When issuing a refund in Gather, the Net Payment Amount refers to the original subtotal paid by the customer, excluding the convenience fee.
Net Payment Amount typically means:
✅ The cost of the goods and services
✅ Any discounts added (if applicable)
✅ Tax
❌ Not the the convenience fee.
This represents what the family actually paid toward the funeral bill - not including any processing costs.
Understanding how to refund properly ensures your accounting stays clean and your customer interactions are fair and transparent.
🧮 Example: Understanding Net Payment
Let’s say a customer paid:
Original Payment Subtotal: $1,702.00
Convenience Fee: $68.08
Original Payment Total: $1,770.08
The Net Amount to Refund is $1,702.00, because that’s the amount applied to the services provided. This is typically the amount you should refund unless you're intentionally choosing to also refund the convenience fee.
⚠️ What About the Convenience Fee?
You have the option to refund the convenience fee — but it’s important to understand how that affects your bottom line:
If you refund the fee: The full amount ($1,770.08) is returned to the customer. However, Gather does not refund the portion of the fee it collects for processing, so that amount will be deducted from your funeral home's payout.
If you don’t refund the fee: The customer receives only the net amount ($1,702.00), and the funeral home does not absorb the processing cost.
💡 Reminder: Gather’s portion of the convenience fee is non-refundable. Refunding it means your business is covering that amount out of pocket.
✅ Best Practice
We recommend refunding only the net subtotal unless you have a compelling reason to refund the full amount (e.g., for customer service purposes). This prevents your funeral home from unintentionally absorbing processing fees.
➗ How to Handle Partial Payments When Refunding
If the original payment was partial, you’ll still apply the same logic — refund the portion of the subtotal that corresponds to the amount you're returning, and then decide whether to include any of the convenience fee.
Example: Partial Refund on a Partial Payment
Let’s say a family member made a partial payment of $850 toward a $1,702.00 subtotal, with a convenience fee of $34.00. The total they paid was $884.00.
Now you’re refunding part of that payment — maybe $425.
Here’s how to handle it:
Set the Net Amount to Refund to $425
Do not check the box to refund the convenience fee unless you plan to refund a portion of it too
Record the refund method (card, check, etc.)
Final refund will show:
Refund Subtotal: $425
Refund Convenience Fee: $0 (if not selected)
Refund Total: $425
If you do choose to refund part of the convenience fee, you can enter a prorated portion manually based on the amount you're returning.
🔍 Summary
Scenario | Refund Amount | Fee Refunded? | Impact to Funeral Home |
Full refund, no fee | $1,702.00 | ❌ | Customer receives subtotal only |
Full refund, fee included | $1,770.08 | ✅ | Fee deducted from your payout |
Partial refund, no fee | e.g., $425.00 | ❌ | Clean refund with no fee loss |
Partial refund, with prorated fee | e.g., $425.00 + $10.00 | ✅ | Fee portion deducted |
💬 Need Help?
If you're unsure how much to refund or how to handle a partial payment with fees, reach out to our support team. We’re here to help ensure your refunds are processed accurately and fairly.