Refunds

FishTourney lets you issue refunds directly from the participant list without leaving the tournament admin page. Refunds are processed through Stripe and appear in the participant record as an audit trail.

When refunds apply

Common situations where you may need to issue a refund:

• Angler withdrawal — a registered angler cancels before the event and you choose to return their entry fee.
• Event cancellation — weather, safety conditions, or other circumstances force you to cancel the tournament entirely.
• Billing dispute — an angler contacts you about an incorrect charge and you wish to resolve it directly rather than waiting for a formal Stripe dispute.
• Administrative correction — a duplicate payment or data entry error that requires a partial credit.

Full vs. partial refunds

The refund form offers two modes:

• Full refund — returns the entire amount the angler paid. The form pre-fills the total so you only need to confirm.
• Partial refund — lets you enter any dollar amount up to but not exceeding what the angler paid. Use this when you want to retain a booking or administration fee while returning the remainder.

How to issue a refund

1. Open the tournament admin page and locate the participant in the participants list.
2. Click Manage next to their name. The participant actions menu opens.
3. Select Refund. The refund form appears within the same modal — no separate page load is required.
4. Choose Full refund or Partial refund. For partial refunds, enter the amount in dollars and cents.
5. Click Confirm Refund. FishTourney sends the refund request to Stripe immediately. A confirmation message appears within a few seconds.

Audit trail

Every refund is recorded against the participant's record in DynamoDB with the refunded amount and the timestamp. The refund also appears in your Stripe dashboard under the original payment charge, with the same reference that Stripe uses for reconciliation.

If you have issued a refund and then mark the tournament payout settled, the refunded amount has already reduced the funds available in your Stripe balance, so the net payout total will reflect the refund automatically.

Refund timing

Stripe processes refunds within 5–10 business days depending on the angler's card issuer. FishTourney initiates the refund immediately; the delay is on the banking side. You can track the refund status in your Stripe dashboard under Payments → Refunds.