Refunds
Process full or partial refunds, manage the approval workflow, and track refund history for your store.
Refunds are an inevitable part of running a business. Eleo provides a structured refund workflow that balances flexibility for your front-line team with oversight from management. Team members can submit refund requests, while managers review and approve or reject them before any money is returned. This ensures accountability and prevents unauthorized refunds.
Requesting a refund
Any team member with the Editor role (or higher) can request a refund on a completed order. The request is submitted for review and does not immediately process the refund — a manager must approve it first.
- 1
Open the order
Navigate to Orders and find the order you need to refund. You can search by order number, customer name, or date. Click the order to open its detail page.
- 2
Click "Request Refund"
On the order detail page, click the Request Refund button in the action bar. This opens the refund request form.
- 3
Choose full or partial refund
Select whether you want to refund the entire order or only specific items. A full refund returns the total amount paid and reverses all line items. A partial refund lets you choose exactly which items and quantities to refund.
- 4
Select items for partial refund
If you chose a partial refund, you will see a list of all line items in the order. Check the items you want to refund and adjust the quantity for each if needed. For example, if a customer bought three of an item but only wants to return one, set the refund quantity to one. The refund amount is calculated automatically based on your selections.
Refund request form showing item selection with adjustable quantities and calculated refund amount
Select specific items and quantities for a partial refund - 5
Add a reason and submit for approval
Enter a reason for the refund in the notes field. This helps the approving manager understand the context and make an informed decision. Common reasons include defective product, wrong item shipped, or customer changed their mind. Click Submit Request to send the refund for approval.
- 6
Manager approves or rejects the request
A team member with the Manager role (or higher) will see the pending refund request in the Refund Approvals queue. They can review the order details, the items being refunded, and the reason provided. The manager then approves or rejects the request. If approved, the refund is processed immediately. If rejected, the requesting team member is notified with the rejection reason.
Refund approval screen showing pending request with approve and reject buttons
Managers review and approve or reject refund requests
Partial refunds allow you to select individual items and specific quantities to return. The refund amount is calculated based on the unit price of each item multiplied by the quantity being refunded, including any proportional discounts that were applied to those items in the original order. This gives you fine-grained control over exactly how much is returned to the customer.
Refund to original payment method vs. store credit
When a refund is approved, you can choose how the money is returned to the customer:
- Original payment method — The refund is issued back to the same method used for the original purchase. For cash orders, this means a cash payout. For card or transfer payments, the amount is reversed through the original channel. This is the most common refund method.
- Store credit — Instead of returning money, the refund amount is added to the customer's account as store credit. The customer can apply this credit toward future purchases. Store credit is tracked on the customer's profile and is visible to your team at checkout.
Viewing refund history
All refunds are recorded on the original order's detail page under the Refunds tab. Each entry shows the refund date, the items and amounts refunded, the team member who requested it, and the manager who approved it. You can also view a store-wide refund summary from the Reports section to monitor refund trends over time.
Inventory impact
When a refund is approved and processed, Eleo automatically restores the inventory for the refunded items. The stock levels are incremented by the refunded quantities, ensuring your inventory counts stay accurate. If you do not want inventory to be restored (for example, if the returned item is damaged and cannot be resold), you can mark the refund as a write-off during the approval step.