Automatic vs manual refunds
When the system refunds by itself and when you decide.
Most refunds are raised by a person. Three arrive on their own — knowing which is which explains every refund row you didn't create.
In store: manual, always#
An in-store return never pays out by itself. Approving it unlocks the Process refund flow, where a person chooses the method and amount within the ceiling. Money moves when someone moves it.
The three automatic paths#
- Storefront returns refund on approval. A return that arrived through your online storefront auto-mints a cash refund for the full return value the moment it is approved — completed immediately if the order was paid, otherwise processing. The online customer isn't at your counter to negotiate a method, so approval is the decision.
- Negative-balance checkouts. An order whose credits outweigh its goods — an exchange where the replacement is cheaper — auto-creates a completed refund for the difference, when the checkout asked for one ("Create refund of {amount} for negative balance", with the method picked right there).
- Store-credit settlement. A credit's claim, settle and release hops follow the spending order's lifecycle — the system's, never a button.
Telling them apart#
Every refund row shows its Source — Return or Manual — and its method. A cash refund you don't remember raising, sourced from a return on a storefront order, is path 1 doing its job.