Returns and Refunds Are Two Separate Steps
| Step | What it does | When you need it |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Sales Return | Corrects the sale: reduces the order’s value, creates a credit note, and updates your sales report and tax figures | Every time — whether or not the customer has paid |
| 2. Refund | Gives money back to the customer | Only if the customer already paid and is now owed money |
If the customer has not paid yet, a Sales Return alone is enough — it simply reduces what they owe. If they have paid, do the Sales Return first, then refund the amount they are owed.
Before You Start
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The order must be confirmed or completed. Draft or cancelled orders cannot have a sales return.
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The Enable Sales Return switch must be turned on. In the Console, go to ⚙️ Settings → Library → UI Blocks → Order Detail, then open Sections → Main Column → Line Items and turn on Enable Sales Return. If you have never used returns, this is likely still off.
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The staff member needs the Issue sales returns permission.
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To refund individual payments, go to Sections → Side Column → Payment in the same Order Detail block and set Refund Mode to Same Day Only or Unrestricted — it is Disabled by default. Payment can be placed in either column, so open its current section if it has been moved. Refund Mode controls which refund actions are available; it does not enable or restrict Sales Returns.
Step 1: Issue the Sales Return
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Open the order (in the Console or on the POS).
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In the line items section, click Sales Return .
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Choose one of the two modes:
| Mode | Use it when |
|---|---|
| Return by Items | The customer returns specific items — pick each item and how many pieces |
| Return by Amount | You are crediting a flat amount, not tied to specific items — for example a service recovery gesture |
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Return by Items: tap each returned item and enter the Return Quantity. The panel shows how many pieces of each item are still available to return, and marks items that are Fully returned. You cannot return more than was sold.
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Return by Amount: enter the amount. It cannot exceed what is still returnable on the order.
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Check the preview: Current Total, any Existing Credits, the new Credit Note, and the Total After Return.
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Optionally type a reason for the return, then click Confirm .
What the system does automatically
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Creates a credit note on the order and reduces the amount the customer owes.
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Updates the order’s payment status — an unpaid order whose balance drops to zero becomes settled.
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Reduces your Sales Report figures for the period and lists the return in the report’s Sales Returns table. See Understanding Your Sales Report .
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Works out the tax portion of the credit and shares out any order-level discount proportionally across returned items.
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Writes a log entry in the order’s history, and queues the credit note for your accounting integration if you use one.
Step 2: Refund the Money (Only If the Customer Paid)
There are two ways to give money back, and they behave differently — pick the right one.
Option A: Refund the original payment
Use this when you want the money to travel back the same way it came in — especially for card and PayNow payments.
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In the order’s payment section, open the payment’s menu and choose Refund (available when your Refund Mode allows it).
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The Refund Payment dialog shows the amount that will be refunded — the payment’s full remaining amount.
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Optionally add a Note, then click Refund . You will see “Payment refunded successfully”.
What actually happens depends on how the customer paid:
| Original payment | What EasyBiz does | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Stripe / gateway payments (PayNow, GrabPay, card) | Sends a real reversal through the gateway — the money goes back to the customer by itself. The dialog notes refunds take 5–10 days to appear on their statement. | Nothing else — do not also hand over cash |
| Cash | Records the refund and logs it against your cash drawer session, so the drawer count stays correct | Physically hand the cash back from the drawer |
| Custom methods (NETS, bank transfer, external card terminal) | Records the refund only | Return the money yourself — for example a bank transfer or a reversal on your terminal |
| Store Credit | Adds the amount back to the customer’s store credit wallet | Nothing else |
Option B: Refund overpaid
After a sales return on a paid order, the payment section shows the overpaid amount and a Refund overpaid button:
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Click Refund overpaid .
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Check the Refund Amount.
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Pick the Refund Method — how you are giving the money back. Use Change to switch method.
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Optionally add a Reason, then click Refund .
Checking Everything Is Recorded
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On the order: the credit note appears in the line items summary, refunded payments show “Refunded by” with the staff name and time, and the history log records the return.
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Sales Report: the return appears in the Sales Returns table with its amount and note, and the period’s Net Sales are reduced. See Understanding Your Sales Report .
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Close of Day: refunds show under Total Refunded in the day’s income summary at that shop. See Introduction to the Close of Day Report .
Undoing a Mistake
If a sales return was issued wrongly, open the order, find the credit note row, and use the void action. You will be asked for a Reason for voiding this sales return before confirming. Voiding restores the order’s balance; if you already refunded money, collect it again as a normal payment.
If It Didn’t Work
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No Sales Return button on the order. Check, in this order: the order is confirmed or completed (not draft, cancelled, or voided); Enable Sales Return is on in your Order Detail settings; the staff member has the Issue sales returns permission.
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“Return amount cannot exceed” message. The order has previous credit notes — you can only return up to the order’s value minus credits already given.
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No Refund option on a payment. Your Refund Mode is Disabled (the default), or the payment was already refunded, or under Same Day Only the payment is from a previous day.
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Refund overpaid does not appear. The order is not overpaid — either the customer had not paid, or the amounts already balance.
FAQs
Can I return just one piece out of five?
Yes. Use Return by Items and set the Return Quantity to 1. The remaining pieces stay returnable later.
Does issuing a sales return automatically refund the customer’s card?
No. The sales return only corrects the sale. Money moves in Step 2 — and a card or PayNow payment is only reversed automatically when you refund that original payment (Option A). The Refund overpaid path records the refund while you return the money yourself.
Does a return put retail stock back into inventory?
No. A sales return adjusts the sale and money records only. Adjust stock separately if the item goes back on the shelf — see Managing Inventory Stock .
Can I give the refund as store credit instead of cash?
Yes. Pick Store Credit as the refund method — the amount is added to the customer’s wallet for future orders.
The customer paid with two methods. Which one gets refunded?
You choose. Refund a specific payment record, or use Refund overpaid and pick whichever refund method suits the situation.
What’s Next
Returns flow straight into your reporting — see Understanding Your Sales Report for where they land, and Introduction to the Close of Day Report for how refunds affect the day’s cash reconciliation.