How to handle a client refund request without losing the client

Do not say yes or no in your first reply. Thank the client, ask what went wrong, and read your contract before you answer. Most refund requests end in a fix, a partial refund or a firm no, and which one fits depends on the reason behind the request and what you both signed.

Start with the reason, not the amount

A refund request is rarely about the money alone. It is usually one of three things, and each one needs a different reply.

They are unhappy with the work

Ask for specifics: which part, compared with what, and what would make it right. Vague unhappiness often turns into a revision request once you ask. If the work missed what the scope promised, you have a quality problem and a refund may be fair. If it matches the scope but not their taste, you have an expectations problem, and the answer is a revision round, not a refund.

It is buyer's remorse

Their situation changed. A budget was cut, a manager overruled the project, priorities moved. The work is fine; they wish they had not spent the money. Your deposit terms and cancellation clause matter most here, because there is nothing to fix. Be kind and be clear: you can acknowledge the change without paying for it.

Confusion plays a larger part than people admit. In the 2025 Cardholder Dispute Index from Chargebacks911, 40% of respondents said they often fail to recognise purchases on their statement because of unclear billing descriptors. A client who sees a strange name on a bank statement can talk themselves into a refund request. Cheap to fix, and worth checking.

It is a scope dispute

The client thinks something was included that you think was extra. This is the most common one for service businesses, and the answer sits in your proposal or contract. If the scope is written and clear, point to it and offer to quote the extra. If it is vague, the fault is shared, and a partial refund or a credit toward the next stage may settle it. The habit that prevents most of these is a written change order for every request outside the original scope.

What your contract should already say

Before you reply to anything, open the signed agreement. Look for these terms.

• A refund policy. State what is refundable, what is not, and by when. "Deposits are non-refundable once work begins" is clear. Saying nothing is not.
• A kill fee or cancellation clause. If the client walks away partway, they owe for work done plus a share of what is left. Common practice runs from 25% to 50% of the unbilled balance, though you set your own number. The longer treatment is in kill fees and cancellation clauses.
• Revision limits. Two rounds included, further rounds billed. Without that, "unhappy" can mean unlimited changes.
• Acceptance terms. How the client approves a deliverable, and what counts as approved if they go silent.
• A deposit schedule. A paid deposit shows commitment and covers your first costs. See the guide to collecting a deposit before the project starts.

If your contract is silent, do not invent terms after the fact. Treat the request as a negotiation, offer something fair, and add the missing clause to your template before the next client. Check any wording you rely on with a lawyer.

Fix it, split it, or hold firm

Pick one of three replies and write it down so the client sees a decision, not a mood.

Offer a fix when the problem is real and repairable. "Here is what I will change, and here is the date." Most unhappy clients want the thing corrected, not the money returned. A fix also keeps the relationship and the invoice.

Offer a partial refund when fault is shared or when the maths favour it. Maybe you delivered 70% of the value and the last stretch went sideways. Maybe the client is unreasonable but the amount is small enough that your time is worth more than the fight. A partial refund can be the cheapest way to end a bad engagement cleanly. It also heads off a chargeback, which almost always costs more than the refund.

Hold firm when the work matches the signed scope and the client simply changed their mind. Be polite and specific: quote the clause, state what you will not refund, and say what you can still do, such as pausing the project or applying the deposit to future work. Do not argue about feelings. Argue about the document.

Whatever you choose, write it in one calm message. Avoid long justifications. A short answer reads as confident.

Why a refund often beats a chargeback

A client who feels ignored can ask their bank instead of you. That is how a small dispute becomes an expensive one.

The numbers are not on your side. Chargebacks911's chargeback statistics say merchants win an average of 43.8% of the chargebacks they contest, and after second-cycle disputes and fees the net recovery rate is only 10.7%. The same index above found that 76% of consumers prefer to resolve disputes through their bank, and nearly half admit they bypass the merchant entirely. Industry vendors compile these figures, so treat them as a guide to the odds, not a law.

The process is also slow and costly. On Stripe, a dispute debits the disputed amount plus a dispute fee from your account, and the issuer decides the outcome weeks later, according to Stripe's documentation on how disputes work. Card networks typically let a cardholder start a dispute within 120 days of the payment. You usually have 7 to 21 days to answer after a chargeback is created, and the issuer takes 60 to 75 days to decide.

A refund is the amount and nothing more, with one catch. Stripe's refund documentation notes that processing fees from the original transaction are not returned. That is still usually cheaper than a lost dispute, a dispute fee, hours of paperwork and a mark on your processor account. If you are facing an open dispute right now, the guide to chargebacks and payment disputes walks through the response.

Prevent the next request

Most refund requests trace back to something you could have written or sent earlier.

• Use a clear billing descriptor. Your business name on the statement stops an honest "what is this charge?" from becoming a dispute. Stripe's prevention guide covers descriptors and receipts.
• Get written approval at each stage. A client who approved the draft cannot say they never saw it.
• Take a deposit before you start, and say what it covers.
• Keep every instruction in one place, not scattered across email, chat and calls.
• Send a short checkpoint message mid-project. Problems found in week two are cheaper than problems found at delivery.
• State the revision limit and the refund policy in plain words on the proposal, not buried in a footer.

How Delivvo keeps the evidence in one place

Delivvo puts the proposal, contract, approvals and invoice in one client record, so when a refund question arrives you can show what was agreed and when.

Here is how that works in practice:

1. The scope goes in a quote built from your packages and add-ons in proposals, so the client sees what is included before they sign.
2. The client signs the contract, typed or drawn. Delivvo keeps a signing record with a SHA-256 hash, the IP address, the device and an archived PDF. The contracts and e-signatures page shows what is stored.
3. The deposit invoice goes out from the same link, and the client pays through your own gateway.
4. Each deliverable goes to the client portal, which opens with a one-time code and no password. The client approves it there, and that client approval stays on file with a date.
5. If you agree to a refund, you issue it in your payment gateway, because the money never passes through Delivvo. In Delivvo you record it with a credit note or void the invoice, so the numbers still match.

One detail matters here: Delivvo takes 0% and is never the merchant of record, so you decide refunds yourself, on your own terms, with your own gateway. Every invoice and contract also carries a verification code that shows its status, which helps when a bank or a client's accountant asks for proof. See how payments work. If a client then asks for a copy of what they approved, you send one link instead of rebuilding the story from email.

Read more about Delivvo for teams, or start with the CRM and client portal.

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