This article explains how to process refunds, cancellations, and reinstatements for a participant registration, including partial refunds, full refunds, and combinations of refund/cancel actions.

Where to process refunds/cancellations

• Provider dashboard → open the session roster / participants list (also applies to Drop-ins) → select a participant registration → click Cancel/Refund.
• This opens the Cancel/Refund modal with up to two sections:
  • Cancel Registration (or Reinstate Registration if already cancelled)
  • Issue Refund (only shown when there is any remaining refundable amount on the original charge)

Key concepts (important for choosing the right option)

• Registration vs refund are separate:

  • Cancel changes the registration status (removes the spot / marks as cancelled).
  • Refund issues money back to the customer (Stripe refund).

• Two “full refund” meanings:

  • Standard refund: refunds up to what the provider actually received for that registration (provider payout). Fees are not refunded.
  • Full refund with override: refunds the entire transaction amount including fees. This requires Override for full refund and will charge the provider for the fee amount.

• Non-refundable fees (default behavior):

  • In the modal, Non-refundable Fees are displayed and are not refunded in normal refunds.
  • The modal’s Maximum Refund Available is the remaining provider payout for that registration (after subtracting any prior refunds).

• Override for full refund (fee recovery):

  • Adds a second required consent checkbox.
  • Auto-fills the refund to the remaining gross amount (original total minus prior refunds) and makes the amount read-only.
  • The system will:
    • Charge the provider’s saved payment method for the fee amount (gross − provider payout).
    • Reverse the provider transfer (to reclaim payout funds).
    • Issue the customer refund (including fees).
  • If the organization has no saved payment method, override will be blocked.
    

Step-by-step instructions by scenario

Partial refunds

Use this when you need to refund some money but keep the registration active.

• Open Cancel/Refund.
• Check Issue Refund.
• Enter Refund Amount (must be ≤ Maximum Refund Available).
• Optionally check Send notification email to customer.
• Click Confirm.

Notes

• The “Maximum Refund Available” is based on the remaining provider payout, not the total transaction amount.

Full refunds

Option A: Full refund up to provider payout (no fee refund)

• Open Cancel/Refund.
• Check Issue Refund.
• Set Refund Amount to the displayed Maximum Refund Available.
• (Optional) Send notification email.
• Confirm.

Option B: True full refund (refunds fees too) using “Override for full refund”

Use this when parents should receive the entire transaction back, including fees.

• Open Cancel/Refund.
• Check Issue Refund.
• Check Override for full refund.
• Check the required consent checkbox (must be checked to proceed).
• (Optional) Send notification email.
• Confirm.

What you should expect

• The refund amount becomes read-only and reflects the remaining gross.
• The provider will be charged the original fee amount (gross − provider payout) to recover those fees.

Common block

• If you see: “You do not have a payment method on file. Please add a payment method first.”
  Add a payment method in Organization Settings → Billing, then retry.

Refunds with no cancellation

This is the same flow as a partial/full refund, but without cancelling.

• Open Cancel/Refund.
• Leave Cancel Registration unchecked.
• Check Issue Refund and proceed as needed.

Cancellations with no refund

Use this when you need to remove the participant from the roster but are not issuing money back.

• Open Cancel/Refund.
• Check Cancel Registration only.
• (Optional) Send notification email.
• Confirm.

Email behavior (if enabled)

• Sends “Cancellation Approved… No refund has been issued at this time.”

Refunds after cancellations

You can refund a registration that is already cancelled.

• Open Cancel/Refund for the cancelled registration.
• You will see Reinstate Registration (instead of Cancel Registration).
• Do not check Reinstate Registration.
• Check Issue Refund and enter the refund amount (or use override if needed).
• Confirm.

Important

• If you check Reinstate Registration, the action becomes a reinstatement and will not issue a refund.

Reinstating cancellations

Use this when a registration was cancelled but should be restored.

• Open Cancel/Refund for the cancelled registration.
• Check Reinstate Registration.
• Click Confirm.

What happens

• The registration status is restored to:
  • paid if not fully refunded
  • refunded if the registration’s refunds are already equal to or greater than the original item total

Notes

• Reinstatement does not undo any previously issued refunds.
• Reinstatement currently does not send a notification email from the modal.

Parent-initiated cancellation requests (special case)

Parents can submit a cancellation request from their account, which sets the registration to refund_request and notifies the provider.

• Parent action: Submit cancellation request → registration status becomes refund_request.
• Provider action: Go to the session roster → select the registration → use Cancel/Refund to complete the outcome:
  • Cancel only (no refund)
  • Refund only
  • Cancel + refund

Denying a parent cancellation request

If you deny a request, the system will keep the registration active and email the parent with the denial reason.

Common errors and how to resolve them

• “Refund amount cannot be greater than the order item price”

  • Your amount exceeds what’s refundable in the current mode.
  • If you intended a true full refund including fees, use Override for full refund.

• “No refundable amount remaining for this charge.”

  • The registration has already been fully refunded for the original charge.

• Refund blocked due to transfer / recovery limits

  • Non-override refunds require that funds can be recovered via a Stripe transfer reversal.
  • If the platform cannot recover funds (missing transfer or insufficient reversible balance for this item), the refund will be blocked.

• Missing provider payment method (override only)

  • Add a payment method in Organization Settings → Billing and retry.

Customer email templates triggered (when “Send notification email” is checked)

• Cancel only: “Cancellation Approved” (no refund)
• Refund only: “Refund Issued”
• Cancel + refund: “Confirmation of Cancellation and Refund”
• Deny request (separate action): “Cancellation Request Denied”