There are several ways to refund orders from Order Anywhere, and the process depends on when the order was placed and the amount being refunded. The refund process entails canceling the order and returning payment to the customer depending on if it's a same-day or previous-day refund. You can also issue partial order refunds according to the payment method used.
When a receipt is refunded, it creates a transaction with a negative amount that offsets the original order total in reporting. Once a receipt is voided, this action cannot be reversed.
Refunding same-day orders
You can only refund same-day orders that have been received and paid for in the Restaurant POS app. For some payment types, such as Interac, you must refund the full amount to a card that’s present on the same day as the original order or refund the order to a different payment type.
To refund a same-day order, refund it in the Restaurant POS app:
- Open the Restaurant POS app.
- Navigate to the Receipts tab.
- Tap the receipt you’d like to void.
- Tap Receipt actions.
- Select Full refund.
- Review the message prompt and tap Refund.
- Select a reason for voiding the order, like Cooking, User mistake, or Waited too long.
- Finish processing the refund according to how it was paid for:
- Paid online: An automatic refund will be issued to the card used for the order.
- Paid in-person through an integrated payment terminal: An automatic refund will be issued to the card used for the order.
- Paid in-person using cash: Return the total cash amount of the order to the customer.
Refunding previous-day orders
To refund an order received in Restaurant POS on a previous day, cancel the receipt in the Back Office to void it. Then complete the refund based on how the customer paid. This returns the funds to your customer and, for some payment methods, updates your reporting.
Void the order
- Log in to the Back Office with your Lightspeed credentials.
- From the navigation menu, select Reports > All reports.
- From the Order Reports section, click Receipt Report.
- Select the receipt for the order that you’d like to refund.
- Click Cancel receipt.
- Select a reason for canceling the order, like Taste or User mistake.
- Review the message prompt.
- Click Yes to cancel the receipt.
Complete the refund
After you void the order, complete the refund based on how the customer paid. This returns the funds to your customer and updates your reporting.
Orders paid with Lightspeed Payments
If the order was paid for with Lightspeed Payments, refund the payment from the Financial Services tab in the Back Office. This returns the funds to your customer and updates your Lightspeed Payments reporting. It doesn’t update other Lightspeed reports.
In supported regions, voiding the order from the Receipt Report, as described above, also adjusts other Lightspeed reports for you. If your region doesn’t support this, create a transaction with a negative value in the Back Office to adjust your reporting instead. Creating transactions isn’t supported in some fiscal regions.
Orders paid with Stripe (online or in person)
If the order was paid for with Stripe, refund the payment from the Stripe Dashboard. This returns the funds to your customer.
- Sign in to the Stripe Dashboard.
- Click Payments.
- Locate the payment you want to refund.
- Click the three-dot icon next to the payment, then select Refund payment.
- Enter the refund amount and select a reason for the refund.
- Click Refund to confirm the transaction.
Then, to adjust your Lightspeed reporting, follow the same steps for Lightspeed Payments described above.
Orders paid with cash (in person)
After you void the order, return the total cash amount to your customer.
Refunding partial orders
Like full refunds, you can partially refund same-day orders in the Restaurant POS app and previous-day orders in the Back Office. Unlike full refunds, though, partial refunds don’t automatically appear in Lightspeed reporting, which can lead to inaccuracies. To offset the refund amount in your Back Office sales totals, you can add a negative value transaction representing the refund via the Receipts Report.
Partial order refunds vary depending on the payment method used.
Orders paid with Lightspeed Payments
If the order was paid for with Lightspeed Payments, refund the payment from the Financial Services tab in the Back Office, as you would a full refund. To make it a partial refund, though, adjust the refund amount. This returns the funds to your customer and updates your Lightspeed Payments reporting.
Then create a transaction with a negative value in the Back Office to adjust your other Lightspeed reports. Creating transactions isn’t supported in some fiscal regions.
Orders paid in person
To partially refund orders paid in person, manually refund the amount to the customer in their original payment method.
Orders paid with Stripe
If the order was paid with Stripe, refund the payment from the Stripe Dashboard, as you would a full refund. To make it a partial refund, though, adjust the refund amount. This returns the funds to your customer.
Then create a transaction with a negative value in the Back Office to adjust your Lightspeed reports. Creating transactions isn’t supported in some fiscal regions.
What's next?
Enabling payments for Order Anywhere
Enable online and in-person payments, as well as set up Scan and Pay, allowing customers to conveniently pay for their orders through Order Anywhere.
Fulfilling orders from Order Anywhere
Prepare your restaurant for fulfilling orders from Order Anywhere, including syncing online-paid and paid in-person orders, adjusting covers for table orders, processing payments, and optionally turning off online ordering.