Refunds Chart
The Refunds chart shows the revenue that was refunded during a period and how many transactions were refunded, grouped by the date the refund was processed. Use it alongside the Revenue and Refund Rate charts to understand the absolute impact of refunds on your business.
The Refunds chart is only available in Charts v3.
Measures
The Refunds chart provides both the amount of revenue that was refunded in a given period and the count of transactions that were refunded in that period, so you can see the absolute impact of refunds and what is driving it:
- Refunded Revenue: The total revenue refunded in a given period, grouped by the date the refund was processed. Depending on the selected revenue type, this is shown as gross revenue, revenue net of taxes, or proceeds (see Revenue type below).
- Refunded Transactions: The number of transactions that were refunded in a given period, grouped by the date the refund was processed. This is shown as a secondary count alongside the refunded revenue, and is not selectable as the main series.
Revenue type
The Refunds chart allows you to select and visualize three different definitions of refunded revenue:
- Refunded Revenue: The total gross revenue refunded in a given period.
- Refunded Revenue (net of taxes): Refunded revenue (as defined above), minus our estimate of revenue deducted from the stores for taxes (e.g. VAT, DST, etc).
- Refunded Proceeds: Refunded revenue (as defined above), minus our estimate of revenue deducted from the stores for taxes and commission.
To learn more about how RevenueCat estimates taxes and commissions deducted from the stores, click here.
Available settings
- Filters: Yes
- Segments: Yes
- Revenue Type: Yes
How to use Refunds in your business
The Refunds chart is best used to understand the absolute impact of refunds, complementing the other refund-related charts:
- Use the Refund Rate chart to see what proportion of your transactions get refunded, and the Refunds chart to see the absolute revenue and transactions you lose to refunds.
- Compare Refunds against the Revenue chart to size refunds relative to the revenue generated in the same period. The Refunds value for a period is exactly the amount the Revenue chart subtracts from that same period.
- If you see an unexpected spike, segment by dimensions like Country, Platform, or Offer to isolate where the refunds are coming from.
Calculation
For each period, we measure:
- Refunded Revenue: The total revenue refunded during that period.
- Refunded Transactions: The number of transactions refunded during that period.
Refunds are attributed to the period in which the refund was processed, not the period in which the original purchase occurred. This matches how the Revenue chart deducts refunds, so the Refunds chart equals the refund amount subtracted from net revenue in the same period. (Note this differs from the Refund Rate chart, which attributes refunds back to the period of the original purchase so the rate stays aligned with the cohort of transactions it measures.)
Formulas
- [Refunded Revenue] - [Taxes] = Refunded Revenue (net of taxes)
- [Refunded Revenue] - ([Store Commission / Fees] + [Taxes]) = Refunded Proceeds
FAQs
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Can the Refunds for a given period change over time? | Not materially. Refunds are attributed to the date the refund is processed, so once a period has passed its Refunds value is stable. A refund that happens today appears in today's period — it does not retroactively change the period of the original purchase. (If you want the cohort view, where refunds roll back to the original purchase period, use the Refund Rate chart.) |
| How is the Refunds chart different from the Refund Rate chart? | Two differences. (1) The Refund Rate chart shows the proportion of transactions refunded; the Refunds chart shows the absolute refunded revenue and transaction count. (2) They attribute refunds to different dates: the Refunds chart books a refund in the period it was processed (matching the Revenue chart), while the Refund Rate chart attributes it to the period of the original purchase. |
| How is the Refunds chart different from the Revenue chart? | The Revenue chart shows revenue generated in a period minus the refunds processed in that period, giving you net revenue. The Refunds chart isolates that refunded amount on its own so you can measure it directly. |
| How does RevenueCat estimate taxes and commissions for refunds? | Refunded Revenue (net of taxes) and Refunded Proceeds use the same tax and commission estimates as the Revenue chart. To learn more about how those estimates are calculated, click here. |
| How can I display refunds in currencies other than USD? | By default the RevenueCat Dashboard is set to use USD as the display currency, but this can be modified through Account Settings to view your data in other supported currencies. To learn more, click here. |