AUSTIN, Texas - For small businesses, dealing with unexpected chargebacks can put their cash flow in a tight spot, the Wall Street Journal reports. The practice involves reversing credit card transactions when a customer questions the charges, such as because of a lost or stolen card or a processing mistake.

For example, EnterprisingWorks LLC owner Dean Thompson had to handle a more than $3,000 chargeback recently. A customer claimed the charge was illegitimate and Thompson spent 12 hours researching and documenting the work he had done for the client. "For a small business owner like us, having $3,450 pulled from our cash flow was significant," said Thompson. "In addition, spending [hours] dealing with it hurts my ability to perform for other clients."

Usually, chargebacks are infrequent: less than .01 percent of all credit-card transactions are disputed, according to Heartland Payment Systems Inc. But small companies find that even the rare chargeback creates problems.

"When it comes to big-box retailers??they have their own investigation team whose only job is to combat chargebacks," said Douglas Mack, president of Payex. "With only one or two employees, small firms don't have the bandwidth to do that sort of thing."

On top of the hours spent proving the validity of a chargeback, credit card companies also fine retailers between $15 and $25 per chargeback. Sometimes chargebacks are triggered by a card issuer because of an authorization or processing fluke, such as due to a wrong account number or expired card.

Credit card companies toe a firm line in relation to chargebacks. "Any time that you are not following the basic rules of card acceptance, you are putting yourself in jeopardy," said Christine Elliott, an American Express Co. spokesperson.