Issue a partial refund for a return in Shopify
A partial refund sends back the money for the items that came back, and nothing else. This tutorial refunds a returned Ridge Pack, $64.00, from an order that also has a hoodie the customer kept.
Written · Shopify admin, desktop steps · 5 minutes read
The worked example
| Order items | Pack $64.00, hoodie $45.00, total $109.00 |
| Returned | Ridge Pack, $64.00 |
| Restocking fee, 10% | $6.40 |
| Refund | $57.60 |
| Kept | Summit Hoodie, $45.00 |
Download the record: partial-refund-record.csv (136 bytes).
A record of the partial refund in this tutorial. It is a record, not an import file: refunds are issued in the admin, not by CSV.
1Open the return and process only the pack
From your Shopify admin, go to Orders, click the order, and in the Return in progress section click Process return. In the Return items to receive section, select only the Ridge Pack.
2Restock the pack
To restock the return item, select Restock at, and then choose a location where you want to restock it. The hoodie was never returned, so it is not on this screen.
3Leave the shipping alone
Do not refund shipping in this step: the customer kept the hoodie, so the outbound shipping still applies to the item that stayed sold. Refunding shipping is a choice you make per return.
4Issue the refund now
In the Issue refund section, select Now, and then click Process and refund. The refund is $57.60.
5Check what is left
The order total updates after you process the return. The hoodie at $45.00 stays on the order, and the pack is gone from it.
The arithmetic
The refund covers the pack only. The hoodie is untouched, and the shipping is not refunded because the customer kept part of the order.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Ridge Pack | $64.00 |
| Summit Hoodie, kept | $45.00 |
| Order total | $109.00 |
| Restocking fee, 10% of $64.00 | $6.40 |
| Refund for the pack | $57.60 |
64.00 plus 45.00 is $109.00. The refund is 64.00 less the 10% restocking fee of $6.40, which is $57.60.
Held at the counter
The restocking fee follows the items you process. The restocking fee is calculated by how many items you choose to process in a return. Processing the pack alone means the fee is 10% of the pack only.
Processing some items can change the outcome. The financial outcome of partially processed items can differ from processing everything at the same time. Decide which items to process together before you click.
You cannot create a return for refunded items. Once an item is refunded, it cannot be added to a return. If the customer later sends the hoodie back too, it needs its own new return.
Sources
- Processing and managing returns — Shopify's help pages: the process-return steps, the restock choice, the refund-shipping section, the refund-method choices, and the cancel / remove / close rules.
- Creating returns and exchanges — Shopify's help pages: the create-return steps, the return shipping options, the fee-edit rules, the exchange-item rules, and the category-specific return reasons.