# Cancel or refund a retainer

> Cancel a retainer your client has not paid yet, or refund some or all of a paid retainer to their original payment method.

Source: https://docs.moodiri.com/financials/cancel-or-refund-a-retainer

## Why use it

Plans change: a client pulls out, the scope shrinks, or a deposit was charged twice.
Cancelling or refunding through Moodiri keeps the retainer, the project and your
client's portal in step with what actually happened to the money.

## When to use it

- **Cancel** when you sent a payment link by mistake or the client will not go ahead before paying.
- **Refund** when a paid retainer is no longer needed in full, such as a cancelled project or reduced scope.

To refund client credit from an overpayment instead, see
[Refund money to a client](https://docs.moodiri.com/invoices/refund-money-to-a-client).

## Before you start

- You need to be the owner or an admin. Other teammates see **Refund** greyed out.
- **Cancel retainer** shows only while the retainer is awaiting payment.
- **Refund** shows only on an active retainer with money left to refund.

## Steps

![Active retainer for Lombard Street Loft with $10,000.00 remaining and nothing applied or refunded yet, with the Refund button above the ledger.](https://docs.moodiri.com/shots/financials--cancel-or-refund-a-retainer-1600.webp)
Same screen with numbered callouts: https://docs.moodiri.com/shots/financials--cancel-or-refund-a-retainer-annotated.webp
1. Open **Retainers** and choose the retainer, for example the Lombard Street Loft retainer.
2. If it is **Awaiting payment**, choose **Cancel retainer** and confirm. The payment link stops working.
3. If it is **Active**, choose **Refund** to return some or all of the money.
4. Enter the **Amount**, up to the maximum shown, here $2,500 of $10,000.00 available.
5. Pick a **Reason**, here **Scope reduced**. **Other** asks for a short explanation.
6. Choose **Refund** with the amount. It changes to **Confirm refund**; choose it again to send the money.

## What happens next

- **Cancel:** the retainer shows **Cancelled** and its payment link no longer works. Stripe may take a few minutes to finish the cancellation; the page says so while it does.
- **Refund:** the refund is listed on the retainer with its status, starting at **Processing**, and the **Refunded** and **Remaining** amounts update.

## Limits

- Cancel is offered only while the retainer is awaiting payment.
- You cannot refund more than the amount available on the retainer.
- Refunds cannot be undone.

## Troubleshooting

- **Your Stripe Connect account doesn't have enough balance for this refund.** Top up from the Stripe Dashboard or wait for incoming charges to settle, then retry.

## Questions

### Can I refund a retainer my client has not paid?

There is nothing to refund yet. Cancel it instead, so the payment link stops working.

### Where does the refund go?

Back to your client's original payment method, through Stripe.

### The refund failed for lack of balance. What now?

Your Stripe account needs enough balance to cover it. Top up from the Stripe Dashboard or wait for incoming payments to settle, then try again.