What happens on refunds, disputes and failed payments
Know exactly what Knola does by itself when a sale goes backwards, and the three cases where you have to remove access yourself.
By Knola6 min readSales occasionally go backwards: someone asks for their money back, a card is disputed, a monthly payment fails. Some of that Knola handles on its own, and some of it needs you. This page draws the line, so you are never guessing whether a refunded student still has your course.
A full refund: handled for you
Refund a student in full and Knola picks it up within moments. Their access to that course is removed automatically, the sale comes out of your gross revenue, and the amount lands in the Refunded total on your Revenue screen with Net underneath it.
On the student's detail page under Students, the course now carries an Access removed badge with a Restore access button beside it, exactly as if you had removed it by hand. Their progress and watch time are untouched, so restoring later puts them back where they were.
A partial refund: money only
A partial refund is treated as a goodwill gesture rather than a cancelled sale. The amount is recorded against the purchase and shows in your Refunded and Net figures, but the student keeps their access.
That is usually what you want. If it is not, and you meant the sale to end, remove the access yourself on the student's detail page. See removing and restoring access.
A dispute: your move
A dispute, sometimes called a chargeback, is the buyer's bank reversing a payment. That fight happens in Stripe: you upload your evidence there and Stripe tells you the outcome.
Most creators wait for the outcome before acting, since access removed during a dispute you go on to win is one more thing to undo. Whichever you choose, the student detail page is where you do it.
A failed payment on a plan or subscription
When a recurring payment fails, nothing is cut off. Stripe retries the card on its own schedule, and in the meantime the student sees a banner on the course: "Your last payment didn't go through", with the reason from their bank and an Update payment method → button that takes them somewhere to fix it.
If they pay, the banner disappears by itself and nothing else happens. If Stripe eventually gives up and the subscription ends, access is removed automatically at that point.
- A payment plan that reaches its final instalment ends the same way a subscription does, but access stays. That is the difference between paying off a course and renting one.
- Nothing about a failed payment appears in your admin, so a student quietly telling you their card bounced is worth taking seriously.
Where to look when something looks wrong
- Revenue: the Refunded total and Net for the money side, and Open Stripe ↗ for payouts, disputes and the refund itself.
- Students: open the student and look for an Access removed badge on the course, which tells you whether access is actually gone.
- Your audience: a fully refunded buyer moves back from customer to lead, so your audience filters stay honest.
If I refund a student, do they lose access automatically?
On a full refund, yes: Knola removes their access to that course within moments and shows an Access removed badge on their detail page. On a partial refund they keep access, and you remove it by hand if you meant the sale to end.
Does a chargeback remove course access?
No. Disputes are settled in Stripe, and Knola does not cut course access when one is opened or lost. Remove access yourself on the student's detail page if you want them out.
What happens if a student's monthly payment fails?
They keep access while Stripe retries, and they see a banner on the course asking them to update their payment method. Access only ends if the subscription is eventually cancelled for non-payment.