Skip to main content

Issuing a Refund (Merch Returns)

The Scenario: You sell a customer a shirt, but they immediately realize it's the wrong size. You don't have their correct size in stock, so they ask for their money back.

The Best Practice: When a customer needs a full refund, you need to return their money and take the physical item back. BandMath handles the accounting for this beautifully through our "Self-Healing Ledger."

  1. Refund the Money: Hand the cash back to the customer, or issue a refund through your credit card processor's app (Stripe, Square, etc.).
  2. Delete the Transaction in BandMath: Go to the Transaction Feed (the Ledger), locate the original Merch Sale, and tap Delete.

Why this works flawlessly: When you hit "Delete" on a Merch Sale to process a return, the backend triggers a cascading self-heal:

  • The Math Realignment: The primary transaction and all associated profit splits are instantly removed, perfectly resetting every band member's standings back to where they were before the sale. You are no longer financially responsible for that income.
  • The Auto-Restock: The backend opens up the associated order, looks at every single item and size that was in the cart, and automatically adds those exact quantities back into your active inventory (since you physically took the shirt back).
  • The Analytics: The order records are purged, meaning your Sales Analyzer's ROI and velocity metrics remain completely uncontaminated by the refunded sale.

Issuing a Partial Refund​

Sometimes a full return isn't necessary. For example, if you accidentally overcharge a fan by €3 because the physical sign at the merch stand was outdated, or if there was a miscommunication on pricing, you can issue a partial refund without deleting the original transaction in BandMath.

Because BandMath provisions your band with a fully-featured Standard Stripe Connect account, you have direct control over your transactions.

  1. Log into your Stripe Dashboard (the same account you connected to BandMath).
  2. Locate the specific payment in your Payments tab.
  3. Click the Refund button and enter the exact amount you want to return to the fan (e.g., €3.00).

For more detailed help on navigating your merchant account, check out the Stripe Knowledge Base on Issuing Refunds.

Sending Automated Refund Receipts​

Because BandMath uses Stripe Connect (Standard), your band acts as the actual merchant of record and you own your own fully-featured Stripe account. This gives you complete liability protection, but it also means that automated email receipts are controlled by your Stripe settings, not BandMath's platform.

To automatically email your fans a receipt when you issue a refund (or a successful payment), you must turn it on in your Stripe Dashboard:

  1. Log into your band's connected Stripe dashboard.
  2. Click the Settings gear icon in the top right.
  3. Under the Business settings section, click on Customer emails.
  4. In the Email customers about... section, toggle on Successful refunds (and Successful payments if desired).
  5. Hit Save.