Pay a claim

A claim is paid only against a signed settlement. When the customer accepts and signs, the claim moves to Accepted and shows on the Claims page's To pay tab.

A claim payout is never a balance due. Money you pay the customer to settle a damage claim is compensation, not a refund of the move. It never lowers what the customer paid, so the order, the closing, the customer's portal, the bill of lading, invoices, Send to pay and payment reminders never ask for it back. It still shows everywhere as what it is: Claim payout in the order's Payments, the claim's own payout lines, and Claim payouts on the closing.

Before you start

• You need Can manage claims.
• Anything that touches the order's money (a card refund now, a claim payout written in Payments, or picking a refund already made in Payments) also needs Can process a refund.

Change the amount after the customer accepted

The customer accepted and signed, but you settle on a different amount before paying (for example $60.00 instead of $180.00):

1. Open the claim from To pay.
2. In Offer, press Send a revised offer.
3. Set the new amount for each item, or switch to the total, and add a note to the customer if you like.
4. Press Send revised offer $… to the customer.

The claim goes back to Offer sent. The customer gets the new offer by email and text and signs again for the new amount; the new signed release is saved in the order's documents. The release they signed first stays in the order's documents too, and the claim's Activity says what happened. A claim already marked Paid can't get a revised offer.

Mark the claim paid

1. Open the claim from To pay.
2. Under Mark paid, type the Amount paid (it starts at the offer the customer signed).
3. Choose how it was paid: Check, Bank transfer (ACH), Refund to card, Zelle, Cash or Other.
4. Pick the Date paid. With Check, type the check number in Check #; for the other ways the box is Reference (a transfer or Zelle number, if you have one).
5. For Refund to card, choose under Refund: Refund now to a card payment (when your settings send card refunds through the refunds flow), or Already in Payments: the refund you already made in the order's Payments (it shows its amount, date and note, for example "claim settlement"). Picking a refund already made moves no money: it names that refund for the claim.
6. For any other way you can also pick Already in Payments: a cash or check refund you recorded there for the claim. Otherwise tick Also record it in the order's Payments (as a claim payout) to keep it in the order's Payments too. The box starts from Paying a claim in Settings; unticked, it is kept on the claim only.
7. Press Mark paid (or Refund $… to the card and mark paid).

Paid several ways (split)

Example: a $200.00 settlement — $100.00 refunded to the card and $100.00 by Zelle.

1. Type 200.00 in Amount paid.
2. On the first line pick Refund to card and the card (or Already in Payments: the $100.00 card refund).
3. Press + Split: part of it paid another way. A second line opens with Zelle: type 100.00, the date and the Zelle reference.
4. Tick Also record it in the order's Payments (as a claim payout) if you want the Zelle part listed in Payments.
5. The line under the parts says what they add up to; they must add up to the Amount paid. Press Mark paid.

Up to 10 parts. Refund one card now per Mark paid; pick other card refunds as already in Payments.

Record a Zelle, cash or check payout on a claim already paid

When the claim is already Paid (for example it was marked paid by card for the full $200.00 but only $100.00 went to the card), open the claim: under the green paid line it lists each part, and $100.00 not recorded yet when part of the paid amount has no line.

1. Press + Add payout.
2. Pick Zelle (or Cash, Check, Other), type the amount, the date and the reference.
3. Tick Also record it in the order's Payments (as a claim payout) if you want it in Payments.
4. Press Add payout.

The claim's Activity and the order log say who added it. A part not yet recorded is filled first; more than that raises the claim's paid amount.

Refunded from Payments first?

In the order's Payments, tick the payment, press Refund, and tick This refund pays damage claim CL-… (offered once the customer has accepted the settlement). The refund is the claim's payout: it shows as Claim payout and never makes a balance due. Then mark the claim paid and pick it under Already in Payments.

Do not use Create Payment with a minus amount, or a plain refund, for a claim: a plain refund is a refund of the move and leaves a balance due.

What you see after

• The claim: Paid $200.00 in 2 parts, then each part, for example $100.00 refunded to the card ending 1234 on Oct 28, 2026 (claim payout in Payments) and $100.00 by Zelle, ref. 77 on Oct 28, 2026.
• The order's Payments: the card refund reads Claim payout: Credit Card Refund; a written part reads Claim payout: Zelle (or Cash, Check). They are not in the Total; a line under it says Claim payouts (not in the Total).
• The closing: Payments Made stays what the customer paid, Total Due $0.00 when the move is paid, and Claim payouts beside it. See A paid claim on the closing.
• The customer's portal and bill of lading: no balance and no PAY button for it.

What "paid" does to the order's money

That depends on Paying a claim in Settings › Documents & bill of lading › Claims:

Nothing is ever matched to a claim by guessing: a refund is a claim payout only when you pick it, tick This refund pays damage claim, or pay from the claim.

If something goes wrong

• "Enter the amount paid." / "Pick how it was paid." / "Pick the date it was paid."
• "The ways to pay add up to $100.00, not the $200.00 being paid." — fix a part's amount.
• "Paying this claim writes or names a claim payout in the order's Payments — that needs “Can process a refund”."
• "That refund already pays another claim." — pick another refund.
• "More than that card payment has left to refund." — lower the amount or pick another card payment.
• "The claim changed — look again." — someone else changed it; it reloads with the latest.