Refunds

A refund is money going back to the customer. Each refund is its own record. You raise it against an approved or completed return, or against an order that was paid too much. One return can have several part refunds.

Who can do this: the Administrator, Admin, Store Admin and Cashier can create refunds and change their status. There is no separate approval step: the permission is the approval. Reports Viewer can view refunds. Refunds work on every plan.

Before you start#

The return must be Approved or Completed. A refund cannot be raised against a requested, rejected or cancelled return.

Refund methods#

Card refunds are not offered.

Raise a refund for a return#

1. Open the approved return and click Process refund. Or open Refunds, click Process refund, and enter the Return ID.
2. Under Refund source, keep Linked to a return request.
3. Under Return item specifications, select the items and the Quantity to refund.
4. Check the Refund amount. It is worked out from the items you selected, and you can change it.
5. Choose the Refund method.
6. Add a Transaction processor reference or Notes if you like.
7. Click Create refund. The refund starts as Pending.
8. When the money has gone out, change the refund's status to Completed.

The limit: never more than the return is worth#

The total of all live refunds on a return can never be more than the return is worth. Pending refunds count too, because that money is already promised. If you go over, the message shows the numbers, for example "refund amount 60.00 exceeds the 40.00 still refundable on this return (60.00 of 100.00 already allocated)".

This holds even when two people refund the same return at the same time: they cannot both slip under the limit. If the app cannot check what was already refunded, it refuses rather than guesses.

The life of a refund#

Pending → Processing → Completed, with Failed and Cancelled as other outcomes.

• Failed is not the end. A failed payout can go back to Pending and be tried again.
• Completed and Cancelled are final. A refund that paid out cannot be undone. A cancelled refund is replaced by raising a new one.
• A paid refund's amount is fixed. To pay more, raise a separate refund for the difference.

Completing a refund updates the return's refunded total.

The status menu on a refund only offers moves the server allows. Moves it would refuse are shown with the reason.

Refund an overpayment#

If an edit lowers an open order's total below what the customer already paid, the order shows Refund due. The order cannot be completed until the extra money goes back.

1. Open the order and go to its Payments section.
2. Click Refund excess.
3. Under Refund against, pick the payment the money comes off.
4. Enter the Amount, up to what is owed back.
5. Choose Cash return or Deduction / adjustment. Store credit cannot be used for money owed back.
6. Click Refund excess. You see Refund issued.

The refund is created as completed and shows as a Refund row in the order's Payments section. The order can then be completed. The refund is final as soon as it is created, so check the amount and method before you click. See Recording payments and deposits.

Behind the scenes#

• Refund numbers start with REF- and a refund can never be deleted.
• Each refund shows its Source: Return when it was raised from a return, Manual when it was not.
• A refund never changes the order or its invoice. It is a separate record beside them.
• Some older refunds may show a method that is no longer offered, such as card or loyalty points. They keep that method. To change anything else on such a refund, you must first pick one of the current methods.

Watch out#

Troubleshooting#

Related pages#

Store credit refunds · Automatic vs manual · Returns