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How to Refund a Damage Waiver Using a Discount Service

Learn how to refund a damage waiver that's already on a project by adding a discount Service to offset it, then issuing the refund that matches how the client paid.

Written by Sierra Burton

This feature is available on all Goodshuffle Pro Plans.

A damage waiver is fully refundable in Goodshuffle Pro. To return one that's already on a project, you'll add a discount Service to offset the waiver on the contract, then issue the refund that matches how the client paid. This works no matter how the waiver was added — as a custom item, an inventory item, or a Service.

Refunding a damage waiver

To return a waiver, you'll offset it on the contract with a 100% discount, then issue the refund that matches how the client paid.

If the waiver was added as anything other than a Service — such as a custom item or a regular inventory item — you'll first need to create a discount Service in your inventory, then add it to the project to zero out the waiver line item.

Step 1: Create a Discount Service (skip if you already have one)

Go to Inventory > Services and create a Line Item Discount Service set to a 100% discount.

Step 2: Add it to the project to offset the waiver

  1. Add the discount Service to the project so it cancels out the waiver on the contract.

  2. Price the discount the same way the waiver was priced, so it fully offsets it (see the callout below).

  3. Manually sign the contract to lock in the updated totals.

Match the discount's pricing structure to the waiver's. A discount only offsets what its pricing structure covers. If the waiver was priced as percent of Line Item Group, price the discount as percent of Line Item Group and add it to the same group as the waiver. If the waiver was priced as percent of order, price the discount as percent of order. If the waiver is isolated in its own Line Item Group, a group-scoped 100% discount in that group cleanly zeroes out the waiver without affecting other items.

Tax: if you added tax to that line item — whether it's a custom item, inventory item, or Service — set the discount to include tax so it wipes both the fee and its tax. If you only discount the base amount, the client will still show a taxed balance on the waiver. If it wasn't taxed, a plain 100% discount is enough. Match the discount to how the waiver was originally charged.

How you refund depends on how the client paid the waiver:

  • If they paid offline (cash, check, Venmo, Zelle, bank transfer): return the money outside Goodshuffle Pro, then record an offline refund for the waiver amount (and its tax, if it was taxed) to keep the project balanced.

  • If they paid online (credit card or ACH through Stripe): issue the refund through Goodshuffle Pro so it processes back through Stripe to the original payment method.

This keeps the waiver documented on the project while the refundable amount is fully returned and tracked in the Billing tab. You can confirm the result under the project's payment and refund summary.


A quicker alternative

If the waiver is already on the project as a Service, you can skip the separate discount Service and edit the waiver line item directly, applying a 100% discount to that item for the same net effect (again including tax if the waiver was taxed). A separate discount Service is preferred when you want to track waivers and discounts distinctly, but the direct discount works if you just need the fee returned.


Setting up waivers to make refunds easier

Refunds are simplest when the waiver is set up as a Service and isolated in its own Line Item Group from the start. For the full walkthrough of creating a waiver Service, choosing a pricing structure, and excluding services and logistics, see How Can I Create a Damage Waiver? and How Can I Exclude Logistics on a Damage Waiver?

If you created the waiver in its own Line Item Group, set the discount up to match. When the waiver lives in its own Line Item Group, add the discount Service to that same group, price it by Line Item Group, and exclude other services and logistics from the discount so it only zeroes out the waiver. This doesn't apply in every setup — for example, if the project has a single Line Item Group priced by percent of order, you'd price the discount by percent of order instead. Either way, match the discount to how the waiver was set up and charged.


A quick note on damage waivers

A damage waiver is a non-refundable fee a client pays so they're covered if something is damaged — so in most cases, you'd keep it rather than refund it. Refunding collected money (whether it's a waiver or a security deposit) adds extra steps and can complicate your books, so it's worth confirming a refund is really what you want before going through these steps.


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