Key takeaways
- Write a short, clear returns policy and put it where customers can see it. Most disputes come from rules that only exist in the owner's head.
- Record every refund against the original sale. Cash handed back without a record breaks your cash up and your stock.
- Decide what happens to the item: back on the shelf, back to the supplier, or written off as damaged.
Why refunds need a routine
Refunds are a small part of most shops' trade, but handled loosely they cause outsized trouble. The drawer comes up short with no explanation. Stock records say an item was sold, but it is back on the shelf. A customer is told yes on Monday and no on Tuesday.
A routine fixes all three: clear rules for customers, a proper record for you, and a decision about the returned item.
Write a simple policy
Keep it short enough to fit on a sign by the till. Cover these points:
- Time limit. For example, 7 or 14 days from purchase.
- Proof of purchase. Receipt needed, or can you look the sale up?
- Condition. Unopened, unused, in original packaging.
- What you will not take back. Common examples: opened food, personal care items, phone cards.
- Refund, exchange or both. Some shops only exchange, some refund to the original payment type.
- Faulty items. Usually treated differently: a faulty product should be refunded or replaced.
Recording a refund properly
Find the original sale
From the receipt, or by looking it up in your sales history by date, product or amount.
Check it against the policy
Within the time limit? Right condition? If you make an exception, that is fine, but make it on purpose.
Record the refund against that sale
Not as a separate payout. This keeps the record of what happened in one place.
Refund the same way they paid
Cash for cash, card for card where possible. Refunding a card sale in cash is a common route for loss.
Decide what happens to the item
See the next section.
What happens to the returned item
| Condition | What to do | Effect on stock |
|---|---|---|
| Unopened, sellable | Put it back on the shelf | Back into stock |
| Faulty, supplier takes returns | Set aside for the supplier | Out of sellable stock until resolved |
| Damaged or opened, unsellable | Write it off | Record as damaged |
The key is that the stock record matches what you did. If an item goes back on the shelf, stock goes up by one. If it goes in the bin, it is recorded as a loss, so your next count still adds up. See how to do a stock count.
Refunds versus voids
A void cancels a sale straight after it was made, usually a mistake at the counter: wrong product, wrong quantity, customer changed their mind before leaving. A refund reverses a sale that was completed, often days later.
Both should be kept on record, not deleted. A sale that disappears entirely leaves no trace, and an unusual number of voids or refunds on one shift is one of the clearest signs of a problem. Read where your stock goes.
Watch the numbers
Glance at refunds once a month. A product that comes back often may be faulty, and worth raising with the supplier or dropping. A shift with far more refunds than others is worth a closer look.
How Shopkeepa helps
Shopkeepa's sales history is searchable, so finding the original sale takes seconds, receipt or not. Refunds and voids are recorded against the sale and kept on record, and returned items can go back into stock with a return movement or be recorded as damaged.
Receipts can be shown on screen, printed or shared as a link, so customers have proof of purchase without needing a printer. Learn more about the point of sale. Shopkeepa is in development, and early access shops will help shape it.
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