# Refund a booking

Updated 2026-10-15 by the TicketPa team. Source: https://ticketpa.com/help/refund-a-booking

Give back part or all of what a guest paid online, without cancelling their booking. Use it for a goodwill refund, or when something on the day didn't go as planned.

## Steps to refund a booking

1. Go to **Bookings** in the sidebar and open the booking.
2. Select **Refund** at the top of the booking. It shows when something paid online hasn't been refunded yet, while Stripe is connected. If your Stripe account is disconnected, the booking says so instead: refund the guest in your Stripe dashboard, or connect Stripe again. See [Fix online payments that stopped](https://ticketpa.com/help/online-payments-stopped).
3. Enter the **Amount**. It starts at everything paid online that you can still refund, and you can enter less.
4. Add a **Reason** if you like. The guest sees it in the refund email.
5. Select **Refund**.

You can refund a booking more than once, until everything paid online has gone back.

## What happens next

- The booking stays as it is: the same status, time and places. The guest can still come.
- The money goes back to the card the guest paid with, through Stripe.
- Under **Tickets and payment**, the refund is listed as **In progress**, then **Refunded**, and **Refunded** shows the total given back. The timeline shows **Refund started**, then **Refunded** once Stripe confirms it.
- Once Stripe confirms, the guest gets an email with the amount and your reason. It tells them it can take 5 to 10 days to show on their statement.
- TicketPa gives back its fee on the refunded part.
- When the guest paid a booking fee, its share goes back with the refund: all of it with a full refund. The **Amount** you enter is your price, and the refund email shows the total the guest gets back.

If Stripe can't make the refund, it is listed as **Failed** with the reason, and **Refund failed** shows on the timeline and in your team's notifications bell.

## Money paid in person

**Refund** only gives back money paid online, to the card that paid. Money taken in cash, by card on site or by bank transfer is yours to give back, and TicketPa doesn't record it.

> **Note:** To call off the booking and refund it, cancel it instead with **Cancel booking**. Its places then go back on sale. See [Cancel a booking](https://ticketpa.com/help/cancel-a-booking).

## Frequently asked questions

### Does a refund change what the guest still has to pay?

No. **Paid** and **Still to pay** stay the same, and the money given back shows under **Refunded**.

### Who can refund a booking?

The Owner and Managers, from the booking's page.

### Does a refund show in my reports?

Yes. **Reports** takes refunds off what you collected, and shows the amount refunded. See [how to read your reports](https://ticketpa.com/help/read-your-reports).