Key points
- With payment taken at booking, reconciliation is a short daily match of booking to payment, then payment to payout.
- The clinic is the merchant of record, so refunds and card disputes run under the clinic's name and on its own rules.6
- Stripe says a card refund reaches the patient approximately 5 to 10 business days after it is issued.2 In the UK, a cancelled distance contract is refunded within 14 days.4
- For a paid future appointment, the dispute window starts on the appointment date, and a business usually has 7 to 21 days to respond.1
- Answer disputes with the confirmation, the accepted cancellation terms and the attendance record, and never with clinical details.
Summary
Match each booking to its payment every day, then match payments to payouts in the bank. Refund to the same card within the legal deadline, record deposits and balances against the booking, and answer card disputes with booking evidence. The clinic is the merchant of record, so it controls each step.
The day's bookings and payments match before lunch, and every refund and dispute is already answered. With payment taken at booking, each appointment arrives tied to a patient and a payment, and the routine below keeps it that way.
See it in your clinicThirty minutes on your own patients and doctors.
Request a demoSee a booking start, pay and land in the clinic's calendar and Stripe account, with each booking event posted to the clinic's own system.
| Event | What to record | When | Who |
|---|---|---|---|
| Booking paid | Booking, patient, gross, fee and net | Daily match | Front desk |
| Booking abandoned | Patient and service, no revenue | Call back the same day | Front desk |
| Deposit taken | Full price, amount paid, balance due | At booking, settled at the visit | Front desk |
| Payout received | Payout total against the payments it covers | On arrival in the bank | Finance |
| Refund issued | Original payment, amount, reason, date told | Within 14 days in the UK, to the same card | Clinic lead |
| Dispute opened | Confirmation, accepted terms, receipt, attendance | Within the response window, usually 7 to 21 days | Clinic lead |
The clinic is the merchant of record
With wai Checkout, payments run on Stripe in the clinic's own account and the clinic stays the merchant of record.6 The patient sees the clinic's name on the statement, the money lands with the clinic, and the clinic sets its own refund rules within the law.
The daily match
Every booking has a payment or a recorded reason it has none. Every payment in the Stripe account belongs to one booking. Every payout to the bank equals the payments it covers, less processing fees.
wai Checkout posts a webhook when a booking is started, when it is abandoned and when it is paid, so the clinic's own system sees each state as it happens.6 Paid events are revenue to match. Abandoned bookings arrive at the foot of the booking email as patients to call back the same day.6
Record the gross amount, the processing fee and the net amount for each payment. Payouts often cover many payments, so match payments to bookings first and payouts to the bank statement second. The fee per visit is in card fees and payment methods.
Deposits and partial payments
Record against each booking the full price, the amount paid and the amount due, and settle the balance at the visit or by a payment link afterwards.
For courses and treatment plans, record each payment against the plan as well as the visit, so a plan stopped part way shows what was delivered and what is owed back. When to take a deposit at all is in payment links and deposits. wai Admin takes deposits at booking, sends invoices and reconciles each charge in the clinic's accounts.7
Refunds on time
Stripe says the patient sees a card refund as a credit approximately 5 to 10 business days later, depending on the bank, and a refund issued soon after the charge may appear as a reversal instead.2 Tell the patient both when you confirm it.
In the UK, when a consumer cancels a distance contract within the cancellation rules, the Consumer Contracts Regulations require reimbursement without undue delay and within 14 days of being told, by the same means of payment and with no fee.4 Refund to the original card every time.
Put the refund rule in the confirmation, set a notice period, and offer a move before a refund, since a refunded payment still carries its processing fee.
Answering a card dispute
Stripe's guidance says card networks typically allow disputes within 120 days, and for a future service such as an appointment the window starts on the appointment date.1 The business usually has 7 to 21 days to respond, the issuer then takes 60 to 75 days to decide, and the cycle can take two to three months.1
The disputed amount and a fee are debited while the case is open, and no refund can be issued outside the dispute in that time.1 For a UK account, Stripe's published fee is £20 per dispute received, plus £20 to counter one manually, returned if the clinic wins.3
Send the confirmation, the accepted cancellation terms, the receipt and whether the patient attended. wai stores the service booked and never the reason for the visit, so the payment record holds no clinical detail.6 US cardholders have 60 days after a charge appears on their statement to send a written billing error notice, so keep records well beyond that.5
Where to start
Set a ten-minute slot each morning for the match and name its owner. Add the refund rule and cancellation terms to the booking confirmation, and write the two sentences the desk uses to confirm a refund.
Build a dispute template listing the confirmation, accepted terms, receipt and attendance. Before launch, run the whole cycle with a test booking, as set out in the online booking go-live checklist.
Bring a week of bookings and your Stripe export, and see each booking, payment and payout line up.
Frequently asked questions
Who handles refunds and disputes?
The clinic, because the clinic is the merchant of record and payments run through its own Stripe account.6
How long does a card refund take to reach the patient?
Stripe says approximately 5 to 10 business days, depending on the bank.2 A refund made soon after the charge may show as a reversal instead.
How fast must a UK clinic refund a cancelled online booking?
Where the cancellation rules for distance contracts apply, without undue delay and within 14 days of being told, to the same means of payment and with no fee.4
Can we refund a patient who has opened a dispute?
The refund waits until the dispute closes.1 Respond with evidence, or accept the dispute if the patient is right.
What evidence should we send in a dispute?
The booking confirmation, the accepted cancellation terms, the receipt and the attendance record. Clinical notes stay out of it.
How does our own system learn about each booking?
wai Checkout posts a webhook when a booking is started, when it is abandoned and when it is paid.6
Sources
- 1Stripe Documentation, 2026How disputes workRead 14 October 2026Read source
- 2Stripe Documentation, 2026Refund and cancel paymentsRead 14 October 2026Read source
- 3Stripe, 2026Stripe pricing, United Kingdom, disputesRead 14 October 2026Read source
- 4legislation.gov.uk, 2013The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, regulation 34Read 14 October 2026Read source
- 5Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 2024How do I dispute a charge on my credit card billRead 14 October 2026Read source
- 6wai, 2026wai Checkout, booking and payment for clinicsRead 14 October 2026Read source
- 7wai, 2026wai Admin, the front desk and back officeRead 14 October 2026Read source
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