Returns & refunds

When a customer brings something back, you process a return against the original sale. Swann Retail works out the refund, records what comes back into stock, and records whether the money went back in cash from your drawer or back to the customer’s card. You can refund a whole sale or just part of it.

Start a return

There are two ways in, and both open the same return form:

• From Orders — go to Sales → Orders, open the sale, and press Return items.
• At the register — press Returns in the register top bar, then search by item name, SKU, or order number and press Return on the sale.

You can only return against a completed sale. The Return items button is greyed out once everything on the order has already been returned.

Choose what’s coming back

The return form lists each line from the original sale with how many are still returnable (what you sold, less anything already returned). For each line, enter the quantity in one or both columns:

• Restock — goes back on the shelf (stock goes up).
• Damaged — written off; the refund is still given, but the stock is not put back.

You can split a single line between the two — say two back on the shelf and one written off. There’s an optional Reason / note box if you want to record why. When at least one unit is entered, press Review refund.

Choose Cash or Card

On the web, pick where the money goes back under Refund to, just above the Reason / note box: Cash or Card. On the tablet, refunds are cash — there’s no Refund to choice there.

• It starts on how the sale was paid. A cash sale starts on Cash, a card sale on Card — change it if the customer wants it back another way.
• A split sale has no default. If the sale was paid partly in cash and partly by card, neither is picked and you’ll see “This sale was paid partly in cash and partly by card. Choose how to refund it.” You can’t review the refund until you choose one.
• A card refund can’t be more than the card paid. On a split sale, choosing Card shows “This sale took $X by card. A card refund cannot be more than that.” — where $X is what’s still left on the card after any earlier card refunds on the same sale. Ask for more than the card paid (or choose Card on a sale that took nothing by card) and the refund is refused with “That’s more than was paid by card on this sale. Choose Cash, or refund less to the card.” Switch to Cash, or return fewer items to the card. A cash refund has no such limit — refunding a card sale in cash is fine.

Confirm the refund

The next step shows exactly what’s coming back, with a Restock or Damaged tag on each line, and totals the refund as Cash refund or Card refund depending on your choice (subtotal, any discounts, and VAT are broken out). The amount is worked out for you from the items and quantities you chose — it can’t be typed over.

For a card refund you’ll also see “A card refund is recorded only — no cash leaves the drawer. Refund $X.XX on your card terminal.” Swann Retail doesn’t send money to the card itself: you put the refund through on your own card terminal, and Swann Retail records it.

Press Refund $X.XX to finish. You’ll see Refund processed with the return’s number, and you can Print or Email the refund receipt, just like a sale.

What a refund does

• A cash refund comes out of your drawer. If a till is open it’s deducted automatically and shows on your Z-report under Cash refunds, so the drawer still reconciles at close.
• A card refund never touches the drawer. No cash leaves it. It shows on the Z-report under Card refunds, in the record-only section below the over/short — not as cash paid out.
• Your till may need to be open for a cash refund. If your Cash control setting needs an open till, a cash refund is refused while the till is closed, with “Open the till before paying out this refund.” (naming the station’s till where the device rings for one) and an Open the till button. Open it, then press Refund $X.XX again — see When the till is closed. With cash control Off, a cash refund still goes through with no till open: pay it from the drawer by hand and record a paid-out on your next register session. A card refund never needs an open till.
• Stock follows your choice — Restock puts it back, Damaged doesn’t.
• Reports count it as a return — the refund is subtracted from your sales for the day it falls on.

Good to know

• A refund is final. There’s no “undo” — if you got it wrong, the only fix is another return or a fresh sale.
• Partial is fine. Return one line, some quantities, or the whole sale — and you can come back later for the rest, up to what was sold.
• Permission required. Processing a return needs the Process returns permission — a cashier without it won’t see the Returns or Return items buttons.
• No two-factor check. A refund doesn’t ask for a two-factor code, on the web or on the tablet. Who can give one is decided by the Process returns permission.