Void, refund, or return: which one to use

Void, refund and return look interchangeable and are not. One removes a draft, one sends money back, one sends money back and brings the goods with it. Getting it wrong quietly breaks either your reports or your stock.

1. 1

   First question: was payment taken?

   If the order is still a draft — saved without taking payment — you want Void. Once payment has been taken the order is posted and can never be voided, and your choice is between a refund and a return.

2. 2

   Void an unpaid draft

   Open Orders → Drafts, find the row, open the row menu, and choose "Mark as Void". The draft becomes read-only with a grey "void" badge. A draft is always in one of three states: Open (still editable), Closed (converted to a live order), or Void (cancelled before payment).

3. 3

   Second question: are the goods coming back?

   On a posted order the deciding question is physical — is the customer handing you the product? If nothing comes back, use Refund money. If something comes back, use Return items. Both actions sit on the order itself.

4. 4

   Refund money — the money only

   Reverses money on a posted order and touches nothing else. Right for a service not delivered, an overcharge, or goodwill. It records no reason, no condition, and moves no stock.

5. 5

   Return items — the money and the goods

   Reverses money and brings the item back into your records: a reason, a condition, and a decision per line about where the unit goes — back to the shelf, into the pending queue for a proper look, into that supplier's box, or written off. It can pay out in cash, as store credit, or against what the order still owes.

6. 6

   When in doubt, choose the return

   A return can do everything a refund does — it can pay out in cash, and a line marked damaged leaves stock alone. The reverse is not true: a refund can never put the unit back on your shelf.