Refunds are processed directly from the order page using Process Refund. Depending on the order, you can refund specific tickets or items or refund the entire order. With order editing, there's one important rule to remember: Orders paid with more than one payment method can only be refunded in full.
What Refunds Can Do
With Process Refund, you can:
Refund selected tickets, merchandise, subscriptions, memberships, or custom feesâor refund everything at once.
Return payments to the method they originally came from.
Release refunded seats back into inventory.
Choose whether the patron receives a refund email.
Which Refund Flow Will You See?
The refund flow depends on how the order was paid.
Order Payment | Refund Experience |
One payment method | Item-by-item refunds are available. Process Refund opens the Refund Items picker, where you choose what to refund. |
Split payment or multiple methods | Full refund only. The item picker is skipped and you go directly to the whole-order confirmation. Each payment is returned to the method it came from. |
An order can become a multi-method order later. For example, a patron may originally pay in cash and then use a credit card for an Add to Order, or an exchange price difference may be collected using another payment method. Once more than one payment method is associated with the remaining balance, the order becomes full-refund-only.
Refunding Specific Items
Item-by-item refunds are available when the order's remaining balance is associated with a single payment method.
To Process a Partial Refund
Open the order.
Click Process Refund.
The Refund Items window opens.
Select the items you want to refund.
Click the refund button. The button updates to show how many items you've selected, such as Refund 3 Items.
Review the refund confirmation.
Click Yes, Refund Order.
What Can Be Selected?
Refundable items are organized into their own sections, including:
Tickets
Merchandise
Subscriptions & Memberships
Custom Fees
Select only the items that should be included in the refund.
Skipping the Refund Email
By default, the patron receives a refund email. If you don't want an email sent, select:
Do not send refund email to patron
You'll find this checkbox on the final confirmation before processing the refund.
Refunding the Whole Order
For split-payment and multi-method orders, clicking Process Refund takes you directly to the Refund Order confirmation. There is no item picker.
The confirmation explains:
This order was paid with more than one payment method, so it can only be refunded in fullâeach payment is returned to the method it came from.
Review the total being returned to the patron, then click Yes, Refund Order to complete the refund.
How Multi-Method Refunds Work
When the order contains multiple payment methods:
The entire refundable order must be refunded.
Each payment is returned using its original payment method.
You can't choose individual tickets or items from the initial refund flow.
The confirmation shows the total amount being returned before you commit.
â ď¸ Platform and Processing Fees
The refund confirmation may warn that completing the refund will leave your organization with a negative balance.
This can happen because:
Platform fees aren't refunded to your organization.
Credit card processing fees associated with refunded transactions are also deducted from ticket revenue.
The confirmation displays the exact negative balance before you complete the refund.
What the Order Shows After a Refund
After the refund is processed, several areas of the order update.
Financial Summary
The Financial Summary reflects both the original transaction and the refund:
Order Total nets out all refunds and represents what the order is currently worth.
Sales Tax continues to display the original sale's tax amount and does not decrease when items are refunded.
Amount Paid continues to show the original amount collected.
A red Amount Refunded row appears and totals the refunds processed against the order.
Refunded Tickets
Refunded ticket cards display:
A red Refunded chip.
The original ticket price crossed out.
When a reserved ticket is refunded, its seat is released back into inventory.
Order Status
The order's status updates based on what's left to refund:
Partially Refunded â some refundable items remain.
Refunded â the order has been fully refunded.
Note: These statuses are based on what's left to refundânot simply the dollar amount that has been returned.
Order History
A red Refunded entry is added to Order History.
The entry shows:
The amount refunded.
The payment method the money was returned to.
Exchange Refunds Are Different
Refunds generated as part of a ticket exchange are treated differently from standard customer refunds.
If a patron moves to a less expensive ticket and receives the difference back, that exchange refund does not change the order's status to Partially Refunded.
A standard exchange remains an exchange, even when money is returned to the patron.
Troubleshooting
"Process Refund" Is Greyed Out or Missing
Check whether:
Nothing refundable remains because all tickets and refundable items have already been refunded.
The order contains a transferred-in ticket. Transfer orders can't be refunded through this flow.
A payout has already been issued for the order's payment on an older, non-Stripe Connect transaction.
The event has already passed and the organization isn't using Stripe Connect.
If one of these conditions applies, Process Refund may be unavailable.
The Item Picker Doesn't Appear
If clicking Process Refund takes you directly to the confirmation instead of showing Refund Items, that's usually expected.
The order was either:
Originally paid using split payment, or
Later ended up with more than one payment method.
The multi-method refund rule is being applied, so the order is currently full-refund-only.
Partial Refunds Came Back on a Multi-Method Order
This can happen and is expected.
If previous refunds completely drain one of the payment methods, the remaining refundable balance may become single-method again.
Once only one payment method remains, item-by-item refund selection becomes available again.
Drop-Shipped Merchandise Won't Refund
Drop-shipped or print-on-demand merchandise is non-refundable by default because the merchandise has already been produced.
Organizations can be specifically enabled to refund these items. Contact Support if an exception is needed.
Donations Won't Refund
Donation refunds aren't enabled by default.
Organizations can be enabled to process donation refunds. Contact Support for assistance.
Quick Reference
Term / Action | What It Means |
Refund Items | Item picker used to select individual tickets or items. Available for single-method orders. |
Refund Order / Yes, Refund Order | Final confirmation used to complete the refund. |
Do not send refund email to patron | Prevents the patron's refund email from being sent. Refund emails are sent by default. |
Partially Refunded | Some refundable items remain on the order. |
Refunded | The order has been fully refunded. |
Amount Refunded | Red Financial Summary row showing the total amount refunded from the order. |
Full-refund-only order | An order whose remaining refundable balance is associated with more than one payment method. |
Remember: If an order has money associated with more than one payment method, expect a full refund only. Once the remaining refundable balance is back to a single payment method, item-by-item refunds can become available again.