What happens to event payments when an RSVP changes

Sometimes a parent says yes to an event, a payment gets set up for it, and then they change their mind. When that happens, the payment is not cancelled automatically — a leader decides whether to cancel it. This keeps you in control of the money: a change of heart never quietly cancels a charge, and you can choose what's fair when a place was already held or a cost has already been committed.

How the payment got there in the first place#

If your group uses auto-payment rules, a Direct Debit payment is created for a member the moment their parent RSVPs Yes to an event. That's the normal, helpful behaviour — see Event Finances and Payments for how to set those rules up.

This article is about the next bit: what happens to that payment if the parent later changes their answer.

When a member changes their RSVP to No#

If a parent changes a member's answer from Yes to No (or back to "Maybe") after the payment was created, the payment stays in place. Scoutworks does not cancel it for you. Instead:

• You're told straight away with a notification.
• You decide whether to cancel the payment or leave it.

Leaving the cancellation in your hands is deliberate. Sometimes a place has been booked, a deposit is non-refundable, or the cost is already spent — so it should be a person's decision, not an automatic one.

What leaders see#

You get a notification that reads something like "[Child] cancelled RSVP for [Event]", with the amount involved and quick actions right there in your notifications:

If the payment has already been collected, you won't see a Cancel button — at that point you'd issue a refund instead.

What parents see#

A parent who's changed their mind sees two things:

• The "RSVP needed" prompt clears. Once they've answered — Yes or No — they stop being nagged to RSVP for that event.
• A note on the payment. If they declined after a payment had been set up, the payment still shows under their Outstanding Payments with a clear note: "You've declined this event. Not cancelled automatically — please ask your leader to cancel it."

So the parent isn't left wondering why they're still being asked to pay for something they've pulled out of. They can still pay if they want to, but they don't have to — the message points them to you to sort out the cancellation.

What's next#

• Event Finances and Payments — setting up auto-payment rules and collecting event fees
• RSVPs and Attendance — managing who's coming to an event
• Payments and Direct Debit for Parents — what parents see in their own payments view