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Refunds ​

Refunds in Meloncart are handled through a combination of order status management, payment gateway processing, and manual stock restoration. This page explains how to process refunds for orders that have been paid.

Refund Process ​

Issuing a Refund via the Payment Gateway ​

If the order was paid through an online payment method (such as Stripe or PayPal), the refund is processed through the payment gateway's own interface or API. Responsiv.Pay records refund transactions in the payment log, which is accessible through the order's associated invoice.

The specific refund process depends on the payment gateway being used:

  • Stripe — Refunds can typically be initiated from the Stripe dashboard or through the payment log in Responsiv.Pay.
  • PayPal — Refunds are managed through the PayPal seller dashboard.
  • Offline methods — For orders paid via bank transfer or similar methods, refunds are handled outside the system (e.g., manual bank transfer back to the customer).

Updating Order Status ​

After processing a refund, update the order's status to reflect the change. If you have created a "Refunded" or "Cancelled" status in your order workflow (under Settings → Order Routes), transition the order to that status.

This status change:

  1. Creates a log entry documenting the refund.
  2. Notifies the customer via email if the status has customer notifications enabled.
  3. Provides a clear record in your order history.

TIP

Consider creating separate statuses for "Partially Refunded" and "Fully Refunded" to distinguish between the two scenarios in your order list.

Stock Restoration ​

When an order is refunded or cancelled, stock is not automatically restored. Stock levels were decreased when the order was marked as paid, but the reverse does not happen automatically upon refund.

To restore stock after a refund:

  1. Open the order in the backend.
  2. Edit the relevant order items or adjust the product's stock level directly under Shop → Products.
  3. Manually increase the Units in Stock field on the product (or variant) by the refunded quantity.

WARNING

Always verify stock levels manually after processing a refund. Automatic stock restoration is not performed to prevent inconsistencies in cases where the refunded product has already been consumed, disposed of, or is otherwise not available for resale.

Partial Refunds ​

For partial refunds (refunding only some items or a portion of the order total):

  1. Process the partial refund amount through the payment gateway.
  2. Optionally edit the order to reflect the adjustment — you can modify item quantities, prices, or add a note explaining the partial refund.
  3. Update the order status to indicate it has been partially refunded.
  4. Restore stock manually for any items being returned.

Refunding to Store Credit ​

If store credit is enabled, the Mark Refunded button on an invoice includes an option to issue the refund as store credit. Check "Issue store credit to customer" in the refund popup and specify the refund amount (defaults to the invoice total).

This creates a credit note that increases the customer's store credit balance. The customer can then apply this balance to future orders. This is useful when you want to offer a refund without processing a return through the payment gateway.

For orders that were partially paid with store credit, consider whether to restore the credit portion, refund through the gateway, or both. The refund-to-credit option and the gateway refund are independent — you can do one or both.

Record Keeping ​

All refund-related activity is tracked through several mechanisms:

  • Status Log — The order's status log records when the status was changed to a refund-related status, who made the change, and any comment provided.
  • Payment Log — The invoice's payment log records refund transactions processed through the payment gateway.
  • Credit Notes — When refunding to store credit, a credit note is created and linked to the invoice, visible on both the invoice's Credit Notes tab and the customer's Credit tab.
  • Order Notes — Use the notes feature on the order to add any additional context about why the refund was issued.

Together, these records provide a complete audit trail for each refund.