---
schema_version: "1"
id: d7727d192abe33880968261f4af2c2effa5d6279b671d9aa0a4ebfb7126b3a41
title: Refund Available Credit Balances to Customer Accounts
collection: admin
version: current
locale: en-us
portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/admin/current/en-us/ind/264-0-0/billing_unreferenced_refunds.md
canonical_url: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=ind.billing_unreferenced_refunds.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5
source_site: help.salesforce.com
content_type: documentation
content_hash: 4616e485b1e895add511a35570a278da03d72e6f6d79f193f407af46a9cfa476
description: Refund a customer’s available credit balance against a credit memo or credit memo line without referencing an original payment.
products:
  - Revenue Cloud
release: "264"
---
# Refund Available Credit Balances to Customer Accounts

Refund a customer’s available credit balance against a credit memo or credit memo line without referencing an original payment.

### Required Editions

<table class="slds-table slds-table_bordered slds-max-medium-table_stacked slds-m-bottom_small edition"><colgroup><col></colgroup><tbody><tr class=""><td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">Available in: Lightning Experience</td></tr><tr class=""><td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">Available in: <strong>Enterprise</strong>, <strong>Unlimited</strong>, and <strong>Developer</strong> Editions with <a href="https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=ind.revenue_licenses_areas_and_features.htm&amp;release=264.0.0&amp;type=5">the Revenue Cloud Billing license</a>. Contact your Salesforce account executive for more information.</td></tr></tbody></table>

## Header-Level and Line-Level Application

The refund application level determines how Billing applies a refund to a credit memo. In Setup, find and select **Billing Settings**. In the Credit, Payment, and Refund Application section, set **Credit, Payment, and Refund Application Level** to header or line level. Select **Header Level** to refund against credit memos, or **Line Level** to refund against credit memo lines.

- With header-level application, the refund amount applies to the credit memo as a whole. Billing creates a junction record, reduces the credit memo’s pending balance by the refund amount, and sets the refund balance to zero.
- With line-level application, Billing distributes the refund amount across the credit memo lines that have an open balance, starting with the line that has the largest open balance, and reduces each line’s balance to zero. Because line-level application distributes the refund automatically, you enter the total refund amount once and Billing allocates it across the lines.

## How Billing Resolves the Payment Method

Billing pays an unreferenced refund to a saved payment method. To determine the saved payment method, Billing checks the sources in this order.

- First, the payment method that’s passed directly in the API request.
- Next, the saved payment method that’s stamped on the credit memo.
- Finally, the saved payment method resolved from the associated billing account or billing arrangement.

## Synchronous and Asynchronous Payment Gateways

The payment gateway determines when a refund reaches its final status. A synchronous gateway returns a response immediately, so the refund status changes to Processed and Billing applies the refund to the credit memo. An asynchronous gateway doesn’t return an immediate response, so the refund status stays in Pending status. When the gateway confirms the refund, the status changes to Processed and Billing applies the refund to the credit memo.

- **[Issue Refund Against a Credit Memo](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=ind.billing_issue_unreferenced_refund.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)**  
    Return an available credit balance to a customer by issuing a refund against a credit memo, paid to a saved payment method on a third-party gateway.