Refunds & Toast Reporting

This article outlines how to refund a Tableside Order & Pay guest while ensuring that Toast x Tableside Order & Pay Sales & Promotion reporting matches.

To refund specific menu items or an entire order, you can simply void the menu items/order within the Toast app. Tableside Order & Pay will pick up these changes and apply for the refund automatically. Tableside Order & Pay does not automatically pick up refunds by amount; you will need to manually issue the refund amount in Tableside Order & Pay.

To refund a specific amount to a guest in Tableside Order & Pay, log in to the Owner Panel, and follow the standard refund steps listed there. There are two ways you can refund a guest for a specific amount:

• Refund by Item: Automatically includes tax & tip in the guest’s refund per each Item selected
• Refund by Amount: Allows you to refund sales and/or tip by amount or percentage 

Take note of the exact total refund amount, inclusive of any tips, for our corresponding Toast processes to align our sales report totals.

 

Tableside Order & Pay x Toast: Automatic Refund Process

Voiding an item or order in Toast will cause Tableside Order & Pay to issue a refund for that item or order. Please note that Toast voids can take up to 2 minutes to sync into Tableside Order & Pay. If a refund is needed more urgently, follow the steps below. 

 

Tableside Order & Pay x Toast: Manual Refund Process Steps

1. Refund Guest in Tableside Order & Pay
   1. All actual refund transactions are completed via Tableside Order & Pay, so a Toast refund has no connection to your guest's credit card
2. Locate Order in Toast
   1. This Tableside Order & Pay order in Toast is where you will even out the total transaction by subtracting the exact amount of the refund (only affects reporting). This may lead to a negative balance due on the the check, please review this article on how to Resolve a Negative Balance Due in Toast.
3. Void Items or Amount
   1. Void the exact amount that was refunded in Tableside Order & Pay (with tip, where applicable). Service charges are not refunded
   2. It is recommended that you create a Toast Void Type called ‘Tableside Order & Pay Refunds’ for reporting purposes
4. Close the Check
   1. The total sales on the check will be Original Payment minus the Tableside Order & Pay refund amount.
   2. Full Refund
   1.  If the entire transaction was refunded, the final sales on that check will be $0.00. Service charges are completely refunded.
5. Reporting
   1. We will now have the correct sales based on that transaction, plus 'Tableside Order & Pay Refunds' in Toast Void reporting to track these occurrences.

Please note that if you do not follow the Toast Refund Process Steps, your Toast sales reports will overstate Toast total sales compared to Tableside Order & Pay total sales. Below are the incorrect  methods of refunding and how they will behave.

• Item/check is REFUNDED (not voided) in Toast: The refund will not be processed but it will show up in Toast reporting. You would not see this within Bbot.
• Item/check is refunded in Bbot via the Terminal or Owner Panel: The refund will be processed and will show in Bbot reporting, but it will not show in Toast reporting.

**The refund transaction timeline from processing to deposit in a guest's bank account follows the standard Bank Transfer Process. Refunds can take longer than normal depending on the bank or other factors.