How do refunds work for entry fees and tickets?
How to refund a ticket order or a withdrawn team's entry fee through Stripe, and what happens to the tickets and the fee.
Reviewed 26 September 2026
The short answer
Tickets: on Ticketing, open Recent orders and select Refund on a paid order. Entry fees: when you withdraw a team that paid online, choose Refund approved and tick Refund via Stripe. The money comes back out of your Stripe balance and Playlee's fee is not returned. Offline payments are paid back by you directly.
Short answer
Online ticket and entry payments go to your Stripe account, so refunds come back out of it. Playlee's fee (3.25% + 20p) is not returned on a refund; you bear it, not the buyer.
What this usually means
- Ticket orders: Refund on a paid order in Recent orders refunds the whole order to the buyer's card after you confirm the amount. You can add a reason for your records. The order then shows Refunded, every ticket in it stops working at check-in, and its places no longer count as sold. Refunding the same order twice is not possible.
- Refund only covers whole orders. To refund part of an order, do it in your Stripe dashboard: Playlee records the partial refund on the order, and its tickets stay valid.
- If you fully refund a ticket order in your Stripe dashboard instead, Playlee picks that up too and marks the order Refunded, so its tickets stop working at check-in.
- Entry fees: in the Withdraw dialog, choose Refund approved, enter the amount and tick Refund via Stripe. Playlee withdraws the team first, then refunds that amount to the card that paid. The refund, its Stripe reference and the date are saved in the withdrawal's finance note. If several teams were paid for together, you can refund up to that team's share.
- Refund via Stripe only appears for entries paid online through Playlee checkout, and only when you withdraw the team. If Stripe refuses the refund, the team is still withdrawn and you are told to refund it from your Stripe dashboard.
- Refunds do not email the team or the ticket buyer. The other refund resolutions (Needs finance review, No payment / no refund needed, Refund declined, Refunded outside Playlee) record your decision only and move no money.
What to do next
- 1
For a ticket order: on Ticketing, open Recent orders, select Refund on the order, check the amount, then confirm.
- 2
For a team: on Teams, select Withdraw, choose Refund approved, enter the amount, tick Refund via Stripe, then select Withdraw and refund.
- 3
If they paid you offline, pay them back directly and choose Refunded outside Playlee so your records are accurate.
Extra context
Can I delete a tournament to cancel everything?
Not once any team has paid an entry fee or any match has started. Withdraw teams and handle refunds instead.
Can a team withdraw itself?
No. Only an organiser can withdraw a team, from the Teams page.
Who pays for a refund?
You do. The refunded amount is taken back from your Stripe balance and Playlee keeps its fee. Playlee never covers refunds.
Can I refund an older ticket order?
Recent orders shows the latest orders. For an older order, refund it in your Stripe dashboard; Playlee marks it Refunded when Stripe confirms a full refund.