When a client disputes a card payment (chargeback)
What Todah does when a client asks their bank to reverse a card payment: the Disputed status, how you are told, what your client sees, where you respond, and what happens when the dispute is won or lost.
A chargeback (Stripe calls it a dispute) is when your client asks their card company to take back a payment instead of asking you for a refund, for example because they do not recognise the charge or are unhappy with the work. The card company takes the money from your Stripe balance straight away while it looks into it. A dispute is not a refund: you did not send the money back, so Todah shows it as a dispute, never as Refunded.
How you are told
- The bell at the top of the app shows "A card payment on (invoice number) was disputed", saying how much and that Stripe has held the money. Choosing it opens the invoice's payments.
- The invoice shows a red Disputed status on your Invoices list.
- In the invoice's payment History, the card payment shows a Disputed label, and a red, negative line records the money Stripe has held, with the note "Disputed by the cardholder — funds held by Stripe".
What changes while the dispute is open
- The held amount shows as owing on the invoice, because that money has left your Stripe balance.
- Card payment is paused on the invoice. Your client's pay page says "A card payment on this invoice is being reviewed by the card issuer. Card payment is paused until that is settled." with no Pay now button. The invoice email and your client portal have no Pay button for it.
- Share Payment Link and Turn Off Card Payment (or Turn On Card Payment) are not offered for the invoice, and stay off while it shows Dispute Lost.
- Automatic reminders are not sent for it. A dispute is better handled person to person.
- The disputed payment is not offered in Refund a Card Payment. Stripe decides where that money goes.
- Todah does not email your client about the dispute.
Respond to the dispute
- In the menu on the left, choose Settings, then the Payments tab.
- Choose Open Stripe Dashboard.
- Find the dispute in Stripe and follow its steps to accept it or send evidence (the invoice, emails, photos of the work). Stripe sets the deadline, so do this promptly.
How it ends
Stripe tells Todah the outcome and Todah updates the invoice by itself.
| You win | Stripe returns the money. Todah adds it back to the invoice as a new line, "Dispute won — funds returned", and the card payment shows Dispute Won. The invoice goes back to Paid (or to whatever its balance says), card payment is offered again, and the bell shows "Dispute won on (invoice number)". The held line stays in the History so you can see what happened. |
|---|---|
| You lose | The money stays with your client. The invoice shows Dispute Lost while a balance remains, and your client's pay page says "Please contact (your business) about the balance on this invoice." with no Pay now button. Card payment and automatic reminders stay paused on it. |
After a lost dispute
Decide with your client what happens to the balance. If they pay you another way, record it with Record Payment. If you are writing it off, issue a credit note for the balance. Once the balance is settled, the invoice shows Paid.
Be careful: The held line and the dispute lines cannot be removed from the payment History, because they record money that has really moved in your Stripe account.
Tip: Most disputes start because a client does not recognise the charge. The charge appears on their card statement as "Invoice (number) — (your business name)", so a recognisable Display Name in Settings → Business helps.
See also
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