Learn how to view the ticketing history and order details for a patron, as well as release and/or refund previously purchased tickets in this step-by-step guide. This help guide will cover how to manage releases and refunds in Arts People.

Recommended Reading Before You Start

• Glossary of Terms
• Arts People Suggested Setup Timeline

Instructions

Processing
Refunds are processed via the Refund / Release screen, accessed via the Order Details screen of the specific transaction. You can access this via the Box Office or Database screens by looking up the patron, clicking into the specific transaction in the ticket/transactions history area (lower left), and then find the "Refund / Release" blue button (upper right section of Order Details screen).  Refunding to credit cards will credit the amount back to the original credit card the patron used, based on the stored transaction ID information.  

Releases and Refunds

When patrons request a refund, this multiple step process begins with accessing the patron’s account on the Box Office Sales page.

1. From the Arts People homepage, use the navigation home menu to select Box Office. Then select Box Office Sales from the dropdown menu.

2. This takes you to the Box Office Sales page where you can look up a patron. You can look up existing patrons by completing the first or last name field and selecting Lookup Existing Patron. 

3. If there is only one patron with this information, the fields will fill in with their information. If there are multiple patrons, you will be taken to the Select Customer page. Find the patron you are looking for and select their name. 

4. Review the Ticketing History section. This displays the shows, performances, and seats purchased. Select View next to the order to be refunded to access the Order Details page.

5. This page provides you with the options to edit the delivery method, view tickets, reprint tickets, view donation history, and process ticket exchanges. 

6. To process a refund, select Refund/Release. 

7. This page shows you all the tickets purchased and allows you to process a refund and/or release the tickets. When you select the checkbox for Refund a field appears with the purchase price of the ticket. You can modify this amount prior to finalizing the refund. Generally, if you refund a ticket, you would also want to release the ticket so it may be purchased by another patron. You need to select a reason for the refund. Then select Next. 

Note: You also have the option to select Refund All and Release All.

8. When you get to this page, you will select the refund method.

9. Confirm that all the information is accurate. This action cannot be undone. When finished, select Confirm.

10.  A pop-up window appears to let you know that the refund was successful. You can print a receipt or send a confirmation email to the patron. When finished, select Back to Order Details.

11.  The Order Details page now displays the released items and the refunds applied. 

Notes about Refunds

• Refund Amount
  Refunds can be input for the complete transaction amount maximum, or a lesser portion of the total. You cannot refund more than the total on the transaction to a credit card.
  
  

• Refunds on Donations
  Refunds made to a donation will adjust the original donation amount as well. This does NOT affect membership that might have been triggered based on the donation amount. That would need to be manually adjusted via the Donation History screen.  Click here for more information on how to edit a membership.

• Refunds are final and cannot be undone.

• Credit Card History display for Refunds
  Refunds to credit card will appear on the credit card history screen as with other credit card transactions.  The TYPE column will display if the transaction was a payment, or a refund.  NOTE that refunds may not always appear as a negative amount, but the refund did still apply appropriately to the patron's credit card.  

• Same day Refunds
  If the credit card refund is input on the same day as the transaction, prior to the transaction settling with the bank overnight, the system will attempt to void the original transaction, wherein it will then likely not appear on the patron's credit card statement at all. If after settlement then it will appear as a negative amount (credit) on their statement to offset the original positive amount (charge) that appeared previously. See messages below that will notify you of which is the case.

• Partial Refunds - Queue
  Partial credit card refunds processed on the same day as the original transaction will go into a queue to process within 48 hours. The refund must wait until after the original purchase processes.  Same day refund in full will void the original transaction entirely. Queued refunds will NOT appear on the credit card history screen or report until they are finalized.  

• Refunds day limit
  Credit Card refunds can be issued up to 120 days after the initial transaction.

• Arts People Merchant account - Invoice
  If you are using our merchant account, credit card refunds will be automatically subtracted from billing on your invoice, deducted from your disbursement. If you are using your own merchant account then this does not apply.

• Merchant account updates
  If you make any change to your merchant account, such as a change of bank or merchant provider, transactions made prior to the change will not be able to be refunded to credit card. You will need to refund in some other payment method.

• How long does it take?
  Credit card refunds can take up to 10 business days to appear on your patron's online credit card statement, so it often best to advise them of this.

Messages you might see

• "Credit card refund processed" - the refund processed correctly. The patron will see a credit/refund on their card separately from the original transaction.

• "Credit card void processed" - this means the refund was processed on the same day as the original transaction and the original transaction was voided, as opposed to a credit/refund being issued back to the patron's card.

• "Sorry, refunds cannot be processed on transactions older than 120 days." - if you attempt to refund a credit card after more than 120 days since the initial transaction date.

IMPORTANT NOTE

Remember that it is unfortunately common to get patron questions wherein they think their credit card may have been charged twice when they actually had a credit card failure. Please see our help document FAQ - Credit Card Declined which describes this in detail. It is typically the case that the card was NOT charged multiple times. Any time a patron calls with such a question you should 1) verify on the credit card history screen that there were two or more VALID charges (showing "this transaction has been approved" as the result), and 2) verify that there are more than one transaction under the patron's transaction history. If these are not the case then the patron's card will NOT settle more than one transaction and no refund is needed.