Refunds¶
Role: Box Office Staff, Administrators
Refunds reverse payment on a ticket order and release all associated seats. This is a terminal operation that cannot be undone.
Navigation: Stagemgr > Orders > Ticket Orders > [Select Order] > Refund Order
Overview¶
A refund cancels a ticket order by reversing the payment and releasing the seats back to available inventory. Once refunded, the order is permanently set to Refunded status and cannot be modified or restored.
When to Use a Refund¶
- Patron requests a full refund for their tickets
- Performance is canceled and patrons are being refunded
- Order was created in error and needs to be reversed
- Patron cannot attend and does not wish to exchange or donate
Consider Alternatives
Before processing a refund, consider whether an exchange or refund to donation might better serve both the patron and the organization.
Refund Eligibility¶
The Refund Order button is available when:
| Condition | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Order status | Must be Processed or Fulfilled |
| Payment type | Any payment type that was reported as sales collected |
Refund Process¶
Step 1: Navigate to the Order¶
- Find the order using the Order Search
- Open the order detail page
Step 2: Initiate the Refund¶
- Click Refund Order in the action area
- A confirmation dialog appears
Step 3: Add Refund Notes (Optional)¶
The confirmation dialog may include a notes field where you can record:
- Reason for the refund
- Who authorized the refund
- Any relevant communication details
Step 4: Confirm the Refund¶
- Click Confirm to process the refund
- The system performs the following actions automatically:
| Action | Description |
|---|---|
| Payment reversal | Only payments marked as "report as sales collected" are reversed |
| Seat release | All reserved seats are released back to available inventory |
| Status update | Order status changes to Refunded |
| Notification | If the order was Fulfilled, a refund notification email is sent to the patron |
Step 5: Verify Completion¶
After the refund processes:
- The order detail page shows the Refunded status
- Payment records show the reversal
- Seats appear as available on the seat map (for reserved seating)
- House count is updated to reflect the released seats
Payment Reversal Details¶
The refund method depends on the original payment type:
| Original Payment | Refund Method |
|---|---|
| Credit Card | Refund issued to the original card via Stripe |
| Cash | Record indicates cash refund to be given at box office |
| Check | Record indicates check refund to be issued |
| External | Record indicates refund through original external method |
| Comp | No financial reversal needed |
| Flex Pass | Uses are restored to the flex pass |
| Membership | Membership usage is restored |
Credit Card Refunds
Credit card refunds are processed through Stripe and may take 5-10 business days to appear on the patron's statement. Inform the patron of the expected timeline.
Processing Fees Are Not Reversed
When a credit card order is refunded, Stripe does not return the processing fee that was charged on the original transaction. The processing fee remains as a cost to the organization and will continue to appear on financial reports. This is standard credit card processor behavior.
Notification Behavior¶
The system sends a refund notification email under specific conditions:
| Original Status | Notification Sent? |
|---|---|
| Processed | No |
| Fulfilled | Yes -- patron receives refund confirmation email |
The distinction exists because fulfilled orders indicate the patron has already received or used their tickets, so a notification confirms the reversal.
Important Rules¶
- Terminal operation -- Refunded orders cannot be un-refunded, exchanged, or modified in any way
- Full refund only -- The system refunds the entire order amount. Partial refunds are not supported through this workflow.
- Inventory impact -- All seats and ticket allocations are released immediately
- Audit trail -- The refund is recorded in the order history with timestamp and any notes entered
- Report impact -- Refunded orders appear in financial reports as negative adjustments
Cannot Be Reversed
Once a refund is processed, there is no undo. If tickets need to be re-issued to the same patron, a brand new order must be created.
Partial Refund Scenarios¶
Since the system only supports full-order refunds, partial refund scenarios require a workaround:
- Split first -- Use Split Orders to divide a multi-ticket order into two orders
- Refund one -- Refund the order containing the tickets to be returned
- Keep the other -- The remaining order stays in Processed/Fulfilled status
This approach preserves the tickets the patron wants to keep while refunding only the unwanted portion.
Troubleshooting¶
| Issue | Resolution |
|---|---|
| Refund button not available | Verify the order is in Processed or Fulfilled status |
| Credit card refund failed | Check Stripe dashboard for the transaction; the card may have expired or the account closed |
| Patron did not receive refund notification | Check the patron's email address; verify the order was in Fulfilled status when refunded |
| Need to reverse a refund | Not possible through the system; create a new order for the patron |
| Seats not released after refund | Verify the refund completed successfully; check for any system errors in the order history |