Customer Refunds

If a manager needs to request a refund for their tenant, they first need to review the StorAlly Ops Manual to determine if the refund is warranted. This page will also instruct the manager of how to proceed with requesting the refund. You will only need to handle card refunds - the page linked above instructs the managers on how to handle cash or check refunds, as that is submitted to our AP Inland Group and processed thru Yardi like a vendor invoice.

Handling "Amount to be Refunded" After Move Out

When a customer vacates their space while having a prepaid balance, SSM will display an "Amount to be Refunded" on the ledger. You are responsible for reviewing the account and confirming that the amount is correct, and also that the refund is truly warranted in accordance with our Rental Agreement.

Confirm the Following Conditions Are Met

• The "Amount to be Refunded" must be the accurate amount owed back to the customer.

• The customer's credit card must be saved to the account as an AutoPay card on file. (It doesn't need to be an 'Enabled' AutoPay, it just needs to still be saved as the card on file.)

• The notes on the account must clearly detail the reason for the refund and why it is warranted.

If Conditions Are Not Met

• We cannot use the "Refund" option in SSM. 

• You will need to utilize another method for applying the refund. (Full or Partial Card Refunds, as outlined below.)

If Conditions Are Met

1. Navigate to the customer's account in SSM.

2. Click the "Rental" tab at the top. Ensure you are viewing the appropriate space if the customer rents multiple units.

3. Click the "Refund" icon on the right side of the screen.

4. Confirm the refund amount once more in the prompt box that appears.

5. Click "Add to Cart". 

6. Select the cart icon at the top right.

7. Click "Process Refund" at the bottom. 

8. Use "Card on File" as the payment method. 

9. Click "Refund Now" and follow the prompts to complete the refund.

Full Refund to Single Card Payment

If you are refunding the full amount of a payment made by credit/debit card, you can handle this within the StorAlly system.

1. Navigate to the tenant's account.

2. Click the "Rental" tab at the top of the tenant's account page. (If the tenant has multiple units, make sure you select the appropriate unit on the left side of the Rental tab.)

3. Select the "Ledger" icon on the right side to open up the tenant's ledger history.

4. Locate the line item for the payment in question and click on the description of the payment in the "Activity" column (see screenshot below).

5. A new window will pop up, where you will need to select "Wrong Payment" and then enter a note as to why we are refunding the payment.

6. Click "Reversal" at the bottom to finalize the refund. StorAlly is linked to OpenEdge (our card processor) so it will automatically refund the card when the payment is reversed.

Partial Refund to Card Payment

If we are only refunding part of a payment that was made, it is handled differently than a full refund in order to make the amounts in SSM and OpenEdge match for reconciliation purposes. For example, if a tenant pays for 3 months in advance in a single card transaction but then moves out during the 2nd month, they would need a refund of the 3rd month. 

In the event that you need to issue a partial refund to a card payment, there are steps which need to be done in OpenEdge AND in SSM (StorAlly). 

1. First you need to locate the transaction in OpenEdge.

2. Once you have located the transaction in OpenEdge, you may issue the partial refund in OpenEdge.

3. After completing the partial refund in OpenEdge, you need to make SSM "match" the transactions in OpenEdge using OFFLINE transactions:

   • Do an Offline Reversal on the original payment which was partially refunded. (It must be handled as an Offline Reversal rather than a regular reversal so that the system doesn't issue a full refund to the card used in the original transaction.)

   • Enter an Offline Payment for the amount which was NOT refunded. Example: If the original transaction was $200 and you issued a partial refund in the amount of $75, you would need to apply an Offline Payment of $125 so that the amount "collected" in SSM matches the amount of the final charge to the card in OpenEdge.