You can issue refunds or process exchanges either by finding the original sales transaction and refunding it (refund by reference) or by creating a new sale and converting it to a refund (an ad hoc refund).
For more accurate and thorough record-keeping, we recommend refunding from the original transaction whenever possible.
Creating a quick refund
You can create a quick refund using the Sales screen. This will refund the customer's money, but will not keep track of which sale has been refunded.
- Navigate to Sales > Refund.
- If the Refund button isn't visible, select New Sale, then return to the Sales menu.
- Scan your customer's receipt in the Item field or type in the item that is being refunded.
- Select Payment.
- Choose the payment method being refunded.
- Select Finish Sale.
Refunding the original sale
Refunding the original sale is helpful for your record-keeping, can help eliminate fraud, and can also prevent you from refunding discounted items at full price. Refunding the original sale involves finding the sale, selecting the item(s) to refund, optionally adding items to exchange, and processing the payment.
Finding the original sale
You can find the original sale by scanning the customer's receipt, looking up the sale number (iPad only), searching by customer name, or searching by item(s) (Retail POS only).
Scanning the customer's receipt
You can scan your customer's receipt in the register or the Sales History page.
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Scanning the receipt on Retail POS
To scan your customer's receipt at the register:
- Navigate to Sales > Refund.
- In the Item field, scan your customer's receipt.
You can now select the item(s) to refund.
To scan your customer's receipt on the Sales History page:
- Navigate to Sales > Sales history.
- In the search bar, scan your customer's receipt.
- Click Refund or exchange.
You can now select the item(s) to refund.
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Scanning the receipt on iPad
To scan your customer's receipt:
- Navigate to the Sales tab.
- Tap the magnifying glass icon.
- Scan your customer's receipt.
Searching by sale number (iPad only)
If your customer's receipt is not scannable but you have the receipt number, you can enter this to find the transaction.
- Navigate to the Sales tab.
- In the Search field, enter the last 3 digits of the sale number as listed on the receipt.
Searching by customer name
If your customer doesn't have their receipt, we recommend searching for your customer by name.
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Searching by customer name on Retail POS
To search for your customer by name:
- Navigate to Sales > Refund.
- In the Customer field, type your customer's name or another searchable detail.
- Click Search.
- If your search has a unique match, the customer will be attached to the refund automatically.
- If your search returns multiple results, click + Attach to Sale next to the correct customer account.
- Click Edit.
- Click Sales.
- Optionally, search for the item in the Item Search field.
- Click the ID number next to the sale.
- Click Refund.
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Searching by customer name on iPad
To search for your customer by name:
- Navigate to the Sales tab.
- In the Search field, type your customer's name.
- Optionally, you can filter by location, Register, or Status.
- By location: Select All locations and choose your location.
- By Register: Select Register and choose your register.
- By Status: Select Status and choose the sale status.
Searching by item (Retail POS only)
If your customer doesn't have their receipt or a matching sale in their customer account, we recommend searching for the item itself.
To search for the sale by item:
- Navigate to Reports > Lines.
- Optionally, search for the item in the Item Search field.
- If you're having trouble finding the item, you can narrow your search by selecting Advanced and editing your search options further.
- Click the sale ID in the ID column.
- Click Refund.
You can now select the item(s) to refund.
Selecting items to refund
In the Refund tab of the sale, select the item(s) to refund.
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Selecting items on Retail POS
To select the item(s) being refunded:
- Click Refund next to each item being refunded.
- Optionally, leave a receipt note and/or internal note about the return.
- If your item is serialized, the serial number will display. To remove it, click Remove.
You can now process the refund payment.
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Selecting items on iPad
To select the item(s) being refunded:
- Tap Refund.
- Select the item(s) to be refunded.
- Tap Refund.
Adding items to exchange (optional)
If during the refund your customer wants to purchase items as well, you can create an exchange by adding items to the Sale tab. The register will calculate the difference between the Sale and Refund tab and clearly display whether you owe your customer a refund (sale Total is a negative value) or your customer has a balance to pay (sale Total is a positive value).
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Exchanging items on Retail POS
To add the item(s) to the refund:
- Click on the Sale tab.
- Add the item(s) by searching or scanning the barcode(s).
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Exchanging items on iPad
To add the item(s) to the refund:
- Tap the magnifying glass icon.
- Search for the item.
- Tap + Add to sale.
Your Total will automatically adjust to include the item(s) being purchased and the item(s) being refunded. For an equivalent exchange, your total should read $0.00.
If your total is $0.00, click Payment and then Finish Sale to finalize the exchange.
If your total is not $0.00, finish processing the payment.
Processing the payment
If your exchange's Total has a positive value, you can simply process the payment as you would when making a sale. On Retail POS, the Payment section will be green.
If your refund's or exchange's Total has a negative value, the refunded amount may be subject to certain restrictions based on:
- the payment type(s) and amount(s) on the original transaction.
- the Refund As setting for each payment type, found under Settings > Payment Types.
On Retail POS, the Refund section will be orange.
If you are refunding from the original transaction and it was paid for by credit card, depending on your payment processor and the time elapsed since the transaction took place, you may see the original credit card used to pay for the transaction displayed as a payment type to refund to. Selecting this card and completing the refund transaction automatically sends the funds back to the card.
The payment processor Tyro does not support refunding directly back to the card that was originally used for the transaction. Instead, select that you are refunding to a credit card and swipe/enter the credit card in question.
Refunding to a debit card is not possible with most payment processors.* If the original transaction was paid for by debit, you will have to refund to a different payment type, such as cash.
*If you are using the P400+ payment terminal with Lightspeed Payments, you can refund to a debit card.
What's next?
Voiding a sale
Understand how to void a transaction, making it as though it never happened.
Learn moreRefunding to store credit
Learn about refunding a sale to a customer's store credit account.
Learn more