Refunds can be processed manually or automated based on your policy. This guide covers the technical refund flow, fee handling, and customer communication.
Refund Types
Full Refund
Returns: Full ticket price to customer
BrightStar fee: Returned to platform (credited)
Stripe fee: NOT refunded (Stripe policy)
Partial Refund
Returns: Specified amount to customer
Fees: Proportionally adjusted
Use case: Service credits, goodwill gestures
Credit (Store Credit)
Instead of: Cash refund
Result: Credit balance on customer account
Use case: Event reschedule, future attendance
Refund Processing Flow
Manual refund process:
- 1Navigate to Orders → Find order by email/name/ID
- 2Click "View Order Details"
- 3Click "Issue Refund" button
- 4Select Full or Partial refund
- 5Enter amount if partial
- 6Add optional note (sent to customer)
- 7Confirm refund
- 8Refund processed via Stripe → 5-10 business days to customer
Refund interface walkthrough
Interactive component coming soon
Automated Refund Rules
Event Cancellation
Trigger: Event status → Cancelled
Action: Automatic full refund to all ticket holders
Notification: Email with cancellation reason
Refund Window Policy
Configuration: Settings → Refund Policy
Example: "Full refund until 7 days before event"
Automation: Requests within window auto-approved
No-Show Policy
Configuration: Optional automatic refund for no-shows
Trigger: Event ended + ticket not scanned
Financial Impact
javascript
// Refund Financial Impact Example
original_charge = 103.19 // Ticket + fees
ticket_price = 100.00
bs_fee = 2.74
stripe_fee = 3.19
// Full Refund Impact
refund_to_customer = 103.19
bs_fee_credited = 2.74 // Returned to your account
stripe_fee_lost = 3.19 // NOT refunded by Stripe
// Net organizer cost for refund
net_cost = stripe_fee_lost
// net_cost = $3.19Stripe does not refund their processing fee on refunds. On a $100 ticket, you lose approximately $3.19 when issuing a full refund. Factor this into pricing for events with high refund rates.