment.

To cancel a payment instead, select Cancel payment in the confirmation window, or select Don't cancel to close it.

When You Can Cancel a Payment with BILL

BILL accepts cancellations until 6 PM PT on the day before a payment's process date. After that time, a payment can't be canceled. Process dates can differ across the payments in a payment run, so check each payment's process date on the Payments tab. Learn about process dates and timing.

Time for Funds to Return After a BILL Payment Is Voided

BILL returns the funds to your funding bank account within 2 to 5 business days after a void.

BILL Payments That Fail or Are Rejected

If BILL can't deliver a payment, or the vendor's bank rejects it, the payment shows as Errored on the Payments tab. On the bank draft record, an explanation of the next step appears for the payment. For example, if the vendor's bank rejects the payment, you can stop and refund to return the funds, or stop and reissue to send the payment again. Before you reissue, a warning asks you to have the vendor fix their bank information.

BILL Notifications About a Voided Payment

BILL emails the payment users in your organization when it voids, refunds, or reissues a payment. The emails come from BILL.

Stop Payment Permissions

To request a stop payment, a user must have a role with the appropriate permission. The stop payment options appear only for payments that can be stopped.

  1. In Security, go to Role management.

  2. Edit an existing Payment Assistant role or create a new one.

  3. Assign the following permission:

    • Payment Assistant role – Under Payments tasks, select Stop payments.

For more details about Payment Assistant permissions, see Security Roles and Permissions for Payment Assistant help.

Frequently Asked Questions

With REPAY, when a stop payment is successful, you receive a notification in the product and an email confirming that the payment was canceled.

With BILL, BILL emails the payment users in your organization when it voids, refunds, or reissues a payment.

With BILL, if a stop, refund, reissue, or cancel request isn't successful, the Payment status column on the Payments tab shows Refund failed, Reissue failed, or Cancel failed, followed by the date. You also receive an in-product notification, Stop payment request declined or Cancel payment request declined, for the bank draft.

With REPAY, if the stop payment request isn’t successful, the payment continues processing until it shows as Paid. When it shows as Paid, contact the vendor directly to resolve the issue. You also receive an in-product notification, Stop payment request declined, for the bank draft.

  • A stop payment note appears in the Payment status column on the Payment Assistant Payments tab.

    • If the stop payment was successful, the column also shows Canceled.

    • If the stop payment wasn’t successful, the column shows Open until the payment is marked as Paid.

  • On the bank draft record, under Payment Assistant, the Payment events section records the stop payment request. The event log also shows when the payment is marked as either Canceled or Paid