How To Refund Shopify Payments

Refunding Through Shopify

A refund policy should always be included in your terms and conditions (Ts & Cs). This gives customers the information they need should they need to request a refund.

When using the Shopify platform, it’s very quick and easy to create a refund because of the native order-editing function. From the Shopify admin dashboard, you can create and manage refunds, returns, restock items, and even send shipping instructions.

But, not all businesses have time to reconcile their payments and refunds, so using a platform created specifically for this purpose can save a lot of time and money.

The Refund Process

Where To Start The Refunding Process

Making a refund is a simple and quick process. On your Shopify admin page, click on Orders. This will take you to your orders page, where you will select the order you want to refund. Click on the Refund button, and enter the number of items that you will be refunding.

Shipping

Should you choose to refund the shipping - not all businesses do this - then there is an option to do this. Simply enter the amount that you want to refund in the Shipping field.

Keeping A Track Record

It’s important to keep a track record of your refunds, so you can build up a picture of where and why refunds are taking place. You can do this by entering the reason/s in the next field - and it’s very valuable for data analytics. Note that this entry is optional, but it is highly recommended.

Two Clicks And You’re Done

The second-last thing that will be done is to decide whether you will expect the item to be returned or not. If it isn’t, and you’re just refunding the amount with no return, you will need to restock that merchandise. Just click on the Restock button and you’re done. Almost.

The final part of the process is to click Refund and the process is done!

At this point, a notification will automatically be sent to the customer so they’re aware that this process has been wrapped up. Should you not wish to send a notification, you can just uncheck this option.

Where Does The Refund Go?

Refunds are made to the payment source. For example, if a credit card was used, the refund will go back onto the credit card. If it was made on store credit, then the refund will be returned to the store credit. (Note that if a customer’s store credit has a negative balance and a refund is requested, the refunded amount will first be used to lessen or clear the store credit.)

If a purchase was made on a gift card, then the refund amount will go back onto the gift card. If a gift card was used to make partial payment, then the full amount available from the gift card will be returned to the gift card. The rest of the refund will either go to the alternative source of payment that was used to complete the payment for the items.

Types Of Refunds

There are 2 types of refunds: a full refund and a partial refund.

Full Refund

This is when you refund the amount for the full order that the customer placed. This type of refund usually applies to a single item that was ordered that the customer realized was the wrong size, color, or style. It could also apply to multiple items that were ordered, and the customer requests a refund for a particular reason.

Partial Refund

A partial refund may be requested if one item in a multiple-order selection is incorrect. Alternatively, your business may not have an adequate bank balance to refund an order in full. In this type of situation, partial refunds will be made as more sales are made and funds become available.

What If I Don’t Have Enough Money To Refund The Customer?

In a case like this, you can issue a partial refund until you have made enough sales to refund the outstanding amount. Refunds will be listed as Pending until the full amount has been paid out.

Conclusion

Offering your customers the option of a refund should there be a valid reason is an excellent way to build trust in your brand, and pave the way for future purchases.

Your Refund Policy should be clear and easy to understand, and laid out in your Ts & Cs. Remember to add into your policy that it can take up to 10 business days for a refunded amount to reflect in the customer’s account. This ensures that the customer does not expect the amount to reflect immediately.