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An ad platform refunded part of a cancelled campaign; how do I record it so my ads total goes down?

Add the refund as its own entry with a minus sign and the same ads category. The tool reads a negative amount as a refund that lowers that category's and that month's total, and shows a notice that a negative amount is present so the figure does not surprise you. Leave the original entry as it was; keeping both lines records what really happened.

Published · 3 min read

The example in numbers

You paid 300 SAR for a campaign on 2026-01-05, cancelled it, and the platform returned 50 SAR on 2026-01-09. We entered both in the Expense summary generator tool:

  • 2026-01-05, category Ads, amount 300, currency SAR.
  • 2026-01-09, category 'ads ' in lower case with a trailing space, amount -50, currency SAR.

Result: the Ads category at 250.00 SAR from 2 entries, January at 250.00 SAR, and a yellow notice that a negative amount is counted as a refund. The different capitals and the stray space did not create a second category: categories are grouped regardless of case, trimmed, and shown with the first spelling seen, which here is Ads.

Which date should the refund carry?

This changes the monthly picture, so choose on purpose. We tried a refund arriving the following month: ads 300 and shipping 120 in January, and the refund of -50 on 2026-02-03. January came out at 420.00 SAR and February at -50.00 SAR, a month with negative spending. The Ads category stayed at 250.00 SAR because it spans all months.

  • Date the refund arrived: matches your bank statement, but a month can look low or even negative.
  • Date of the original campaign: gives a truer picture of what January's campaign cost, but no longer matches the statement.

If your accountant reconciles the summary with the bank, ask which they prefer and use it every month.

Why not put refunds in a 'Refunds' category?

You can, but it changes the question the summary answers. We tried the refund under Refunds: Ads showed 300.00 SAR and Refunds -50.00 SAR. The overall total is unchanged at 250.00 SAR, but the ads line now says you spent 300. If what you want is the net cost of advertising, keep the refund under the ads category.

Before you rely on the figure

  1. Check the yellow notice: if it appears when you entered no refund, some line has a minus sign by mistake.
  2. Make sure the refund is in the same currency as the original payment, or it lands on another currency's line and reduces nothing.
  3. Once you know your net ad spend, see what it does to your profit per order with the Profit margin calculator.

Common questions

Is (50) in brackets accepted as a negative amount?

No, it is listed as an error because the amount is not a number. Type -50 with a minus sign.

Can a category total go negative?

Yes, if refunds exceed spending in it, and the tool shows it as it is.