Refund an order: how refunds work for each payment method
Where a refund goes depends on how the customer paid. LaunchMyStore sends refunds back automatically for Stripe payments. For every other gateway you refund in the gateway’s own dashboard and record the refund on the order, so your orders, reports and the customer’s order page stay accurate.
Refunds by payment method
| Paid with | Back to the card or account | How |
|---|---|---|
| Stripe (online card) | Full and partial | Sent from LaunchMyStore to Stripe |
| Stripe Auto Pay (subscriptions) | Full and partial | A subscription order is refunded from the payment taken at checkout; a renewal order from its own renewal payment |
| Stripe Terminal (card at the till) | Full and partial | Sent to Stripe |
| Other gateways (Razorpay, PayPal, PayU, Mollie and others) | Not from LaunchMyStore | Refund in the gateway’s dashboard, then record it as Refunded elsewhere |
| Cash on delivery, cash, UPI at the till, manual methods | No card to refund to | Refund in cash or store credit, or record a refund made another way |
Store Settings → Payments shows this on every gateway you’ve connected, and in the list of gateways you can add.
Refund when you cancel an order
Open the order and click Cancel Order. If it was paid through Stripe, the prompt shows Refund the payment through Stripe with the amount, ticked: when you confirm, the money goes back to the customer’s card first, then the order is cancelled and its items return to stock. If the refund doesn’t go through, the order is not cancelled and you see why. If it was paid through another gateway, the prompt reminds you to refund it in that gateway’s dashboard, and you can tick I’ve refunded it in [gateway] — record the refund on this order. Cash on delivery and other offline payments aren’t refunded by the cancel prompt: if you collected the money, refund it from POS → Orders as below.
Refund part of an order, or to cash or store credit
- Open POS → Orders — online orders are listed too: set Sale type to Online.
- Open the order and tap Refund.
- Choose where the money goes: Original tender, Cash, Store credit or Refunded elsewhere. An option that doesn’t fit how the order was paid is greyed out, with the reason.
- Enter the amount — up to what is left to refund — and choose whether items go back to stock.
- Tap Issue refund.
Only staff with the refund permission can refund. You can refund in several steps: the order shows Partially refunded until the whole amount has gone back, then Refunded.
Refunded elsewhere
Use this when you have already given the money back outside LaunchMyStore — in your payment provider’s dashboard, by bank transfer or in person. It records the refund on the order and in your reports without moving money and without touching a cash drawer.
When a customer cancels an order themselves
If you let customers cancel within the EU withdrawal period, a customer’s cancellation refunds a Stripe payment automatically. For other gateways — or if the gateway refuses the refund — the order is still cancelled, and you get an email and a notification saying the refund is due, so you can refund it in the gateway’s dashboard and record it.
Orders that can’t be refunded
An order that was never paid — still pending, or cancelled before payment — has nothing to refund, so the refund dialog says so and the cancel prompt offers no refund.
FAQ
How long does a card refund take to reach the customer?
Stripe usually shows it on the customer’s statement within 5–10 business days — that’s the bank’s timeline.
Can I refund more than the order total?
No. Every refund is checked against what is left to refund on the order.
Do refunds put the items back in stock?
Cancelling an order returns its items to stock. A refund from POS → Orders restocks only the quantities you choose.