The "Penny Method" is a workaround in Tekmetric that allows a shop to issue a refund to a customer when an integrated payment has already been batched. This method is used when the original transaction cannot be voided.
Steps to Perform a Refund Using the Penny Method
- Navigate to the Payments Tab: Open the repair order (RO) and go to the Payments tab. You'll notice that the original payment is integrated and the option to void or refund is no longer available because the batch time has passed.
- Add a "Penny" Cash Payment: In the Payments tab, make a new payment on the customer's behalf.
- Select Cash as the payment method.
- Enter an amount, for example, $0.01.
- Post this small cash payment to the repair order.
- Initiate the Refund:
- Next to the new cash transaction, click the three-dot menu.
- Select Refund from the options.
- In the pop-up, enter the exact amount that the customer needs to be refunded.
- Complete the Repair Order:
- After issuing the refund, the repair order will likely have a balance due.
- To zero out the RO, you can add a discount. Add a discount for the remaining balance.
- Alternatively, you can manually zero out the labor and part amounts on the RO to clear the balance.
- Post the Final Repair Order: Once the balance is zeroed out, post the repair order. The customer has now been successfully refunded, and the RO is finalized with a zero balance.