What this does and when it's useful
A return's resolution amount is calculated from your settings — the items coming back, any handling / restocking fee, return shipping, and processing fees. Editing the return lets you override that calculation before the return is processed: change the resolution, lower the amount, or give the customer back fees they paid.
Common reasons to edit:
The item arrived damaged and you don't want the customer paying return shipping.
You've agreed a partial refund with the customer over email.
You want to waive the restocking fee as a goodwill gesture.
The customer should get store credit rather than money back on their card, or the reverse.
Before you start
The return's status must be Open. The Edit link doesn't appear on returns that are Pending, Requested, Completed, Declined, or Closed — once a return is processed, its amounts are fixed.
Decide the outcome before you open the window. Every field is optional, so it's easy to save a change you didn't intend.
Editing the amount
Open the return from the Returns page.
In the sidebar, find the Return Amount panel and click Edit in its header.
To change what the customer receives, pick a different Resolution — for example from a refund to store credit.
To lower the payout, set the Refund amount (or Store credit amount — the field is named after the resolution you've selected). You can't enter more than the return is already due.
To give back fees the customer paid, check them in the fee list. See Which fees you can refund below.
Check the running total at the bottom of the window, then click Update.
[Screenshot: Return detail page sidebar — Return Amount panel]
[Screenshot: Edit Return modal]
Which fees you can refund
Only fees the customer actually paid on that return can be refunded, so the list differs from return to return. When there are none, the fee checkboxes don't appear at all.
Checkbox | What it gives back |
Refund shipping fees | The return label fee the customer paid. |
Refund restocking fee | The handling / restocking fee deducted from the resolution. |
Refund CC processing fees | The payment processing fee charged on the customer's fee payment. |
Refund Onward fees | The Onward fee charged on the return. |
Each checkbox shows the fee's amount next to its label. Your store covers the cost of every fee you refund here — label costs, payment processing fees, and Onward fees included.
How the new total is calculated
The total at the bottom of the window updates as you change the fields, so you can see the effect before saving:
Line | What it shows |
Amount before changes | What the return was due before you opened the window. |
Refund fees | Added to the total — the fees you've checked. Appears only when at least one is selected. |
Manual adjustments | Subtracted from the total — the difference when you lower the amount by hand. Appears only when there is one. |
New refund due | What the customer will receive once the return is processed. |
After you save
Saving records the change; it doesn't move any money. Nothing reaches the customer until the return is processed — either by you, or automatically via the Automatically process return trigger.
Until then, your edits show in the Return Amount panel: an amount you lowered by hand appears under Adjustments as Manual adjustment, and each fee you selected appears there as its own line (Return shipping refund, Payment processing fee refund, Onward fee refund, Restocking fee refund). The panel's Refund due / Store credit due figure already includes them. See Viewing & Managing an Individual Return for the rest of the panel.
[Screenshot: Return Amount panel after saving — Adjustments section expanded showing a Manual adjustment line and one fee refund line, with the updated Refund due below.]
Caveats
Returns of exchange and replacement orders are limited to store credit, so the Resolution field is locked on those returns. You can still adjust the amount and refund fees.
You can't raise the payout above what the return is already due — the amount field caps there.
Editing is only available while the return is Open. There's no way to revise the amounts after processing, so check the running total before you click Update.
Every fee you refund is a cost your store absorbs, not one passed back to Onward or the carrier.