How to record refunds

If you sent a full or partial refund to your customer, or received a refund for something you purchased, recording the transaction in Wave ensures your books are accurate.

Bookkeep a refund you sent for an invoice in Wave

Bookkeep a refund you sent without an invoice

Bookkeep a refund you received for a bill in Wave

Bookkeep a refund you received without a bill

Bookkeep a refund you sent for an invoice in Wave

1. In the left navigation menu, click Accounting > Transactions.
2. If you import transactions into Wave for bookkeeping, locate the expense transaction associated with the refund, or click Add expense to create a new expense transaction.
3. Click on the Category dropdown, select Refund Sent for an Invoice in Wave, and choose the appropriate invoice from the list.
4. Click Save.

If you use Wave Payments and refund an invoice paid through Wave, the bookkeeping is taken care of automatically.

The refunded invoice will appear as Overdue under Sales & Payments > Invoices. If you don’t expect to be paid for this invoice, follow these steps to write it off.

Bookkeep a refund you sent without an invoice

1. In the left navigation menu, click Accounting > Transactions.
2. If you import transactions into Wave for bookkeeping, locate the expense transaction associated with the refund, or click Add expense to create a new expense transaction.
3. Click on the Category dropdown, select Refund for Income, then the income account you selected when recording the sale.
4. Click Save.

Bookkeep a refund you received for a bill in Wave

1. In the left navigation menu, click Accounting > Transactions.
2. If you import transactions into Wave for bookkeeping, locate the income transaction associated with the refund, or click Add income to create a new income transaction.
3. Click on the Category dropdown, select Refund Received for a Bill in Wave, and select the appropriate bill from the list.
4. Click Save.

If you use Wave Payroll to pay contractors through direct deposit, and receive a refund for a contractor bill in Wave, you will not be able to delete it, even if you no longer need to make this payment. If you need assistance with accounting for these bills, reach out to our Support Team by clicking on the help icon at the bottom right corner of your Wave account.

Bookkeep a refund you received without a bill

1. In the left navigation menu, click Accounting > Transactions.
2. If you import transactions into Wave for bookkeeping, locate the income transaction associated with the refund, or click Add income to create a new income transaction.
3. Click on the Category dropdown, select Refund for Expense, then the expense account you selected to record the purchase.
4. Click Save.