Available on every plan · Updated 12 September 2026
Also asked as: “cancel an order” · “cancel order greyed out” · “refund a customer” · “customer returned an item” · “customer refused delivery”
Which of these you want depends on one thing: where the goods are.
| The goods are | Do this |
|---|---|
| still with you | Cancel the order |
| back with you after a failed delivery | Cancel the parcel, then the order |
| with the customer | Create a return, then refund it |
Cancel an order
Open the order and choose Actions → Cancel order.
The confirmation says what will happen: reserved stock goes back to your inventory and the order stops being worked. You can note a reason, which is kept on the order. It cannot be undone.
Afterwards the order shows a single Cancelled chip in place of its two statuses, its sections say they are closed, and the timeline records that the stock went back.
Cancelling stops goods, not money. If the customer had already paid, you still owe them a refund, and the payment side of the order still says what was paid.
When Cancel is greyed out
Once anything on the order has been packed, Cancel order is refused and says what to do instead: cancel the fulfilment first, then the order.
That is the whole rule, and it splits in two:
- The parcel came back (a refused delivery, a customer who was not in): open the parcel's own menu, choose Cancel fulfilment, which puts the stock back, then cancel the order. Nothing was paid and nothing was given away.
- The customer has the goods: do not cancel. Take a return.
Take a return
Choose Actions → Returns. The panel lists the returns on this order, and Create return starts one. Only items that have actually been handed over can be returned, and the panel says so when there are none.
In the dialog, give a reason, tick the items coming back and set how many of each. The estimated value adds up as you tick, and internal notes are for you.
When the goods arrive, choose Mark as Received on that return. Then Process refund: the amount, whether to put the items back into stock, and a note.
About the money
We do not move the money. You refund the customer through the provider you took the payment with, or by transfer from your bank, and record it here so the order, your reports and the customer's documents agree. Recording a refund adds a credit note against the tax document already issued, rather than changing it; see Invoices and receipts.
Stock only comes back if you ask it to. A refund on its own does not restock anything, so tick the restock option on the items that are genuinely back on your shelf.
If it does not work
- Cancel order is greyed out: read the reason beside it. Something has been packed, so cancel that parcel first, or take a return if the customer has the goods.
- Create return says only fulfilled items can be returned: nothing has been handed over on this order yet. Cancel it instead.
- Nothing is left to return: everything that was fulfilled has already come back. The panel says which of the two it is.
- You refunded in your bank and the order still says Paid: record the refund here as well. We have no way of seeing a payment you made outside the platform.
Email support@shoponent.com with the order number if anything here does not match what you see. We read and answer every message.