Every return request your customers submit — whether they asked for money back, store credit, or a swap — lands on the Returns page. This is where you review pending requests, track items on their way back, and look up past returns. To get there, click Returns in the left sidebar of the Onward admin.
Default Views
A row of views at the top of the page splits returns by where they are in their lifecycle. Each view is a saved set of filters — click one to switch the table to it.
View | What it shows |
All Returns | Every return request, regardless of status. This includes "Pending" returns, which customers have started but not submitted. |
Manual Review | Returns waiting for you to approve or decline them. Returns land here when Automatically approve returns is off, when an Exception routes them to review, or when fraud risk detection overrides auto-approval. |
Open Returns | Approved returns still in progress — the customer has a shipping label, items are on their way back, or the return is waiting to be processed. |
Closed Returns | Finished returns — Completed, Declined, or Closed. Use this view as your return history/archive. |
+ Add View saves your current search and filters as a new view alongside the built-in ones. When you change the filters on an existing view, Save and Cancel buttons appear so you can update the view or discard the changes. For what each status means and how a return moves between them, see How Onward Returns Works.
The returns table
Each row is one return request. Click the Return # to open the full detail page, where you approve, decline, and process the return — see Viewing & Managing an Individual Return.
Column | What it shows |
Return # | The return's unique identifier — click it to open the return. The colored dot before it is the return's status: grey for Pending, yellow for Requested, blue for Open, green for Completed, red for Closed. Hover over the dot to see the status name. |
Order # | The Shopify order the return was filed against. Click it to open the order. |
Customer | The customer who submitted the return request. |
Type | The resolution the customer chose in the Return Portal — Refund (money back to their card), Store credit, Exchange, or Shop Now. You can change the resolution on the return's detail page any time before processing. |
Shipping | The status of the return shipment as a badge — for example, a green Delivered badge once the items arrive back. An orange Manual badge means shipping is handled manually outside Onward rather than through your Return label provider; manual labels don't report tracking, so these returns won't trigger shipping-based automations. "–" means no label yet. |
Exchange | Whether the exchange order is Fulfilled or Unfulfilled, when the return includes one. "–" for returns without an exchange. |
Return value | The value of the items being sent back, in the order's presentment currency — the currency the customer checked out in. |
Created | How long ago the return request was submitted. |
Example return with "Manual" shipping, meaning the return requires you to arrange for shipping outside of Onward.
Example return with automated shipping and tracking.
Search and filters
Each view has a search bar above the table for finding a specific return. Below it, Add Filter narrows the view by Status, Shipping Status, Return Type, or Exchange Status. Active filters appear as pills — remove one by clicking its ×, or remove all of them with Clear All. To keep a search-and-filter combination you'll come back to, save it as a view with + Add View.
