Written by Jason Feemster, POS specialist with 15+ years of experience helping restaurants and retailers troubleshoot POS systems, payments, and hardware issues.
Common Issue: Clover refund button missing, refund failing, or a payment you can only void.
Fast Fixes: Check the 25 minute void window, give the employee the refund permission, turn on two-factor authentication, and refund from the device or dashboard.
Need official help? See our Clover Customer Service Guide.
Want guided troubleshooting? Try the POSUSA POS Support Assistant (Free).
If a Clover refund won’t go through, check the employee’s permission first, then whether a void is the better move.
Here’s the thing: Clover handles a void and a refund very differently, so the clock matters.
Void or Refund? Check the Clock First
A refund inside 25 minutes of the sale is handled as a void. Void a card payment within 25 minutes and you won’t pay processing fees on it. After 25 minutes, or once the daily batch closes, the payment has settled and you issue a refund.
- Right after a sale, tap Void on the receipt screen
- Or open the Transactions app, tap the transaction and tap Void
- No Void button? The 25 minutes are up or the batch has closed, so refund
Employees need the Void payments permission. After a void, the pending charge can still show on the customer’s bank for 1 to 3 business days.
How to Fix Clover Refund Problems
1. Check the employee’s refund permission
No Refund button? Check that the employee has Access transactions → Refund payments.
- Log in to your Clover dashboard
- Go to Settings → View all settings
- Under Employees, select Employee permissions
- Under Access Register, select View App Permissions
- Select the edit icon next to Refund Payments
- Pick the role and select its checkbox
2. Turn on two-factor authentication
Clover says refunds need two-factor authentication turned on. The setup steps are in Clover’s help center once you’re logged in.
3. Refund on the device
- Open the Transactions app
- Tap the transaction you want to refund
- Enter the amount, up to the maximum shown
- Choose whether to refund the tip
- Tap Refund $XX.XX, then Confirm Refund
Find it later under Transactions → Refunds. You can search by transaction number or ID.
4. Refund from the dashboard
- Log in to your Clover dashboard
- Go to Sales activity → Transactions
- Select Payments
- Find the payment and select Details
- Select Issue Refund
- Enter the amount and select Refund $XX.XX, then Confirm Refund
5. Cancel a refund that hasn’t processed
On the dashboard, find the refund under Sales activity → Transactions, select Details and tap Issue Void if it’s there.
6. Check the connection and Clover’s status page
Refund still erroring? Check your connection and update the software, as in Clover app not loading. Clover’s status page at status.clover.com lists Refunds and Multi-Factor Authentication, so look there too.
When to Call Clover
- The refund fails with the right permission and two-factor authentication on
- You can’t find the Void or Refund options at all
- The payment is older than 120 days
- The transaction doesn’t show up at all
Clover Customer Service: Phone, Chat & Help Center
Clover Refund Questions
Can I refund a payment from yesterday?
What’s the difference between void and cancel?
Do refunds cost anything?
Based on Clover’s published help articles.
Try the POSUSA POS Support Assistant
Want it walked through? Use the free assistant:
- POSUSA POS Support Assistant
- Select Clover
- Type: “Clover refunds not working”
Thinking About Switching POS Systems?
If you’re dealing with repeated POS issues, it might be time to compare more reliable options built for restaurants and retail businesses.
Takes 30 seconds • No sales pressure
