Issue a full or partial refund and review the refund policies for payment processor fees.
This guide covers canceling an order and issuing a refund.
For information about canceling your Squarespace subscription, visit Canceling a website subscription.
Before you begin
- Don’t issue refunds through your payment processor. Refunds handled this way won't sync with your Orders panel and inventory, or refund Squarespace Commerce transaction fees. If you issue a refund through your payment processor, it won't be possible to cancel the order in Squarespace, so you'll need to manually edit stock levels.
- You can only refund Pending orders. If you already fulfilled it, move it back to pending.
- It's not possible to issue a refund for store credit.
- When refunding PayPal orders, you have up to 180 days after you receive the payment.
- Canceling a customer's subscription doesn't automatically cancel and refund their most recent order.
- You can't undo a refund.
Full refunds vs. partial refunds
Full refunds include:
- The cost of the products
- Taxes
- Shipping
- Squarespace Commerce transaction fees
Partial refunds include:
- The amount you choose to refund
- A portion of the Squarespace Commerce transaction fee, based on the refund amount
Option 1 - Cancel and fully refund the order
Canceling a pending order automatically refunds the purchase and sends the customer an email about the cancellation. You’ll also have the option to restock your inventory with items from the order.
Note: Orders can’t be un-canceled.
Step 1 - Open the order
To open the order:
- Open the Commerce panel and click Orders. You can also press ? while any panel is open and search orders.
- Click any order to open the order details.
- In the Commerce tab, tap Orders.
- Tap any order to view the order details.
To learn more, visit Fulfilling orders.
Step 2 - Move the order back to pending
If the order has been fulfilled, move it back to pending:
- In the order details, click Mark as pending.
- Click Confirm.
- Return to the Pending orders filter to find the order.
- In the order details, tap Manage or ... in the top-right corner.
- Tap Move to pending.
- Tap Yes to confirm.
- Return to the Pending tab to find the order.
Step 3 - Cancel the order and issue a full refund
To cancel a pending order and issue a full refund:
- In the order details, click the ..., then click Cancel Order.
- If the product has a stock level, the option to restock your inventory displays. Leave Restock Inventory checked to re-add items to your inventory.
- Click Confirm.
- The customer will be refunded, and the order will be marked as Canceled.
- In the order details, tap Manage in the top-right corner.
- Tap Cancel order. The inventory will automatically restock the products from the order. If you don't want to restock the products, edit the inventory after canceling the order.
- Tap Yes to confirm the cancellation.
- The customer will be refunded, and the order will move to the Canceled tab.
- In the order details, tap ... in the top-right corner.
- Tap Cancel order.
- In the prompt that appears, leave Restock Inventory checked to restock the products in the order. If the products won't be restocked, uncheck the box.
- Tap Cancel Order to confirm the cancellation.
- The customer will be refunded, and the order will move to the Canceled tab.
Option 2 - Issue a partial refund
For orders with multiple items or for other disputes, you can issue partial refunds. This is a good option to refund the cost of products and sales tax and keep what you charged for shipping.
Note: Partially refunded orders stay in their current state (Pending or Fulfilled). Partial refunds don't restock inventory.
- Open the Commerce panel and click Orders. You can also press ? while any panel is open and search orders.
- Click any order to open the order details.
- In the order details, click Refund.
- Edit the refund amount to reflect the portion of the order total you want to refund.
- Click Issue Refund.
- Click Confirm.
The order will display Partial Refund in the Payment column, and the customer will be notified of the refund automatically.
- In the Commerce tab, tap Orders, then tap the order you want to edit.
- Tap Manage or ... in the top-right corner.
- Tap Issue refund.
- Enter the amount to refund.
- Tap OK or Refund.
The customer will be notified of the refund automatically.
Gift cards
If the customer used a gift card and a credit card to complete the purchase, the gift card is refunded first. If you issue a partial refund that's less than the gift card's balance at the time of the purchase, the refund will only appear on the gift card.
Transaction fees
Processing fee refunds vary between payment processors.
Squarespace
- Full refunds include Squarespace Commerce transaction fees.
- Partial refunds include a portion of the Squarespace Commerce transaction fee, based on the refund amount.
Stripe
- Stripe doesn’t refund the transaction fee.
PayPal
- PayPal doesn't refund their processing fees.
What happens after an order is refunded?
Customers receive an email notifying them of a refund, and Stripe sends the money directly to their bank or card. Customers are refunded in the same currency they used for the purchase. The refund will appear in their account in 5 to 10 business days. To learn more, visit Stripe's documentation.
If the order was fully refunded, it displays:
- Payment: Refunded
- Status: Canceled
If the order was partially refunded, it stays in its current state (Pending). It displays:
- Partial refund
- Status: Pending
Partial refunds don't restock inventory.
Tip: You can change a partially refunded order's status back to Fulfilled without affecting the refund. If you do this, you may want to un-check the Send order fulfilled notification box to avoid confusion.
FAQ
Why did my refund fail?
A refund can fail if you wait too long, if you switch the payment processor account connected to your store, or if the customer has issued a chargeback. If a refund fails, visit your PayPal or Stripe dashboard to view the payment status.
Who pays for return shipping?
A full refund will be issued for the entire payment amount, including shipping. To exclude shipping costs, issue a partial refund. Squarespace doesn't mediate any disputes regarding the return shipping of refunded items.
Can I issue a refund for store credit?
A refund will return the specified amount to the customer’s card. To issue a refund for store credit, you can offer them a discount for the refund amount.
Should I issue a refund through my payment processor?
While you can issue refunds through your payment processor, we don't recommend it. Refunds handled this way won't sync with your Orders panel or refund Squarespace Commerce transaction fees. Whenever possible, we recommend processing all cancelations and refunds through your Squarespace site.
What happens if there's a chargeback?
When there's a chargeback, your payment processor issues a refund to your customer. These refunds don't sync with your Orders panel or inventory, so you'll need to manually edit your stock levels if this happens.
How long does it take for my customer to receive their refund?
Refund time varies between payment processors. To learn more, visit Stripe and PayPal's documentation.
Is there a time limit for refunding orders?
For PayPal payments, you have 180 days to refund the order. To learn more, visit PayPal's documentation.
Stripe doesn't have a time limit on refunds, but the refund is more likely to fail the longer you wait. This might happen if a customer updates their credit card, or closes their account. To avoid this, you can add a time limit to your site's refund policy.
Is it possible to over-refund an order?
No, you can't issue a refund for more than the initial payment. Even if you refund the order separately through your payment processor, issuing a refund through the Orders panel on your site only refunds the balance. That means:
- If you issue a full refund through your payment processor, and again through Squarespace, we'll refund $0.00.
- If you issue a partial refund through your payment processor, and then a full refund through Squarespace, we'll refund the remaining balance.
Can I issue a refund if my Stripe or PayPal account has no balance?
Yes. To learn more about how Stripe and PayPal process these refunds, contact Stripe and PayPal support.
Can I remove canceled or refunded orders?
No, it's not possible to remove any orders except test orders. This way, you'll always have a complete record of transactions and refunds made through your site.
Can I bulk-cancel orders?
No. It's not possible to cancel or refund multiple orders at the same time.
Can I issue a refund if my website is expired?
Yes. After your site expires, you can cancel and refund orders in the Orders panel.