Refund a sale
Give money back on a paid order from the POS, in full or in part, in cash, to the card or on a new gift card, and what to do when a card refund fails.
On this page
A refund gives money back on an order that is already paid and closed. You choose what goes back (some items, everything, or an amount), why, and how the money returns to the guest. The order stays paid and shows Partly refunded or Refunded, so your sales history stays complete.
For an order that is still open, correct it instead: void an item or a payment. See Void an item or an order.
Before you start
- Refunds are made on the POS. The back office can also refund card payments (see below).
- Your role needs the Refunds permission. The Cashier role does not have it, so the POS asks for a manager's PIN. Each role can also have a Maximum refund amount; above it, a manager approves. See How manager approval works.
- A cash refund needs an open till on the device you refund from. See Open the till.
- A refund to a new gift card needs the Gift cards feature.
Find the order
Either:
- open More › Refund a sale, which lists today's paid orders, or
- open Orders, find the order in the closed list (search by number or table), and open it.
Tap Refund.
Refund on the POS
The refund has three steps: Items, Reason and Method.
1. Choose what to refund
- Items: tap the items and quantities going back. Everything selects all that is left; Clear starts again.
- Amount: type an amount instead, for example to give part of the price back.
- If inventory is on, switch on Back in stock when the items can be sold again. Leave it off for items that were eaten or thrown away.
Tap Continue · {amount}.
2. Choose a reason
Pick Item returned, Quality issue, Wrong item, Customer complaint, Charged too much or Other. For Other, add a few words and tap Continue.
3. Choose how the money goes back
| Method | When it is offered | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Cash: Hand over in cash | When the till on this device is open | The cash drawer opens and a refund slip prints. Give the guest the cash. |
| Card: "Refunding to •••• {last4}" | When the order was paid by card through Verimly Payments, up to the amount paid by card ("Max …") | The money goes back to the original card. |
| Gift card | When the order was paid with a gift card | The amount goes back onto that gift card. |
| New gift card | When the order was not paid with a gift card | Enter an Email or mobile number and tap Send gift card. A mobile number gets no message. The guest receives a new digital gift card worth the refund. |
Tap the method to confirm. When it is done you see Refunded and can go Back to order.
Partial and repeated refunds
You can refund an order more than once, until nothing is left. Each item line shows how many were already refunded ("2 refunded"), and the order shows a Refunds section with each refund, who approved it and the Net amount. When everything is refunded, the POS says "This order is fully refunded."
An order paid partly by card and partly in cash can only send back to the card what was paid by card: "Only {max} was paid by card. Refund the rest another way."
Gift cards sold on the order can be refunded with their line, unless they have already been spent from.
Card refunds that are on their way or failed
A card refund is sent to the guest's bank straight away. Sometimes the bank needs a moment:
- Refund on its way: "The bank is still confirming this card refund. If it fails, the order shows it." The refund shows "On its way to the card".
- Failed: the refund shows "Failed — {reason}. Nothing went back; refund again." Reasons include "declined by the bank", "card expired or cancelled" and "card reported lost or stolen".
When a card refund fails, nothing went back to the guest. The payment is back on the order and needs a decision:
- The POS shows a notice: "A card refund of {amount} on order #{number} failed — the payment is back and needs a decision".
- In the back office it appears under Orders › Payment issues as "Refund to the card failed". Choose Refund to card to try again, or Keep the payment. See Payment issues.
If the card cannot take a refund, refund again in cash or on a new gift card.
Refund a card payment in the back office
For card payments you can also refund from the back office, for example when the guest calls after their visit:
- Go to Payments and open the transaction.
- Click Refund.
- Choose Full amount or Part of it (enter the Amount to refund), and a Reason.
- Click Refund {amount}.
The money goes back to that card. No slip is printed. The order in the back office lists all refunds, read only.
What happens next
- A refund slip prints on the till's receipt printer.
- Cash refunds lower the expected cash in the till, and the Z report printed at closing lists refunds.
- Refunds appear in Reports and in the Activity log, with the reason and approver.
- With Back in stock on, the items return to stock.
Common questions
Can I refund to a different card?
No. A card refund always goes back to the card that paid. Use cash or a new gift card instead.
Can I refund an order from another day?
Yes. Find it under Orders on the POS, or refund a card payment from Payments in the back office.
Why is the cash option greyed out?
The till on this device is closed ("Till closed"). Open it, or refund another way.
If something goes wrong
| Message | What to do |
|---|---|
| Only a paid order can be refunded. | The order is still open; void items or payments instead |
| This order wasn't paid by card, so the money can't go back to a card. | Choose cash or gift card |
| Only {max} can still be refunded on this order. | Lower the amount |
| Only {max} of this item can still be refunded. | Some were refunded already |
| Open the till before taking cash. | Open the till, or refund another way |
| This amount is above your limit. Ask a manager to approve it. | A manager enters their PIN |