Refunds, store credit, exchanges, and credit notes

A return records the goods that came back. A refund records how the customer is repaid. They are related but separate steps, and an approved or received return does not always refund automatically.

Refund to the original method

For an eligible Razorpay payment, StoreMink sends the refund through your connected account. A completed refund reduces sales on its settlement date. A timeout can mean the refund is still in flight, so do not send it again until StoreMink reconciles the result.

Refund as store credit

Choose Store credit only in a supported dashboard refund or cancellation workflow when StoreMink explicitly offers it and the order belongs to a customer account. The balance belongs to that customer at that store and appears at online checkout and the POS tender panel. Store credit is a payment balance, not a discount: the order total and GST do not change when it is spent. The POS return flow does not offer store credit as a refund destination.

Every new register sale has a customer attached from the submitted mobile, so store credit and after-sales history have an owner. Historical walk-in sales without a customer still cannot receive store credit.

Reinstate previously spent credit

If cancellation or failed-payment cleanup releases store credit that this order previously spent, StoreMink reinstates that spent value exactly once and records the reason in the credit ledger. This is reinstatement of the original tender, not a new store-credit refund destination.

Understand exchanges

Exchange requests depend on an existing store-wide return and exchange policy. The Returns settings group that controls those store-wide options is not currently rendered in the merchant dashboard, so merchants cannot turn the options on there. If the capability is not already active, do not promise customer self-service exchanges; contact StoreMink support to confirm the account's current configuration. When it is active, the customer can choose another in-stock variant from the delivered-order return request. StoreMink supports an even or cheaper replacement; a more expensive replacement is refused and the customer should place a new order.

The replacement stock is held when the request is submitted. Declining or withdrawing releases the hold. Approving and receiving the goods creates a separate paid replacement order and moves both returned and replacement stock exactly once.

GST credit notes

When a refund for a taxed order settles, StoreMink creates a consecutive GST credit-note number for that store. The document refers to the original invoice and reverses only the returned lines and tax. Intra-state notes show CGST and SGST; inter-state notes show IGST. A pending or failed refund does not consume a credit-note number.

Retained fees

When the returns policy keeps an allowed restocking or return-postage fee, the credit note shows the credited goods value, fees retained, and final refunded amount separately.

Exchange an item at the counter

A manager can exchange an eligible POS or website purchase in store when the return policy and location permit it. The till records the return and original-method refund, then creates a linked replacement as an ordinary paid POS order. Because the replacement uses the normal Sell checkout, the customer may choose another product and settle its full current price with any available tender.