Refunds & Reversals
When you refund an order, MakerVera automatically unwinds the things that order set in motion. If the member paid with a gift card, that balance comes back. If the order included an add-on subscription, it’s cancelled and the capacity it was holding is freed for someone else. You can see exactly what a refund affected right on the order, and step in by hand for the few cases that aren’t reversed automatically.
This guide is for makerspace administrators with billing permissions.
What happens when you refund an order
Section titled “What happens when you refund an order”You issue refunds the same way you always have — from the order or transaction. MakerVera then works out how to unwind the order and applies each step on its own:
| The order included… | What the refund does |
|---|---|
| A gift-card payment | Restores the spent balance back to the gift card so the member can use it again |
| An add-on subscription | Cancels the subscription immediately and frees the capacity or stock it was holding |
| A card payment | Refunds the remaining amount to the original card |
| A discount code | The code stays used — discounts are single-use and are not restored automatically (see below) |
How the money is split
Section titled “How the money is split”When an order was paid partly with a gift card and partly by card, MakerVera unwinds the gift card first, then refunds whatever is left to the card. So a member who used a gift card to cover part of a purchase gets that gift-card balance back before any card refund is calculated. Partial refunds follow the same rule, attributed to the specific items being refunded.
Reviewing what a refund affected
Section titled “Reviewing what a refund affected”Open the order’s detail page after a refund. If the order was refunded, a Refund Reversal Summary appears showing:
- Where the money went — how much was restored to a gift card (shown with the card’s last four digits) and how much went back to the card.
- What was reversed — each side effect, such as an add-on subscription being cancelled and the number of slots freed, or a gift-card balance being restored. Each line shows whether it completed, was skipped, or failed.
This is a read-only summary for your records — viewing it never moves money.
If something didn’t complete
Section titled “If something didn’t complete”Occasionally a side effect can’t finish — for example, a gift card that was later cancelled can’t have a balance restored to it. When that happens:
- The summary shows that effect as Failed and displays a warning notice at the top.
- The money refund itself still went through — a side-effect problem never blocks the refund.
- You’ll receive an alert so a person can finish the reversal by hand.
The rest of the reversal still completes — one step failing never stops the others.
Discount codes are single-use
Section titled “Discount codes are single-use”Discount and promo codes are consumed when they’re used and are not automatically reinstated on a refund or cancellation. Members see a short note about this at checkout when they enter a code, and again if they cancel a purchase that used one.
Reinstating a discount for a member
Section titled “Reinstating a discount for a member”If you need to give a member their discount back — for example, because your makerspace cancelled the class or event they used it on — you can reinstate it manually. This restores one use of that code for that specific member.
- Reinstating affects only that member’s use of the code — it doesn’t change the code’s overall limits or make an archived code available again.
- If you reinstate the same redemption twice, nothing changes the second time — it’s safe to repeat.
Frequently asked
Section titled “Frequently asked”Does a refund restore a member’s gift-card balance automatically? Yes. If the refunded order was paid in part with a gift card, that balance is credited back to the card with no extra step from you.
What happens to an add-on subscription when I refund its order? It’s cancelled right away and the capacity or stock it was holding is released, so the slot becomes available to other members.
Will refunding bring back a used discount code? No. Discount codes are single-use by design. Reinstate one manually only when it’s warranted.
A reversal shows as failed — did the member still get their refund? Yes. The refund always completes. Only the follow-on step (like a gift-card restore) failed, and you’ll be alerted to finish it.