Issue a partial refund on a Shopify order
Only part of an order is wrong, so only part of the money goes back. A partial refund returns the value of the items you choose, and the order stays open for the rest. This tutorial issues a $68.00 partial refund on order 1063 for Dana Whitfield: one faulty Canvas Backpack out of four.
Written · Shopify admin, desktop steps · 5 minutes read
The worked example
| Customer | Dana Whitfield |
| Order | 1063 |
| 4 × Canvas Backpack, $68.00 | $272.00 |
| Order total | $272.00 |
| Partial refund, 1 backpack | $68.00 |
| Kept on the order | $204.00 |
Download the refund record: partial-refund-record.csv (67 bytes).
The lines for the partially refunded order. The single line total is the $272.00 order total in the slip above.
1Open the order
From your Shopify admin, go to Orders and click order 1063. The order holds four Canvas Backpacks at $68.00, for $272.00. One backpack is faulty. The other three are fine, so the refund covers one backpack only.
2Click Refund
Click Refund on the order. The refund page shows the four backpacks and the refund amount. You can partially refund an order, and you can issue additional partial refunds until you have reached the total available to refund, which is the original amount of the order.
3Set the quantity to refund to 1
Enter the quantity of the items that you want to refund: 1 backpack. Any products with a quantity set to 0 are not refunded. The refund amount is $68.00. The Summary section shows the refund amount and the refund method.
4Restock the faulty backpack and add a reason
Leave Restock items selected only if the faulty backpack is coming back and can be sold again. If it is faulty and cannot be sold, deselect Restock items so your stock count does not gain a backpack that cannot be sold. In the Reason for refund section, enter the reason for your staff. The reason is not displayed to the customer.
5Confirm the refund
Select the refund method from the Refund method drop-down menu, then click Refund. After you issue a partial refund, the order status changes to Partially refunded. The customer gets $68.00 back, and $204.00 stays kept on the order.
The arithmetic
| Line | Quantity | Unit price | Line total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canvas Backpack | 4 | $68.00 | $272.00 |
| Order total | $272.00 | ||
| Partial refund, 1 backpack | $68.00 | ||
| Kept on the order | $204.00 |
The amount kept is $204.00: three backpacks at $68.00 each. The refund and the amount kept add to $272.00, the full order total.
Held at the counter
Partial refunds add up to the order total, and no further. You can issue more partial refunds until you reach the original amount of the order. You cannot refund more than the customer paid through the refund page, so check the remaining balance before each refund.
Restocking a faulty item inflates your stock. Restock items is selected by default and is available only when you track inventory for the items. A faulty backpack that cannot be sold should not go back into stock: deselect it, or your picker will promise a backpack that is not sellable.
A refund cannot be reversed. You cannot cancel or reverse a refund after you initiate it. If you refund the wrong item or the wrong amount, you can create a new draft order and collect the payment again, but you cannot undo the refund itself.
Sources
- Refunding orders — Shopify's help pages: full and partial refunds, refunding without a return, restocking, and the rule that a refund cannot be reversed.