How do I cancel an order or refund a customer?
Cancel from "Change Status" → "Cancelled". Learn what happens to stock and money: an unpaid order is simply cancelled, a paid order of a customer with an account is refunded to their store wallet, and for a guest you return the money yourself.
In this article
If the customer changes their mind, an item runs out, or an order comes back to you after delivery, you cancel the order from its page. This article explains what happens to stock and money in each case.
How do I cancel an order?
- Open the order from Orders.
- Click "Change Status" and choose "Cancelled".
- The order moves to the "Cancelled" tab of the orders list.
Cancelling is final: once an order is "Cancelled", the "Change Status" button disappears and it can't be reopened. Orders can't be deleted either — a cancelled order stays in the list for your records.
What happens automatically?
- Stock: the quantities go back into stock.
- Customer: they receive an email saying the order was cancelled, inviting them to contact you with any questions.
- Money: depends on the case:
| Order | What happens to the money |
|---|---|
| "Unpaid" (e.g. cash on delivery, not shipped yet) | Simply cancelled. No refund, because nothing was paid. |
| "Paid" and the customer has an account in your store | The amount is added automatically to the customer's wallet in your store, and the payment status becomes "Refunded". The customer can spend it on a future order. |
| "Paid" and the customer ordered as a guest | The payment status becomes "Refunded" as a record only. You return the money to the customer yourself (cash, transfer, etc.). |
Careful with cash on delivery: a cash-on-delivery order is marked "Paid" as soon as you move it to "Shipped". If the customer then refuses the parcel and you cancel the order, and that customer has an account in your store, the system adds the order value to their wallet even though your courier collected nothing. If that's not what you want, contact support before cancelling.
Limits to know
- The refund is always the full remaining amount; there's no field to enter a partial refund.
- There's no refund to the customer's card from the dashboard. If an order was paid through a payment gateway, a card refund is done from that gateway's own dashboard.
- Customers can't cancel orders themselves in your store; they contact you and you cancel.
What about returns?
There's no return-request system for shoppers. If a delivered order comes back to you, open it and change its status to "Cancelled": the items go back to stock and the refund follows the table above. We recommend not using the "Received" status for returns — see why in Order statuses explained.
Need to cancel several orders at once? See bulk order actions.
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