#refund-management
Track and process refunds efficiently in your books
Unearned subscription cash is a refund liability, not yours: schedule every contract, refund or honor the balance, and zero it before filing final IRS returns.
US sellers must show all-in prices under the FTC's 2025 Fees Rule — StubHub paid $10M for three days of drip fees, so audit displays and split fee revenue.
ROSCA requires clear disclosure, express consent and simple cancellation for online subscriptions — the FTC's June 2026 TRO shows the cost of ignoring them.
Under U.S. GAAP, ASC 606 books expected returns as variable consideration: revenue only for what you keep, plus a refund liability and recovery asset.
A credit memo shrinks what a customer owes and a debit memo grows it — both adjust accounts receivable without rewriting the invoice.
Upgrades and downgrades reallocate future revenue, never the past — reconcile billing to books monthly with a deferred-revenue rollforward.
The IRS issues most e-filed refunds within 21 days — track yours with Where's My Refund using your SSN, filing status, and exact refund amount.
Amazon now reimburses lost FBA inventory at manufacturing cost, not retail price — file within 60 days with supplier invoices to recover what you are owed.
Record BFCM promo codes as contra revenue, reconcile processor payouts weekly, and accrue December's ~17% holiday returns before year-end close.
About 17% of holiday e-commerce sales come back, at $20–$30 per return to process — reserve cash in November, accrue the liability in December.
Event cancellation insurance repays sunk deposits and lost revenue when disaster strikes — but disease, weak sales, and late buys are excluded.
NYC's click-to-cancel rule is live: online cancellation is mandatory, renewals need 15-to-45-day notice, and fines run $525 to $3,500 per violation.
