Refunding a donation
Refunds happen in Square, not here — and the donation updates back here automatically.
Refunds happen in Square, not in PagePledge. Once Square processes the refund, your donations list updates automatically — you don't have to mark anything as refunded in PagePledge.
Why Square, not here?
Square is where the money actually lives. They've already got a great refund flow — full refunds, partial refunds, the whole thing. Sending you there means you only have to learn one set of buttons, and there's no chance the two systems disagree.
How to refund a donation
- 1
Find the donation in PagePledge
From your sidebar, click Transactions, find the donation, and click the row. Then click View in Square — it'll open the same donation in your Square dashboard.
- 2
Refund it in Square
Square will walk you through it — full amount or partial. Confirm and you're done.
- 3
Watch the donation update here
Within a few seconds, the donation in your PagePledge list will switch to
refundedand your school's totals will drop accordingly. - 4
Send the donor a quick note
Square won't email the donor — that's on you. A short message saying "we processed your refund, it'll be back on your card in 5–10 days" goes a long way.
A few things to know
Refunds remove the donation from all your totals — school-wide, classroom, leaderboards. But if a student already crossed the line for a prize because of that donation, they keep the prize. Same goes for school-wide rewards — once unlocked, they don't lock back up. Better to leave a celebration alone than yank it back.
Refunds after the campaign has locked still work — they just don't change the final rankings. The dashboard will note something like "Raised: $4,950 — includes $50 refunded after the campaign" so the math is honest.
If a donor disputes a charge with their bank instead of asking for a refund, Square handles that for you — you'll get a Square email when it happens, and the donation will update here just like a refund.