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Setting a cancellation policy

Learn how to set up a cancellation policy for your bookings

Anni avatar
Written by Anni
Updated over 6 months ago

✨ Please note: Online payments are available on the Lite plan or above.

It's important to provide your contact details and refund policy when accepting online payments. Adding this information will ensure that you comply with key regulations for online sales and build trust with your customers and credibility for your business.

This article covers:


Setting a cancellation policy

To set a cancellation policy, select Booking preferences from the left-hand menu, then Edit next to the Cancellations, Transfers & Refund section:

Booking preferences screen with an arrow pointing at the 'Edit' button under the 'Cancellations, Transfers & Refunds' section. Users select this button to set their policies.

Cancellations

You have the following options to customise your cancellation settings:

  1. Able/disable ticket cancellations by ticking/unticking the box next to Allow ticket cancellation:

    Cancellation settings with an arrow pointing at the 'Allow ticket cancellations' checkbox. Users can tick/untick this box to allow/disallow customer cancellations.

    Customise the time period, from set minutes/hours/days/weeks/months before the event:

    Cancellation settings screen highlighting the different cancellation period options. This includes: minutes, days, weeks and months.

  2. Tick the Return pass use on ticket cancellation box to return pass uses to the customer if you or they cancel their ticket:

    Cancellation settings with an arrow pointing at the 'Return pass use on ticket cancellation' checkbox. Users can tick this box to prompt the system to return pass uses to a customers pass if the admin or customer cancels their ticket.

Cancellation message

Display a default or custom cancellation message to customers when they cancel a ticket.

💡 Please note: Cancellation messages are applied at the account level, not for individual events. We recommend that you:

  1. Include these details in your refund policy to set different cancellation policies for specific events.

  2. Create a custom cancellation message advising customers to review the refund policy for cancellation details applicable to their chosen event.

To set up your cancellation message, select either Default or Custom under the Cancellation message section:

Cancellation settings with an arrow pointing at the 'Default' and 'Custom' checkboxes where users can select to set a default message or create a custom one.

Default

The default message automatically updates in line with your cancellation settings as set under Cancellations.

For example:

Default cancellation message example, highlighting how the message appears to customers when cancelling a ticket. Includes: T&C's of cancellation and confirm button.

💡 Please note:

  • You cannot amend the default cancellation message.

  • No message will show when you select default if you haven't set up any cancellation settings.

  • This message does not include information provided in your refund policy. Therefore, we advise that you include the link to your refund policy for extra clarity by ticking the Include link to Refund Policy checkbox:

Custom

The custom option is a free text field (255 characters or less) where you can add a customisable cancellation message. You can also use markdown to customise the message further.

Admin view example:

Custom cancellation message setup example highlighting where users can add their messaging.

Customer view example:

Custom cancellation message example, highlighting what displays to customers when they cancel a ticket. Includes: custom message, ticket and event details, and confirm button.

💡 Please note: It's important to ensure that the message aligns with your cancellation settings and you manually update it per your terms.

Including a link to your refund policy

You can include a link to your refund policy by ticking the Include link to Refund Policy tickbox:

Include link to Refund Policy checkbox. Users tick this box to include their refund policy in their cancellation message.

Example of how the default message appears with the refund policy included:

Cancellation message example with arrow pointing at the 'Refund Policy' hyperlink.

Example of how the default message without the refund policy:

Cancellation message example without the 'Refund policy' hyperlink.


Transfers

Under the Transfers setting, tick the Allow ticket transfers checkbox to allow your customers to transfer their tickets:

Transfer settings with an arrow pointing at the 'Allow ticket transfers' checkbox, highlighting where users can tick to allow their customers to transfer their tickets.

When you allow ticket transfers on your account, you can customise transfers by:

  1. The duration before the event

  2. The timeframe to which customers can transfer

  3. Restricting to one transfer per ticket

  4. Allowing transfers to different events/ticket types

1. The duration before the event

Under Allow transfers up until, set how many hours/days/weeks/months before the event a customer can transfer their ticket:

'Allow transfers up until' setting, where users can set how many hours/days/weeks/months before their booked event that they can transfer their ticket.
  • For day/week/month durations, you can add a time of day or leave it blank for no restriction.

2. The timeframe to which customers can transfer

Under Restrict transfer window to, set how far in the future a customer can transfer their ticket:

'Restrict transfer window to' setting, where users can set how far in the future a customer can transfer from the date of their event.
  • For day/week/month durations, you can add a time of day or leave it blank for no restriction.

3. Restricting transfers to one transfer per ticket

Limit transfers to one transfer per ticket by ticking Limit to one transfer per ticket:

'Limit to one transfer per ticket' checkbox, highlighting where users can click to only allow customers to transfer their booked ticket once.

4. Allowing transfers to different events or ticket types

Tick Allow transfers to different event or ticket types to give customers the option to transfer their tickets to other event or ticket options:

'Allow transfers to different event or ticket types' checkboxes, highlighting the settings that users can use to allow their customers to transfer tickets to different types.

Please note: We always restrict customers from transferring their tickets to higher-cost tickets.

  • With the same value or less: Allow transfers to same-value or lower-cost tickets. This means you may have to action a refund for the difference.

  • With the same value only: Restrict transfers to tickets of the same value only.


Refund settings

Tick Show refund amount to customer under Refunds to show the customer how much they are owed upon cancellation/transfer to a lower-cost ticket:

'Show refund amount to customer' checkbox, highlighting what users can click to show how much the customer is owed if a ticket is cancelled/transferred to a lower cost.

For example:

Customer portal example with an arrow pointing at a banner message, highlighting how much the customer is owed for that booking.


Setting a refund policy

To set a refund policy, select Settings from the left-hand menu, Payments, then Edit:

Payment setting screen with arrows pointing at 'Settings' and 'Payments' from the left-hand admin menu, then at the 'Edit' button under 'Payments'. Users click 'Edit' to edit and set their refund policy.

Add your refund policy blurb in the box under Refund policy:

Payment settings screen with a box highlighting the 'Refund policy' field, where users can add their refund policy.

Select Save changes when you have added all of the relevant information.

The policy shows as a link at the footer of your public page:

Public page footer example with arrow pointing at the 'View our refund policy' hyperlink, highlighting where visitors can click to review the refund policy.

Once selected, customers can view the refund policy on your page:

Public page refund policy example, highlighting that the policy shows at the top of the page once the link is selected.

💡 Please note: Some payment providers require a refund policy. Learn the requirements for taking payments online.


Adding the policy to your page

Alongside adding your refund policy blurb, you may wish to add your cancellation policy to other areas of your schedule setup, such as on your public page, booking confirmation email or event description.

Public page

You may wish to add your policy at the top of your page. To do this, select Customise page in the top right-hand corner and scroll down to the General Information section to add your blurb:

Public page example with an arrow pointing at the top-right of the page at the 'Customise page' button, highlighting where users can click to access their page's settings.

Customise page settings with an arrow pointing at the 'General information' field. Users can add their policy in this field.

This text appears at the top of your schedule:

Public page example with an arrow pointing at the top of the page, below the banner image, where the general information will appear.

Event Description

You can add the policy to the event description for extra visibility. To do this, select the entry, then Edit entry:

Scheduling settings screen with an arrow pointing at the 'Edit entry' button, highlighting how users can open their entry settings.

Select the Information tab and add the policy in the Description field:

Entry settings with an arrow pointing at the 'Description' field under the Information tab, highlighting to users where they can add further information.

This then shows on the public page within the information field:

Public page example with an arrow pointing at the 'Information' section of the entry. This information displays to visitors under the event image and info, such as location and date/time.

Booking confirmation message

To add to your Booking confirmation message, select your entry, then Edit entry:

Select the Information tab and scroll to the Booking confirmation message section to add it to the emails your customers receive:

Entry settings with an arrow pointing at the 'booking confirmation message' field within the 'Information' tab, highlighting where users can add their custom confirmation message.

Adding a mandatory booking form field

You may wish to add a field that your customers agree to when booking. To do this, select the Booking form tab, then Create a new field type:

Entry settings example with an arrow pointing at the 'Create a new field type' hyperlink within the 'Booking form' tab, highlighting where users can add a new field to their entry.

You can then choose whether you'd like the field to apply to the attendee, overall booking or ticket:

Field settings highlighting the different choices for field type: attendee, booking or ticket.

Enter the Field label (name), then add the policy under the Additional help text section.

You can make a field mandatory by selecting the Mandatory field tickbox. Then choose the Field data type (such as a 'Yes or No option' or checkbox for capturing consent):

Field setup screen within the 'Booking form' tab of the entry setup, highlighting where users can add the field label and additional help text, set the field type and whether it's mandatory.


Where your customers can view the refund policy

You can view your refund policy in the public page footer, which is a requirement for some payment providers.

Public page footer example with arrow pointing at the 'View our refund policy' hyperlink, highlighting where visitors can click to review the refund policy.

When selecting the hyperlink, the refund policy pops open as a larger sub-page:

Public page refund policy example, highlighting that the policy shows at the top of the page once the link is selected.


💬 Any questions or feedback? There are two ways to get in touch:

Thank you! 🕺

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