Three separate things get called "cancelling", and mixing them up is how a tribe ends up still being billed for something everyone agreed had stopped.
| Action | What it stops | What it does not do |
|---|---|---|
| Cancel an order | Chasing that order. It leaves receivables. | Does not return money already taken, and does not stop a subscription. |
| Cancel a subscription | All future renewals. | Does not refund the period already paid for. |
| Refund | Nothing — it returns money. | Does not stop future billing on its own. |
CANCEL THE SUBSCRIPTION FIRST
Who is allowed to cancel
Each product sets its own cancellation rules:
- User — the tribe can cancel it themselves. Right for optional extras a tribe chose to buy.
- Admin — only your team can cancel. Right for anything mandatory, anything with a committed term, and anything assigned rather than bought.
Set this deliberately per product. A mandatory network levy a tribe can cancel from their own screen is not mandatory.
Refunding
A refund returns money through the provider it was taken with, so it only applies where money was actually collected. An unpaid order has nothing to refund — cancel it instead, or raise a credit.
| Situation | What to do |
|---|---|
| Paid, and you are giving the money back | Refund. |
| Unpaid, and you have agreed not to collect | Cancel the order, or raise a credit if part is still payable. |
| Paid, but you are keeping the money as account credit | Raise a credit and leave the payment alone. |
Part-periods are not calculated for you
Cancelling a subscription part-way through a period does not produce a pro-rata refund. If you have agreed to return part of it, work out the amount and refund or credit it deliberately.
A clean cancellation
- Cancel the subscription, so nothing renews.
- Deal with any unpaid orders — cancel or credit them.
- Refund anything you have agreed to return.
- Note on the order what was agreed and with whom, so the next person reading it knows.
- Check Accounts Receivable shows nothing left outstanding for that tribe.
WRITE IT DOWN
Cancellations are almost always agreed in a conversation nobody else saw. The note on the order is what stops the same tribe being chased three months later by someone acting in good faith.