How to cancel an order & refund (return invoice)
Refund the right way: you can't cancel a paid invoice, so create a return invoice with a negative amount, then cancel the order to release the items back to stock.
Step-by-step
- Open the paid invoice - you can't cancel a paid invoice.
- Create a return invoice (negative amount); the original stays on record.
- The return links to the original; they sit side by side in the list.
- Do the refund first - then open the order and cancel it.
- Invoices stay as proof; items return to stock to sell again.
Full transcript
Sometimes you need to refund. Here I'll show the correct way - a return invoice, then cancelling the order to put the items back into stock.
To start a refund, go to your paid invoice. You can't cancel a paid invoice - that's against accounting. Instead you create a return invoice: a second invoice with a negative amount on top of the original. The original stays in your records as proof. Click create return invoice. It's marked as a return, linked to the original paid invoice - and in your invoice list you'll see them side by side. Now to release the items back onto channels you cancel the order - but the system won't let you until the refund, the return invoice, is done first. So the return invoice is step one. Then open the order and click cancel order at the bottom. The paid and returned invoices stay as proof of refund, the shipping and packing records are reversed, and the items return to stock - ready to sell again.