This article explains how to set up registration cancellation fees and agenda item cancellation fees, how to cancel these items for a registrant or their guests, and how to apply a refund to the registration.

For fee-based events, it is important that you follow a protocol when canceling registrations and applying refunds. It may be helpful to remember the acronym CAR, which stands for the three steps to process a cancellation and refund in the correct order. C stands for "Cancel the registration or agenda item", A stands for "Apply the cancellation fees if necessary", and R stands for "Refund the payment".
A registration should always have a “Credit Due” balance before you apply a refund. 

How to Create Registration Cancellation Fees

When you create an attendee type, you can set up associated cancellation fees too.

Important Note: To process a full refund for a registrant, you still need to set up a cancellation fee of $0.

1. Navigate to Plan > Event Setup > Attendee Types.
2. Create or edit an Attendee Type.
3. Enter the attendee type Name, Code, Inventory, etc., as needed.
4. In the Registration Fees section, select the Fee Type and enter the appropriate fee for that attendee type. 
5. In the Cancellation Fees section, select the Fee Type and enter the cancellation fee for that attendee type.
   • Enter a fee code you will recognize as the cancellation fee for that particular registration category.
6. Click Save or Save & New to create additional attendee types.

How to Create Agenda Item Cancellation Fees

Similarly, when you create agenda items, you have the option of setting up cancellation fees. However, if there is no cancellation fee for an agenda item and you would like to give a full refund, there is no need to setup a cancellation fee. 

1. Navigate to the Event Setup > Agenda.
2. Enter the agenda item Name, Code, Inventory, etc., as needed.
3. In the Registration Fees section, select the Fee Type and enter the appropriate fee for that agenda item. 
4. In the Cancellation Fees section, select the Fee Type and enter the cancellation fee for that agenda item. 
5. Click Save or Save & New to create additional agenda items.

How to Cancel a Single Registration's Order and Process Refund

In this scenario, an individual registrant notifies the planner of their intention to cancel their event registration and associated agenda items. The planner only needs to cancel the registrant’s event registration; their agenda item registrations will automatically be cancelled.

1. Look up the registrant in Certain using the Find link on the Registrations tab or the Search link in the Global Navigation Bar.
2. Navigate to the Registrations > Profile > Registration Information section.
3. Select the appropriate Cancellation Fee from the Attendee Type menu.
4. Select Cancelled from the Status menu.
5. Click Save.
6. Navigate to the Registrations > Financial page to view the registrant's current balance due (The Balance due will also show on the top right corner of the registration record). The system automatically deducts the registration fees from the registrant’s List of Charges and applies new charges for any cancellation fees.
7. Click Refund.
8. Set the Payment/Refund Type, and if it was a CC processed online, select the existing CC payment.
9. Click Submit.

Note Regarding Non-Credit Card Payments/Refunds: If the registrant paid using a method other than a credit card, you can select the Add New option to create a new refund record.

• The amount will default to the current balance due, and the payment type will default to "Refund," since the balance due is negative. It’s not necessary to select the "Refund has been processed" checkbox since it will automatically be checked once the refund has been processed.

The refund record (RF) is reflected in the Discounts & Refunds section and the Transaction History section.

How to Cancel a Registrant's Agenda Item and Process Refund

In this scenario, an individual registrant notifies the planner of their need to cancel one or more of their agenda items, but they are still planning to attend the event. The planner only needs to cancel the registrant’s agenda item(s) and their event registration will not be affected.

1. Look up the registrant in Certain using the Find link on the Registrations tab or the Search link in the Global Navigation Bar.
2. Navigate to Registrations > Agenda and click the agenda item to be cancelled.
3. Change the Quantity to 0.
4. Select Cancelled from the Status menu.
5. If a cancellation fee applies, select the appropriate fee from the Fee List – otherwise leave the original fee as is.
6. Click Save.
7. In the Financials section, you can view the Balance Due in the top right, and then process a refund by clicking the Refund option under Current Activity. In this example, the registrant already paid his registration fees and is now owed $100.
8. Once you select Refund, select the payment type. If the original transaction was paid via credit card, then select Credit Card. 
9. Lastly, select the Credit Card you wish to process to refund to, and click Save. Process Payment Online should be checked by default, which will allow the refund to be submitted as soon as you click Save.

The refund record (RF) is reflected in the Discounts & Refunds section and the balance due will update.

How to Cancel Additional/Guest Registrants and Process Refund

In this scenario, an individual (Brian Liu) registered himself and an additional registrant (Mary Liu) for an event and paid the total balance due. However, the additional registrant has decided that she can’t attend the event, so the planner needs to cancel the additional registration and process a refund for the primary registrant.

1. Look up the additional registrant (Mary Liu, in this example) in Certain using the Find link on the Registrations tab or the Search link in the Global Navigation Bar.
2. Navigate to Registrations > Profile and scroll down to the Registration Information section.
   
3. Select the appropriate Cancellation Fee from the Attendee Type menu.
4. Select Cancelled from the Status menu.
5. Click Save.
6. Click the Overview sub-tab and scroll down to the Registration Leader section.
7. Click the primary registrant’s Record (Brian Liu, in this example) to access his financials and process a refund. This will take you to the Attendee Overview page.
8. Click the Payment sub-tab on Brian Liu’s record. 
   
   • In the List of Charges section, you’ll see that the event registration fee for Mary was deducted and a cancellation fee of $25 was applied. The resulting balance due is the fee for one registrant, $150, minus the cancellation fee, $25, which equals $125. The balance due is negative because Brian paid all of the fees previously and is now owed a refund.
9. Select Refund, and then select the payment type. If the original transaction was paid via credit card, then select Credit Card. 
10. Lastly, select the Credit Card you wish to process to refund to, and click Save. Process Payment Online should be checked by default, which will allow the refund to be submitted as soon as you click Save.

The refund record (RF) is reflected in the Discounts & Refunds section and the balance due will update.