Cancel an item, close it out, or refund credit to the seller
Updated 4 min read
On a paid campaign, money for a service that's no longer needed isn't lost: it becomes refund credit, held against the campaign. It can pay for later changes, and whatever is left goes back to the seller when the campaign is completed. See Refund credit explained.
| You want to | Use | Allowed when |
|---|---|---|
| Drop a service nobody has started | Cancel item & return funds to refund credit | The item is Held: nothing requested or paid. Extra funding counts once the seller has paid it |
| Finish a job that cost less than its budget | Close & return remainder to refund credit | The item is Partially paid |
| Give the seller back what's left | Complete campaign | Every item is paid, closed out or cancelled |
Before a campaign is paid, there's nothing to refund: edit or delete the item instead.
Cancel an item
- Open the campaign and select the item. Its panel opens.
- Select Cancel item & return funds to refund credit. The button changes to Confirm — refund $… (marker 1), showing the amount.
- Select Confirm — refund $… to cancel, or the × beside it to keep the item. "Item canceled and refunded" appears.
The item disappears from the items table, and its amount is added to Refund credit. The seller and the supplier are emailed. Cancelling can't be undone.
Extra funding items can be cancelled the same way once the seller has paid for them (or they were paid from refund credit): their money goes to refund credit like any other item. While the seller still has to approve or pay the extra funding, there's no cancel button; withdraw the request instead (see Request additional funding).
If you only want a different supplier or a different price, swap the supplier or request additional funding instead (see Changing a campaign after sending).
Close out a partly paid item
- Select the item. Check Paid to date and Available (marker 1): the available amount is what goes to refund credit.
- Select Close & return remainder to refund credit, then Confirm — close & refund $… (marker 2). "Item closed — remainder returned to refund credit" appears.
The item shows Closed. The supplier keeps what they've been paid and can't request more for it.
An extra funding item can't be closed out, even when it's partly paid: Close & return remainder to refund credit doesn't appear for it. If the rest of its budget isn't needed, raise it through the help form (see Getting help).
Refund the seller: complete the campaign
There's no separate refund button. Refund credit goes back to the seller when someone with the Accounts role, an Admin or the Director completes the campaign.
- Make sure every item is Paid, Closed or cancelled. Until then, Complete campaign is greyed out (marker 1); point at it to see why.
- Select Complete campaign. The confirmation says how much will be returned to the seller and where it goes, and warns you about any payment too old to refund the usual way (see below).
- Select Complete campaign to confirm. "Campaign completed" appears.
The campaign becomes Settled (marker 1) and shows who completed it and when (marker 2). The seller is refunded to the card or bank account they paid from, and emailed a summary of the campaign with their tax invoices and a link to their completed campaign page, which shows what they paid, what was spent with each supplier, and the invoices. Nothing more can be added.
If part of the refund goes back by bank transfer, Stripe emails the seller for their bank details, and that part waits until they reply.
Old payments
Stripe can only refund a payment for a limited time, so the confirmation may add a line about it:
- A card payment more than 170 days old is still tried, but Stripe may refuse it. If it does, you're told what was and wasn't refunded, and VPA support is notified.
- A direct debit more than 85 days old (how Pay Later is collected) can't be refunded through Stripe. The refund comes from the campaign's other payments instead, and the confirmation says so.
If the other payments can't cover the refund without that old direct debit, Complete campaign stays greyed out. Point at it to see why: "Part of this campaign was paid by direct debit more than 85 days ago, which is too old for Stripe to refund, so this campaign can't be completed here. That money needs to be returned to the seller another way, which VPA support will arrange. VPA support has been notified." You don't need to do anything, and trying again won't change it.
Good to know
- Who can do what: any agency staff member can cancel or close out an item. Only staff with Accounts, Admins and the Director can complete a campaign. See Roles and permissions.
- A supplier who already did some work on a cancelled item can't be paid for it through VPA Connect. Agree it with them directly.
- The seller paid with Pay Later? Ask how refunds are handled under their Campaign Flow agreement.
- What if the property doesn't sell? Whether unspent marketing money is refunded depends on the seller's agency agreement, not on VPA Connect.