Understanding Your Stripe Account: Canceled Transactions and the Full Picture

 

It happened. Doing due diligence between your VenuePilot and Stripe account, you dig in to audit your transactions and see what's happening under the hood. And then it strikes -- Why am I seeing so many 'canceled' transactions? This guide is here to help you make sense of this moment, it's a watershed moment and we're happy to be right here with you.

• You're Seeing the Full Picture: VenuePilot gives you unprecedented transparency and autonomy by allowing you to operate on your own Stripe account. This means you see every transaction and attempt, just as it happens, with no filtering like other providers do
• Canceled Transactions Are Normal: Those canceled transactions aren't necessarily a problem; they're a normal part of how Apple Pay and Google Pay work with Stripe.
• An Opportunity: While other companies hide this data, we see it as an opportunity. We're developing new tools to help you re-engage these customers and recapture lost sales.
• Your Money is Yours: Most importantly, because you're on your own Stripe account, your funds are settled directly to you. VenuePilot never touches or holds your money, offering you complete financial autonomy.
• Please reach out! If you think something is wrong, please do not hesitate to reach out to clientsupport@venuepilot.co immediately.

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At VenuePilot, our mission is to provide independent venues and arts organizations with complete autonomy. Including freedom from big-tech companies who hide information from you. 

As an independent, no-contract, low-fee platform, we've upended the traditional ticketing model by allowing our clients to operate on their own Stripe account of record.

This means that when a customer purchases a ticket, they are buying it directly from you, the venue. The money is settled directly to your account, and VenuePilot never sees or holds your money. 

This is a major departure from other ticketing companies that often hold your funds for a period of time, earning interest, before settling them to you on their own schedule. With VenuePilot, you have the freedom to settle your funds at any time, for any amount, and at any cadence you choose.

Why You're Seeing Canceled Transactions

This new level of financial freedom and transparency means you're now seeing the full picture of credit card processing. Stripe’s platform provides an unparalleled amount of fidelity into every single item of activity on your account. If you've noticed a number of transactions marked as "canceled," don't worry—it's not a sign of a problem.

Here’s a simple breakdown of what’s happening:

• It’s a requirement for Apple Pay and Google Pay. When a customer adds a ticket to their cart, a transaction is initialized and a record is created in Stripe.
• The purchase wasn't completed. If the customer doesn't complete the purchase (e.g., they close the browser, get interrupted, or simply change their mind), the cart eventually expires.
• Stripe records everything. Because Stripe is a comprehensive ledger, it shows you these authorized requests that were never fulfilled. These transactions are simply the record of an abandoned cart.

Turning Data into Opportunity

While other ticketing companies may hide this data from you, we see this transparency as a critical advantage. One, it delivers on our mission of being fully transparent, cause we’re in this together. We believe that seeing this data is an opportunity, not a flaw. As a result, we are currently researching and building new cart abandonment tools that will help you capture and retarget these potential customers.

In summary, those canceled transactions on your Stripe account are not a sign of a problem, they are a sign of transparency and a testament to the powerful, durable, and direct relationship we've enabled between you and your customers.

VenuePilot: The no-contract, no-cost, fully transparent, and turnkey venue solution for independent venues and arts organizations of all sizes.