School-Initiated Refunds in Tuition Management

School Finance Users can return payments to families directly in Tuition Management. Use this process to issue refunds quickly, maintain accurate account balances, and ensure funds return to the original payment method.

Issue a School-Initiated Refund

  1. Go to Families and select View All Families.

  2. Search for and select the family to open their Main Family Page.

  3. In Billing Summary, locate the payment and select the amount under Settled.

  4. Select Refund Payment.

What to expect

  • Tuition Management excludes the refunded amount from the school’s next remittance.

  • While the refund is in progress, the payment status displays Refund Requested.

  • After processing, the payment status updates to Failed, and the system returns funds to the original payment method.

  • To review refunded payments, see the Refunded Payments report.

Eligibility Requirements for a School-Initiated Refund

School Finance Users and Enterprise Finance Users can select Refund Payment when the following conditions are met:

  • The school has sufficient funds available for remittance.

    • Example: a $1000 refund cannot be processed if only $500 is in process for remittance.

    • To review pending remittances, see the Remittances tile on the Tuition Management landing page.

  • The refund is for the full payment amount. Partial refunds are not supported.

  • The payment status is Settled, indicating the funds have been remitted to the school.

  • The payment was made within the last 90 days.

  • For bank account (ACH) payments, a seven-day waiting period is required after the original payment date before a refund can be requested.

  • The payment is a credit card, debit card, or bank account payment.

    • Refunds are not permitted for mailed checks, money orders, Flywire, PayNearMe, or alternative payment methods.

  • The payment was submitted electronically through:

    • Phone

    • Web

    • Automatic debit

    • Enrollment deposit contract

    • Shopping Cart

    • Buy Now Give Now

  • The school account is active and in good standing.

  • The school is not in the process of canceling Tuition Management.

Refund is not available on a payment if these conditions are not met.

Issue a Manual Refund Outside of Tuition Management

If a payment does not meet the requirements for a school-initiated refund, you can process the refund manually outside of Tuition Management.

Warning: Before issuing a manual refund, confirm the payment status is "Settled", indicating the funds are in the school’s possession.

  1. Unallocate the payment.

    1. Go to Families and select View All Families.

    2. Search for and select the family.

    3. Expand the menu on the left and select View Payment History.

    4. Locate the payment and select Edit Payment Allocation.

    5. Ensure Un‑Assign is active.

    6. Select Submit.

    7. Select the checkmark to finish unallocating the payment.

  2. Adjust billing details (if needed).

    Tip: Typically, you will the billing item being refunded should be zeroed out or reduced. See Edit Billing Details for more information.

  3. Create an in‑school refund fee to offset the refunded amount.

    Tip: If needed, create a new fee type. Create a family-based fee with the Distribute Type set to Specific Months.

Overpayments

Overpayments on Tuition Management accounts can be applied to the next month's billing, transferred to a future or current school year, or refunded to the family.