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Failed or disputed payments

Posted
Updated
ByThe Wax Stak Team

By the end of this article you will know what to do when a card is declined and what to do when a customer’s bank disputes a charge you already received.

A payment that failed

A declined card shows up wherever it was attempted. On Billing › Payments › Transactions the row’s Status reads Failed; on the invoice it is under Payment Records the same way. A failed row is history, not money — it never counts towards the invoice’s Balance Due, so the invoice stays Sent and the balance stays owed.

Collect again:

  • In the field, the technician sees the decline on the phone and the same screen offers to email the customer a payment link. If the card kept on file was reported unusable by its bank, the app switches it off so it is not tried again.
  • From the office, send a payment link with Create payment link on the invoice, or take a cash or check payment.
  • A subscription charge that failed is retried over the following days on its own; if it keeps failing, the customer is emailed a link to pay that period and you are notified.

Other statuses you may see: Pending is a payment still in flight; Authorized is a card that was approved but not yet captured; Voided is an authorization that was released without a charge. None of these need action from you.

A payment that was disputed

A dispute — a chargeback — is the customer asking their bank to reverse a card payment. The bank takes the money back while it decides, and you get to respond.

  1. Open Billing › Payments › Disputes. A badge on the tab counts the disputes that still need your answer, and the page keeps that count fresh while you are on it.
  2. Each row shows the Date, Amount, Reason — Fraud, Quality, Inquiry, Clerical or Technical — the Status (Inquiry, Pending, Won or Lost), the Response state, and Respond By. A Respond By date inside three days is shown in red with a warning mark.
  3. Click a row to open it. You see the Case ID, the Currency and when it was Created, and the Evidence you have uploaded so far.
  4. While the Response reads Needs Response, you have two buttons:
    • Upload Evidence — a JPEG, PNG or PDF under 1 MB: the signed invoice, before-and-after photos, the customer’s booking confirmation, a message thread. Upload one file at a time; each shows as Processing, then Accepted or Failed. Upload as much as makes your case before the deadline.
    • Accept Dispute — you agree the customer should have the money. After a confirmation this is final: the amount goes back to the cardholder and the case closes.
  5. After the deadline the Response reads Responded or Accepted, and the Status moves to Won or Lost when the bank decides. Nothing more is asked of you.

Good to know

  • The money. A disputed amount is taken out of a later payout, and winning returns it the same way — see the Settlements tab for the entry.
  • The invoice stays Paid. A dispute does not reopen the invoice, any more than a refund does; if you lose and want to bill again, that is a new invoice.
  • Preventing them. Most disputes are a customer who did not recognise the charge. A sent invoice with clear line items settles most of those before they start, and a refund offered promptly is cheaper than a dispute lost.
  • Who. Uploading evidence and accepting need billing edit access — Admin and Accounting. Anyone with billing access can read the tab.

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