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What do I do if I need to postpone or cancel my event?

How to cancel or postpone an event on Eventrise, covering date changes, attendee notifications, and refund processing.

Things happen. Whether it's a venue issue, a scheduling conflict, or something outside your control, sometimes an event needs to be canceled or rescheduled. Here's how to handle it on Eventrise.

Postponing your event

If you're moving your event to a new date, you can update the details directly from your dashboard.

1. Update your event details

Edit your event's date, time, and any other affected details (like location, if it's changing too). See Editing your event details for a walkthrough.

2. Notify your attendees

Communicating with your attendees is your responsibility as the organizer — Eventrise does not send cancellation or postponement notices on your behalf. Using your own email tool, reach out to your attendees as soon as possible explaining what's changing, the new date, and what they need to do (if anything). Be clear and direct — attendees appreciate transparency, especially when plans change.

3. Update any external listings

If you've shared your event on social media, email campaigns, or your own website, update those too so prospective attendees see the new date.

Tip: Even if your refund policy doesn't require it, consider offering refunds to attendees who can't make the new date. It builds long-term trust with your community.

Canceling your event

If you need to cancel entirely, here's the process:

1. Notify your attendees first

As the organizer, communicating with your attendees is your responsibility — Eventrise does not send cancellation notices on your behalf. Before doing anything else in Eventrise, use your own email tool to reach out to your attendees explaining the cancellation. Acknowledge the inconvenience, explain what's happening with refunds, and give them a timeline for when they can expect their money back.

2. Process refunds

Issue refunds to your attendees through the Orders tab. You can refund tickets individually or work through them in bulk. See Refunding a ticket for step-by-step instructions.

Keep in mind:

  • Only ticket costs are refundable — platform and processing fees are non-refundable

  • Refunds typically take 5–10 business days to appear in your attendee's account

  • You can include a personalized message with each refund

3. Unpublish your event

Once refunds are underway, unpublish the event from your event settings so it's no longer publicly visible. Your historical data and order records will be preserved in your dashboard.

Best practices

  • Communicate early and often. Don't wait until you have every detail figured out. Attendees would rather hear "we're working on it" than nothing at all.

  • Be honest about the reason. A short, genuine explanation goes a long way.

  • Honor your refund policy. Sticking to (or exceeding) what you promised protects your reputation for future events.

Need help with something specific? Reach out to our support team — we're happy to walk through your situation with you.

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