How Long Does a Refund Take to Appear?

Modified on Fri, Apr 24 at 4:13 PM

When a customer asks where their refund is, the answer depends on two things: whether the original transaction was voided or refunded, and the policies of the customer's bank. This article explains the difference, what timelines to expect, and how to confirm in DealerWorks that the refund was submitted.

Void vs. Refund — Why the Timeline Differs

When a transaction is reversed in DealerWorks, what happens depends on whether the transaction has already settled with the payment processor.

Result	When It Happens	What the Customer Sees
Voided	The transaction had not yet settled when it was reversed. No funds were ever moved — only an authorization hold was placed on the card.	The authorization hold is released. Depending on the customer's bank, this typically clears within 1–5 business days. The customer may not see a credit — the pending charge simply disappears.
Refunded	The transaction had already settled when it was reversed. Funds were collected and must now be returned to the customer's account.	A credit appears on the customer's statement. This typically takes 5–10 business days from the date the refund was initiated, depending entirely on the customer's bank.

Timelines by Payment Type

Payment Type	Refund Timeline
Credit Card (unsettled)	Void. Authorization hold typically releases within 1–5 business days. No credit will appear — the pending charge is simply removed.
Credit Card (settled)	Refund. Credit typically appears within 5–10 business days from the date of the refund. Timeline is set by the customer's bank and cannot be shortened by DealerWorks.
Debit Card	Same as credit card — void if unsettled, refund if settled. Debit refunds may post more quickly than credit refunds, but the timeline still depends on the customer's bank.
ACH Direct Debit	ACH transactions take longer to settle than card payments and refunds follow the same extended timeline. Contact DealerWorks support if a customer is inquiring about an ACH refund — these are handled on a case-by-case basis.
Cash / Check / Money Order	Refunds for cash, check, or money order payments are issued directly by your dealership. Once completed, the refund should be recorded in DealerWorks so reporting and statements remain accurate.

DealerWorks cannot speed up refunds

Once a refund is submitted, the timeline is entirely controlled by the customer's bank — not DealerWorks or the payment processor. There is no way to expedite or trace the funds beyond confirming that the refund was initiated. Direct the customer to call the number on the back of their card if they need further follow-up after the expected window has passed.

How to Confirm a Refund Was Submitted

Before telling a customer their refund is on the way, confirm it was actually processed in DealerWorks:

1 Go to General → Process Transactions and locate the original transaction. Use the Transactions tab and filter or search by date, customer, or RO number.
2 Click the three-dot menu (⋯) on the transaction row and select View Transaction.
3 In the Payment Details panel, locate the Payment Event section. This shows the full history of events on the transaction.
4 Look for a row with the status Refunded or Voided. If either is present, the reversal was successfully submitted. The date shown on that row is when it was processed.

What if there is no Refunded or Voided row?

If the Payment Event section shows only the original Approved row and no reversal row, the refund has not been processed. Confirm with whoever initiated the reversal, or contact DealerWorks support to investigate further.

What to Tell the Customer

Once you have confirmed the refund was submitted, here is what to communicate:

The refund was processed on [date shown in Payment Event] and has been submitted to the payment network.
For card refunds, allow 5–10 business days from that date for the credit to appear on their statement. For voided holds, allow 1–5 business days for the pending charge to drop.
DealerWorks and the dealership have no further ability to track or accelerate the funds once submitted — this is controlled entirely by their bank.
If the window has passed and nothing has appeared, the customer should contact their bank directly using the number on the back of their card.

Tip: Refunds vs. holds look different on a statement

Customers sometimes expect to see a credit line that exactly mirrors the original charge. Depending on their bank, a voided authorization may simply disappear from their pending transactions rather than showing as a credit. Let them know this in advance so they know what to look for.