Refund window timing

What the window is

The refund window is the period during which a buyer can ask Packagento for a refund through the self-serve "Request refund" action on their licence. The window is 14 days by default. An admin can shorten or lengthen it within a 1 to 90 day range; whatever value the admin sets is the value the buyer-side action and the vendor-side payout hold both use, so the two always end on the same day.

Out-of-window requests are not blocked outright, but they are no longer self-serve. You can still email support and a person will look at the case; the platform is no longer obliged to honour the request and most are declined.

How it is calculated

The window runs from the licence creation date, not the order date. For a one-off purchase those two dates are almost always the same day, but for a subscription each renewal cycle has its own licence-period date and its own window.

The check is simple: the platform compares the time since the licence was created against the configured window length in days. If that gap is within the window the action is shown; once it is past, the action disappears.

What the buyer sees while it is open

Open My licenses. Each active licence whose window is still open shows a "Request refund" link in its actions column. Clicking it opens a short form that asks for a reason category and a few sentences explaining the issue; submit to file the request. For what makes a good reason and how to fill the form out, see Writing a strong refund request.

Once a request is filed, the "Request refund" link is replaced by a "Cancel request" link until Packagento approves or denies the request. A licence with a pending request cannot file a second one.

What the buyer sees when it closes

On the day after the window closes, the "Request refund" link is no longer rendered on that licence row. The licence itself is unchanged; only the self-serve action is withdrawn.

Blocked on a money issue past the window? Get in touch through our contact form with your licence ID and the reason. We review out-of-window cases case by case; the platform is no longer obliged to issue a refund.

How it affects vendor payouts

The vendor's share of the sale is held until the same day the buyer's refund window closes. Holding it means an approved refund can be issued from money that has not yet been paid out, rather than asking the vendor to return funds from their bank.

When the window closes, the matching held entry becomes eligible for release on the next release run. Vendors do not need to do anything to release it. See Payout hold and refund window for the full release mechanics.

Subscriptions

Each subscription renewal carries its own refund window. The window for a given renewal runs from the day that renewal cycle was billed, not from the date of the original sign-up. A renewal six months in still has its own fresh 14 day window, independent of any earlier cycles.

On the vendor side, each renewal produces its own held entry with its own release date. Refunding one renewal only affects that renewal's entry. Earlier renewals that have already cleared their window are not touched. To stop further charges rather than refund the most recent one, see Cancel a subscription.

Edge cases

Right at the boundary: the window is measured to the second against the licence creation timestamp. A request filed even a few minutes after the window ends is treated as out of window.
Request filed near the close: what matters is when the request is filed, not when Packagento gets round to reviewing it. A request filed on the last day stays in the queue and is reviewed normally even if approval comes through after the window has closed.
Admin changes the window length: the new length applies live, against every licence. Lengthening it can re-open the action on a licence that had just rolled past the old cut-off; shortening it can pull the action from a licence that was still in the window an hour ago.
Inactive licence: the action is also hidden on an already-refunded or otherwise inactive licence, regardless of how recent it is. There is nothing further to refund.