Returns and Refunds
Returns for a Refund, When You Choose to Offer Them
Many stores start with exchanges only. When you are ready to offer refunds, switch on returns: shoppers ask from their order page, and your team takes each one from request to refund in one queue.
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Kosha is a demo store on Mercayo. Its products, orders and customers are sample data.
In short
What It Does
Returns for a refund are off until you switch them on (exchanges stay separate). Then, within the days you allow (7 to start with) after delivery, the shopper's order page asks Want to Return Something? with ASK FOR A RETURN:
- The shopper picks the items and quantities to send back and a reason (your exchange reasons, with the same store's-fault flag and unboxing video rule).
- They see the refund amount before asking ("Refund of ₹1,198 once the store receives the items"): what they paid for those items, each line's price after its share of the offers.
- They are told who sends the items back: for a store's-fault reason the store arranges a pickup; otherwise they send them back themselves and see your return address once you approve.
- One request per order, and never beside an exchange.
The Returns Queue
Your team works in Orders → Returns, with tabs Waiting for You, On the Way Back, Done, All:
- APPROVE or DECLINE. Declining asks "Why Are You Declining It?", and the shopper reads your answer on their order page. After approval, a store's-fault return waits as Pickup to arrange; any other as Shopper sends it, until the shopper adds the courier and tracking number and it moves to On its way back.
- MARK RECEIVED when the items arrive and you have checked them. The return now reads Received: refund it.
- REFUND ON THE ORDER opens the order's refund, below. Then MARK REFUNDED closes the return.
CANCEL RETURN stops a return at any step. Every step is recorded in the order's history.
Refunds, on Any Order
REFUND on any order's page, from a return or not, opens one dialog:
- Items and charges: choose quantities line by line ("1 of 2 left to refund") and, if you want, the delivery and fees; or a custom amount, up to what is left.
- Refund to: the original payment (back through your Razorpay account to the shopper's UPI, card, netbanking or wallet), cash or bank transfer (you pay it, Mercayo records it), or store credit (no bank details needed) when your store gives store credit. When less was paid online than you refund, the dialog splits it: the online part through Razorpay, the rest recorded as cash or bank.
- Put the items back into stock, for a delivered order.
- REVIEW shows exactly what will happen ("Refund ₹499 to UPI (Razorpay)", "credit note CN/2627/00012 will be issued", "the items go back into stock") before REFUND ₹499 confirms it.
The order's refunds card keeps the running total: "Paid ₹1,598 · refunded ₹499 · ₹1,099 left to refund". An online refund shows as on its way until Razorpay confirms it, usually within minutes; one Razorpay refuses moves no money and can be tried again.
Every refund of an invoiced order issues the GST credit note for what it took back, including a custom amount, which is spread over what is left of the invoice. See credit notes.
For your store
Why It Matters
A clear, fair return policy makes first-time shoppers more willing to buy, especially for things they cannot touch first, like clothes, shoes or a gift for someone else. Showing the refund amount before they ask removes the worry that they will get back less than they paid.
Running returns with steps, instead of messages and spreadsheets, means nothing is forgotten: your team sees at a glance which returns need a decision, which are on their way back, and which only need the refund. And because refunds are made on the order itself, your money records, your stock and your GST documents stay in step without anyone reconciling them by hand at the end of the month.
The refund dialog matters as much as the queue. Cash on delivery shoppers did not pay through Razorpay, so their refund is a UPI transfer or store credit that you record; online shoppers get their money back the way they paid. Either way, the credit note is issued at once, so the tax you paid on the sale is reduced in your GST return without anyone preparing a document.
Step by step
How It Works
Switch On Returns
In Settings → Returns and Exchanges, switch on Returns for a refund and set Days to ask for a return (1 to 60 days after delivery). Your exchange reasons, their store's-fault flags, the unboxing video rule and your return address are shared with exchanges, so set those in the same place.
Shoppers Ask From Their Order
After delivery, ASK FOR A RETURN on their order page (from /track or their account) opens a sheet: What Are You Sending Back? with a quantity per item, Why?, the video link when the rule needs it, an optional note, and the refund they will get. SEND REQUEST puts it in your queue.
Approve or Decline
In Orders → Returns, under Waiting for You, each return shows its order, the refund amount, the reason (marked when it is the store's fault), the video and the shopper's note. APPROVE it, or DECLINE it with a reason the shopper reads.
Follow It Back and Receive It
Arrange the pickup for a store's-fault return; otherwise the shopper sends the items and adds the courier and tracking number, shown on the return as "Sent with … tracking …". When the parcel arrives, check it and press MARK RECEIVED.
Refund It on the Order
Press REFUND ON THE ORDER. In the refund dialog, choose the items and quantities, where the money goes (the original payment, cash or bank, or store credit), whether the items go back into stock, and a reason. REVIEW, then confirm. Back in Returns, MARK REFUNDED closes it.
Refund Any Order, Return or Not
REFUND on any order's page refunds all or part of it: a goodwill amount, a missing item, a delivery charge. A cancelled order or one that came back already had its items and credit note settled, so the dialog then refunds the amount paid only.
Your shoppers
What Your Shoppers See
An ASK FOR A RETURN button on their order page while it is allowed, with the date it ends. They pick items and quantities and a reason, see the refund amount before they send, and follow each step on the same page under Your Return: "Request sent", "Approved: please send it back" with your address, "On its way back", "Received by the store" ("Your refund of ₹1,198 is being made"), and "Refunded". A declined return shows your reason. Where the store's fault means a pickup, they are told to keep the items packed.
Settings
Settings You Control
Each one is in your admin. A new store starts with the value shown.
Mercayo
Mercayo's Controls
Mercayo's team can switch returns on or off for a store, or limit the days, with a reason your admin shows; every change is in Mercayo's audit log. Refunds go straight from your Razorpay account to the shopper; Mercayo never holds the money. Who may refund is decided by your staff roles: refunding needs the right to edit orders, and a person who may only view orders sees the refunds without making one. Mercayo's team does not approve, decline or refund returns for you.
Limits today
Good to Know Before You Start
- The refund is made by your team on the order; it is not automatic when the items arrive.
- The shopper is not sent a message at each step; they see it on their order page.
- One return per order, and not together with an exchange.
- Pickups are arranged by your team; Mercayo does not book return pickups through Shiprocket.
- A refund made in the Razorpay dashboard, outside Mercayo, is not matched to the order and raises no credit note.
Questions
About Returns and Refunds
How is the refund amount worked out?
From what the shopper paid for those items: each line's price after its share of the offers, for the quantities returned. So a shopper who got 10% off with a code sees 10% less than the full price, and the refund never pays back more than was paid.
Does a refund restock the item?
Yes, when you tick Put the items back into stock in the refund dialog, for a delivered order. You decide each time, because a returned item may be damaged. A cancelled order or one that came back undelivered already had its stock put back.
Is the credit note automatic?
Yes. Every refund of an invoiced order issues the GST credit note for what it took back, whether you refund chosen items, the delivery and fees, or a custom amount, and whether the money goes back online, in cash or by bank, or as store credit.
Can I refund a cash on delivery order?
Yes. Nothing was paid online, so you pay the shopper yourself (UPI or a bank transfer) and record it as cash or bank, with a note such as "UPI to the shopper's number"; or give it as store credit if your store offers it. The credit note and the order's totals follow either way.
How long does an online refund take?
Mercayo sends it to Razorpay at once. It shows as on its way until Razorpay confirms it, usually within minutes; how soon the money shows in the shopper's account depends on their bank and payment method. If Razorpay does not answer, the refund stays on its way and Razorpay's notice settles it later.
Can two people refund the same order at once?
No double refund can happen. Two refunds at the same moment wait for each other, and the second sees what the first already refunded, so the total never goes above what was paid.
Related
Related Features
- ExchangesShoppers ask for an exchange from their order page, with a reason and, if you require it, an unboxing video; your team takes it step by step.
- Credit NotesWhen an invoiced order is cancelled, comes back undelivered or is refunded, Mercayo issues the GST credit note itself, once, for exactly what was taken back.
- Online PaymentsShoppers pay by UPI, card, net banking or wallet through your own Razorpay account; Mercayo confirms every payment on its server and never holds your money.
- After the OrderOne page per order with its status, items, money and GST documents, plus cancel, BUY AGAIN, reviews, returns and exchanges for the shopper.
- Store CreditGive shoppers a balance with your store: instant refunds without bank details, goodwill credit, cashback and referral rewards, spent at checkout.
More in Shipping: Delivery Charges · Delivery Dates by PIN Code · Shipping Labels · Failed Deliveries · Order Tracking · Exchanges · Packing Slips
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