An order can be cancelled while it has not left your store: by your team from the order page, by the shopper from their order page within the hours you allow, by the shopper on WhatsApp, or automatically when an online payment never arrives or a COD order sits unconfirmed. Whichever way it happens, Mercayo does the same careful clean-up: the stock goes back, offer uses are released, store credit and gift card amounts return to the shopper, a GST credit note is issued if the order was invoiced, and money paid online is flagged for a refund. Cancelling from the admin needs the right to process orders (the owner, admins and Order Manager).
When an Order Can Be Cancelled
| Order Status | Cancel? |
|---|---|
| Awaiting payment | Yes |
| To ship | Yes |
| Shipped, Delivered, Returned to origin, Closed | No. The order has left; use a return, an exchange, a refund or (for COD) Returned to origin instead |
| Cancelled | Already cancelled |
How to Cancel an Order from the Admin
- Open the order on the Order Page.
- Press Cancel order (the red button at the end of the summary band).
- Read "Cancel order #1042? Its items go back into stock and the shopper's order is off."
- Type the Reason (up to 300 characters, "For example: the shopper asked to cancel"). A reason is required: "Give a reason for cancelling; it is kept with the order."
- Press Cancel order in the dialog.
The order moves to Cancelled, a Why It Was Cancelled banner shows your reason at the top of the order, and its timeline gets Cancelled with your name and the reason.
What Happens When an Order Is Cancelled
| What | What Happens |
|---|---|
| Stock | Held stock is released, or stock already taken is put back, at once |
| Discounts | The order's use of a code or offer is released, so a once-per-customer code can be used again |
| Online payment | Money paid online is marked as owed back. The order appears under Refunds needed on the Orders list until you refund it |
| Store credit and gift cards | Any store credit used goes back to the shopper's balance; a gift card amount goes back to the card |
| GST invoice | If the order had an invoice, a credit note with the reason Cancelled is issued for everything not credited before |
| The shopper | Gets the order-cancelled email when they gave an email. Their order page says "This order was cancelled on 19 Oct." |
| Records | The step is in the order's timeline and in Settings › Activity Log |
Cancelled by the Shopper
Shoppers can cancel their own order from their order page (from the thank-you page, their account, or Track) when all of these hold:
- the order is Awaiting payment or To ship,
- no courier label (AWB) has been made for it,
- it was placed within Shoppers Can Cancel Within (hours).
Proving it is their order. A shopper who opened the order on Track with just the order number and phone can see it, but before anything changes (cancel, a return, an exchange, WhatsApp updates, an answer to a failed delivery) the card asks them to Confirm It Is Your Order: they press SEND CODE and type the 6-digit code sent to the phone or email the order was placed with (never a number typed on the page). One code lets them change that order for 30 minutes. Nothing is asked when they are signed in to their account, on the thank-you page in the browser that placed the order, or when they opened the order from the tracking link in your messages. The code goes on WhatsApp first and by SMS when WhatsApp cannot deliver it (each paid from your notification credits, like sign-in codes), or by email; the same limits as sign-in codes apply (10 minutes, 5 tries, 3 codes a number in 15 minutes). This stops someone who only knows an order number and a phone from cancelling or redirecting it.
They see "Changed Your Mind?" with "You can cancel this order until 20 Oct, 3:15 pm, before it ships.", press CANCEL ORDER, may choose a reason (Ordered by mistake, Found a better price, Delivery takes too long, Want to change the items or address, Something else) and confirm with YES, CANCEL (or KEEP ORDER). A paid shopper is told "What you paid online is refunded to the way you paid."; an unpaid one "Nothing has been charged, so there's nothing to refund." The order's history says "Cancelled by the shopper" with their reason, and everything in the table above happens exactly as for a cancel by your team.
| Setting (Settings › Checkout and COD) | What It Does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Shoppers Can Cancel Within (hours) | Hours after placing an order in which the shopper may cancel it themselves, as long as no courier label has been made. 0 means only your team can cancel (0 to 168) | 24 |
Cancelled on WhatsApp
When your store asks COD shoppers to confirm on WhatsApp, a shopper can press CANCEL ORDER in that message. If they could cancel on their order page, the order is cancelled ("Cancelled by the shopper on WhatsApp"). If not (the window has passed or a label exists), the order's history gets Asked on WhatsApp to Cancel and your team decides.
Cancelled Automatically
| Case | Setting | Default |
|---|---|---|
| An online order not paid in time | Time to Pay in Settings › Checkout and COD (minutes, 10 to 1,440) | 30 minutes |
| A COD order nobody ships or confirms | Cancel COD Orders Nobody Ships, with Days Before They Are Cancelled | Off; 7 days |
An order cancelled automatically shows Expired in its timeline. With Tell the Shopper When an Order Expires on (off by default), the shopper gets an order-cancelled message. Stock, offers and the credit note are handled as for any cancel. See Unconfirmed COD Orders.
Instead of Cancelling
- The parcel has shipped but the shopper refuses it (COD): let the courier return it; the order becomes Returned to origin and its stock goes back.
- The shopper wants a different size: if exchanges are on, they can ask for one after delivery; see Exchanges.
- One item is missing from stock: refund that item instead of cancelling the whole order (choose just that line in the refund dialog).
Good to Know
- A cancelled order cannot be reopened. Ask the shopper to order again.
- The reason you type is kept on the order (up to 300 characters) and is shown to your team, not printed on any document.
- If a payment arrives after an order was cancelled (a slow bank), the timeline shows Paid online after it was cancelled and the money appears under Refunds needed.
Questions
Why can't I see Cancel order?
The order has shipped (or is already closed or cancelled), or your role cannot process orders.
Can the shopper cancel after I generate the label?
No. Once an AWB exists the shopper's cancel button goes, even within the hours you allow. Your team can still cancel an order that is To ship.
Does the shopper get their coupon back?
Yes. The order's use of the code is released, so a code limited to one use per customer can be used again.
Do I need to issue a credit note myself?
No. If the order had a GST invoice, the credit note is issued automatically on cancel and appears on the order's GST Invoice card.