A customer is at the counter with a receipt, or without one, asking for money back. Be calm and quick: decide using your store policy, then let the POS record it so your caja and stock stay correct. A refund always needs manager approval in the POS.
Signs you are in this situation
- The customer returns a product, complains about quality, or says they were charged wrong.
- The sale is already paid and appears under Payments → Recent Payments.
What to do right now
- Find the sale in Payments. Use the filters or Filter by ID if the customer has the receipt.
- Tap Refund. In Process refund, select only the items being returned and set the Qty.
- For each item decide Restock: tick it only if the product goes back on the shelf in sellable condition. Leave it off for damaged, opened or expired goods.
- Pick a Reason: Wrong order, Quality issue, Customer complaint, Billing error or Other. Check Refund total.
- Tap Request approval. A manager enters their PIN. Hand back the money in the same method the customer paid with, following your store policy.
- If the refund reduces cash in the drawer, it is already reflected in the caja. Do not add a separate expense entry for it.
Decide
| If… | Then… |
|---|---|
| The product is sealed and fine, customer changed their mind | Refund per your policy, Restock on. |
| The product is damaged, opened or expired | Refund, Restock off. Then write it off from the shelf if it is still counted somewhere. |
| The cashier charged the wrong item or wrong quantity | This is a correction, not a return. See Wrong item or price after payment. |
| The customer has no receipt | Search Recent Payments by time and amount. If you cannot find the sale, follow your store policy; the POS can only refund a sale it recorded. |
| Part of the sale was already refunded | The dialog only shows the remaining refundable items. You cannot refund more than the original. |
Afterwards, and how to prevent it
- Every refund appears in Payments → Refunds and in Reports → Refunds Register with reason, operator and whether it was restocked.
- Review the register weekly. Many Quality issue refunds on one product is a supplier conversation. Many Billing error refunds on one cashier is training.
- Write your return policy on the receipt footer in Settings → Hardware so the conversation at the counter is shorter.