If you notice a charge you don’t recognize or your payout is smaller than expected, it’s usually tied to a failed parent payment or a refund that was processed after funds were already paid out. This article explains what that means and where to look in your account.
Why You Might See a Charge or Reduced Payout
If you’ve noticed a charge you don’t recognize or a payout that’s lower than expected, you may be seeing what’s called a negative payout.
In most cases, this happens for one of two reasons:
A guardian’s payment didn’t successfully go through.
A refund was issued after your payout had already been sent to your bank.
By default, payouts are initiated every business day at 7 PM Eastern. Some payment types, especially ACH bank payments can take a few hours or even a few days to fully process. In order for you to receive your funds as quickly as possible, Playground fronts the funds of the processing payments.
Most of the time, everything clears without issue. However, if a guardian's payment later fails, the original funds were never fully received. When that happens, the system has to correct the difference.
The same thing can happen with refunds.
After your payout is sent to your bank, your payout balance inside the system drops to $0 because those funds are already on their way to you.
If you issue a refund after that point, there isn’t any available balance left in your payout account to cover it. Even though the refund still needs to go back to the family, the funds aren’t sitting there anymore. When this happens, the system covers the refund first and then balances it out afterward.
In both situations, the original funds were not fully available, so the difference has to be reconciled.
You’ll see that happen in one of two ways:
If new guardian payments are coming in, the amount will be pulled from those upcoming payouts.
If there aren’t enough incoming payments to cover it, the amount will be charged to the account on file.
What This Looks Like
If you’re trying to figure out why you were charged or why a payout was lower than expected, the first place to look is your Payouts tab. That’s where you’ll be able to see exactly what happened.
Once you’re in the Payouts tab, here’s what to look for:
If the amount was pulled directly from your bank account, you’ll see the payout status marked as Withdrawn with a negative dollar amount. That negative amount is the adjustment.
Click into that payout and scroll to the summary section. There, you’ll see the details tied to the adjustment, including whether it was a failed payment or a refund, the amount involved, and the student connected to it.
If the amount was recovered from incoming parent payments instead, it can be a little less obvious at first. In that case, the payout status will still show as Paid, and the status won’t look unusual. The only difference is that the total may be lower than you expected.
If you open that payout and review the summary, you’ll see the failed payment or refund listed there, along with the amount and the student it relates to. That’s where you can clearly see why the payout was reduced.
In both situations, the details are always inside the payout itself. If something doesn’t look right, opening the payout and reviewing the summary section will show you what changed and why.
How to Find the Details Behind an Adjustment
If you want to see exactly what caused a charge or reduced payout, there are two reliable places to check. Both are available in your account, and together they give you a complete picture.
Start with the Payout Itself
Go to the Payouts tab and open the payout that shows the negative amount or the lower-than-expected total.
Inside the payout summary, you’ll see the adjustment listed. This will show:
Whether it was a failed payment or a refund
The exact amount
The student and family connected to it
This view connects the change in your payout directly to the original transaction.
Use the Payment Reversals Report for a Full Breakdown
If you want more detail or a broader view, head to the Reports tab, select Billing, and open the Payment Reversals report.
This report shows failed payments, returned ACH transactions, and refunds within any date range you choose. It includes:
The customer
The date
The type of reversal
The reason
The exact amount
If you’re unsure which family triggered the adjustment, or you want to see everything in one place, this report makes it much easier to trace the full story. Using both the payout details and the Payment Reversals report will give you the clearest understanding of what happened and why.
How to Reduce the Chances of a Negative Payout
Negative payouts aren’t common, but they can happen in certain situations. While there isn’t a way to eliminate them entirely, there are a few choices you can make if you’d like to lower the chances of seeing one.
One option is adjusting your accepted payment methods. Most negative payouts are connected to ACH payments because ACH transactions take time to fully clear through the bank. During that window, a payment may look successful before it’s fully confirmed.
Card payments work differently. If there’s an issue, the payment typically declines right away. Because of that, some providers prefer to accept card payments only. If that feels like a better fit for your program, you can update your payment settings at any time.
Another way to reduce the likelihood of an adjustment is to quickly check your payout balance before issuing a refund.
Once a payout has been sent to your bank, the available balance in your payout account may be lower than you expect. Taking a moment to confirm funds are available before sending a refund can help avoid a timing mismatch.