How to refund an order in Shopify
Step-by-step instructions for issuing full or partial refunds in Shopify, including what happens to inventory and when money reaches the customer.
Refunds happen in every store. Shopify makes it straightforward to issue a full or partial refund directly from the order, with money returned to the original payment method automatically.
Quick summary
Open the order, click Refund, choose the items or amount to refund, decide whether to restock inventory, and confirm. The money is returned to the customer's original payment method. Refunds typically take 5–10 business days to appear in the customer's account, depending on their bank.
What you'll need
Beginner 5 minutes- Admin access to your Shopify store
- The original payment on the order must have been made through Shopify (Shopify Payments, PayPal, or another card processor). You cannot process refunds for cash or manual payments through Shopify — you handle those outside the system.
How to refund an order
Go to Orders. From your Shopify admin, click Orders in the left sidebar.
Find and open the order. Search by order number or customer name.
Click Refund. You will find the Refund button near the top-right of the order page (or in the More actions menu).
Choose what to refund. You will see a list of items on the order. Enter the quantity to refund for each item. To refund the full order, enter the full quantity of each item.
Decide on shipping. If you want to refund the shipping cost too, enter the shipping amount to refund in the Shipping field.
Decide whether to restock inventory. Check Restock items if you want the items returned to your available inventory count. Uncheck it if the item was damaged or if you are not getting it back.
Add a reason (optional). Type a note for your own records. The customer does not see this.
Check the refund amount. Verify the total at the bottom before confirming.
Click Refund. Shopify processes the refund to the original payment method. A refund confirmation email is sent to the customer automatically.
Refund confirmed
The order now shows Partially refunded or Refunded in its payment status. The customer receives an email confirming the refund amount and timeline.
Full refunds vs partial refunds
Full refund: Refund every item, plus shipping if appropriate. The order shows Refunded.
Partial refund: Refund some items or a specific dollar amount. The order shows Partially refunded. You can do multiple partial refunds on the same order over time.
To issue a partial refund by dollar amount (rather than by item), scroll past the item list to the Refund amount field and enter a specific amount manually.
What happens to the payment?
When you click Refund, Shopify sends the reversal to the payment provider:
- Shopify Payments: The money is returned to the customer's card. This typically takes 5–10 business days.
- PayPal: The refund is processed through PayPal and typically appears within 3–5 business days.
- Other providers: The timeline depends on the provider, but most are within 5–10 business days.
Processing fees are usually not refunded to you
When you issue a refund, your payment processor typically keeps their processing fee. For example, if Shopify Payments charged you 2.9% + $0.30 on the original sale, you generally will not get that back. This is standard across all payment processors.
Refunding without restocking
If you are refunding but the customer is keeping the item — perhaps you are compensating for a bad experience — uncheck Restock items when processing the refund. The item count in your inventory will not change.
Cancelling an order and refunding at the same time
If the order has not been fulfilled yet and you want to cancel it:
Open the order.
Click More actions → Cancel order.
Choose a cancellation reason. This is for your records only.
Select the refund option. You can choose to refund all paid amounts at this step.
Confirm. The order is cancelled and the refund issued in one step.
Common questions
Related guides
- Understanding orders in Shopify
- How to process & fulfill an order
- Payment providers (Shopify Payments, PayPal, etc.)
- Shopify apps explained
Need a hand?
Learn more
How to process & fulfill an order
A step-by-step guide to processing a Shopify order from payment received to shipped, including adding tracking numbers.
Shopify apps explained
Learn what Shopify apps are, how to find and install them, what they cost, and what to watch out for before adding them to your store.