Refunds & cancellations
Sometimes an attendee can't make it, or you need to remove them from your event. Sunfish lets you cancel a registration and, when money has changed hands, return some or all of it.
Cancelling an attendee
Open the attendee's order and choose to cancel them. Cancelling removes the person from your event's active registration, they no longer count toward your numbers, and any spot they held can open back up for someone else.
(Screenshot: the cancel option on an attendee's order)
Cancelling and refunding are related but separate. You can cancel someone and decide what happens to their payment as part of the same step.
Full and partial refunds
When you refund, you choose how much to return:
- A full refund returns everything the attendee paid for their registration.
- A partial refund returns part of it, useful when you keep a portion, such as a nonrefundable deposit, or when your policy only covers some of the cost.
(Screenshot: choosing a refund amount)
The refund goes back to the same card or payment method the attendee originally used. Sunfish records it on the order so the running total stays accurate.
How refund policies affect the amount
If you've attached a refund policy to the ticket, that policy can shape how much comes back. A common setup is a full refund before a cutoff date and a partial refund after it, so an attendee who cancels early gets more back than one who cancels at the last minute.
The policy is there to give you a consistent, fair default. You can still adjust the amount for an individual case when the situation calls for it.
Set your refund policies up front, on your tickets, so the right amount is suggested automatically instead of being decided case by case.
Timing
Refunds are processed through your connected Stripe account. Once you issue one, it can take a few business days to appear on the attendee's statement, the exact timing is up to their bank and card provider, not something Sunfish controls.
A refund reduces the money you've collected. If the funds have already been paid out to your bank, the refunded amount is drawn from your balance going forward. See Payouts for how that works.
What the attendee sees
When you cancel a registration, the attendee's spot is released and their order reflects the cancellation. If you issued a refund, the returned amount shows up on the same payment method they used, and the order's confirmation reflects the updated total.
If the money question is trickier than a straight refund, for example, an attendee disputed the charge with their bank, see Disputes.