Cancellation & Refund Policies

You decide what happens to a member’s payment when they cancel an event registration. MakerVera lets you set a default cancellation policy for your whole makerspace and, when a particular class or workshop needs different terms, a per-series override. When a member cancels inside the refund window, the refund is issued automatically — no manual processing.

How a policy works

A cancellation policy has two parts:

• Refund window — how many hours before the event starts a member can still cancel for a refund. For example, 24 means “cancel at least 24 hours before the event.”
• Refund amount — the percentage of what the member paid that they get back when they cancel inside the window. For example, 100% for a full refund, or 50% for a partial one.

Cancel inside the window and the member is refunded automatically. Cancel after the window and the registration is still cancelled, but no refund is issued. The refund window is always measured in your makerspace’s own timezone.

Tip

Until you set a policy, your makerspace uses a safe default of no automatic refund (a 0% refund). This means MakerVera never promises a member a refund you haven’t actually set up. Set a default policy as soon as you’re ready to offer refunds.

Setting your makerspace default

This default applies to every event and class unless a specific series overrides it.

1. Go to Settings > General.
2. Find the Cancellation & Refund Policy section.
3. Enter the refund window (hours before the event) and the refund amount (percentage).
4. Optionally add a policy note — a short message shown to members alongside the policy.
5. Save.

Only account owners and administrators with permission to manage makerspace settings can see and edit this section.

Overriding the policy for one series

Some classes need different terms — for example, a materials-heavy workshop where you can’t refund late cancellations. You can override the policy on an individual event series.

1. Open the event series you want to change.
2. Find the Cancellation & Refund Policy section.
3. The section shows which policy currently applies:
   • Using makerspace default — this series follows your makerspace-wide policy.
   • Custom for this series — this series has its own override.
4. To set an override, switch on editing and enter the window and amount for this series.
5. To go back to your makerspace default, choose Revert to default. This removes the override without changing your makerspace-wide policy.

Note

Setting refund terms is an administrator action. A staff member or manager who can edit an event series will not see the cancellation policy section — only administrators with makerspace-settings permission can change refund terms.

What the member sees

At checkout

When a member registers for an event, the checkout page shows the cancellation and refund terms that apply to that series — pulled live from the policy you set, not a fixed message. If you haven’t set a policy yet, the member sees neutral wording instead of a refund promise you haven’t configured.

When they cancel

Members can cancel their own registrations from the My Registrations page. Before they confirm, MakerVera shows them the policy that applies and the exact refund they’ll receive:

• “You’ll be refunded $X” when they’re cancelling inside the refund window.
• “$0 — past the refund window” when the deadline has passed.
• A neutral message when the registration was complimentary or had no charge.

The previewed amount comes from the same calculation that issues the actual refund, so the figure a member sees before confirming is the figure they get. (For split gift-card + card payments, the confirmation email is the authoritative final settlement.)

The confirmation message

After a cancellation, MakerVera sends an Upon Cancellation confirmation that reflects exactly what happened to their payment:

• A refund was issued (and for how much), or
• A refund went back onto their gift card (and for how much), when they paid with a gift card only, or
• No refund because the cancellation was after the window, or
• No refund because the registration was complimentary or had no charge.

The confirmation only ever states a refund that was actually issued. You can customize this message’s wording in your Communications settings, both makerspace-wide and per series.

Refunds and gift cards

Paid entirely with a gift card

When a member paid for a registration entirely with a gift card and cancels inside the refund window, the policy amount goes back onto their gift card automatically. Their confirmation message says how much went back to the gift card. If that card has since been cancelled or has expired, the amount goes on a new gift card instead, emailed to the card’s recipient (see Gift Cards). Before confirming, the member sees the refund they will get, just like a card payment.

For a class with several sessions, the refund happens once, for the whole registration.

Paid partly with a gift card and partly with a card

MakerVera refunds the card portion automatically and restores the gift-card balance through its refunds process. The confirmation message names the amount refunded to the card. In the rare case where the amounts don’t perfectly reconcile, the cancellation still completes and the discrepancy is flagged for your team to review — a member is never silently over- or under-refunded.

Registrations flagged for review

A few older gift-card registrations can’t be matched to the order they were bought on. When a member cancels one of these inside the window, the cancellation still completes, but the refund is flagged for your team to review instead of being issued automatically. Refund it by hand from Transactions. The same applies to a staff member who registered themselves for a paid class without paying.

Troubleshooting

A member cancelled but wasn’t refunded.

1. Check whether they cancelled before the refund window closed. Cancellations after the window receive no refund by design.
2. Confirm the registration had a real charge — complimentary or free registrations have nothing to refund.
3. Check whether the series has its own override that differs from your makerspace default.
4. If they paid with a gift card, check the gift card’s balance: the refund goes back onto the card, not to a bank card. If the card was cancelled or expired, look for a new gift card sent to the same recipient.
5. Check whether the refund was flagged for your team to review (see Registrations flagged for review).

I don’t see the Cancellation & Refund Policy section.

You need administrator permission to manage makerspace settings. Staff and managers who can run events don’t see refund-policy controls.

The refund window seems off by a few hours.

The window is measured in your makerspace’s timezone. Confirm your makerspace timezone is set correctly under Settings > General.