Refunds

The Auto-Refunds Feature enables transaction refunds using Shopify Payments. With this feature, merchants can easily sync ERP refunds back to the Shopify Payments orders. This functionality is specifically designed for Shopify Payments, as other payment gateways are already integrated with the ERP. This guide will walk you through the steps to initiate transaction refunds within DotApparel

The benefit of the feature

The main advantage of this feature is the streamlined refund process for Shopify payments. Here's how it benefits merchants:

1. With this feature, merchants no longer need to handle refunds separately in both the ERP and Shopify. Instead, merchants can process refunds exclusively in the ERP, saving time and effort.

2. When merchants process a refund in the ERP, the payment status of the corresponding order in Shopify will be automatically updated. This sync ensures that the payment status is accurate and up to date in both systems without manual intervention.

How to set up Auto-Refunds

The configuration generally includes 3 main steps:

Step 1: Set up a new return reason in ERP.

This step requires the merchant to set up the new return reason on their end. The new return reason can be anything such as Shopify Refund but should be a unique reason to avoid potential coupling issues with existing ones.

Step 2: Select the Return Reason in DotApparel.

1. Open the DotApparel app and go to the settings page.

2. Locate the Refund section, and choose the newly created return reason.

3. Ensure that the auto-refund functionality is enabled.

4. Save the changes.

Step 3: Enable Fulfilment Automation in DotApparel.

1. Within the settings page, navigate to the automation section.

2. Find the option to enable fulfilment automation and activate it.

3. Save the changes.

How the Auto-Refund works

Every Auto-Refund workflow consists of 3 main steps:

• Step 1: The merchant returns one or multiple items in the ERP

• Step 2: DotApparel downloads the updated orders from the ERP

• Step 3: The refunded orders are processed in Shopify

Step 1: The merchant returns one or multiple items in the ERP

After an item is refunded in the ERP, it must be assigned a specific return reason designed for auto-refunds. In DotApparel, a pre-defined return reason ID is established to identify eligible items for auto-refunds. To trigger the auto-refund process in Shopify, the following conditions must be met:

1. The ERP OrderDetail (line item) status should be marked as "Returned".

2. The return reason ID assigned to the refunded item in the ERP matches the pre-defined return reason ID in DotApparel.

Step 2: DotApparel downloads the updated orders from the ERP

DotApparel is running an automation task to regularly download the most recently updated orders from the ERP. By default, this task occurs once per hour, ensuring the system stays updated with the latest order information.

If the Apparel21 Retail API version is 2022.3 or newer, the download task is more frequent, running every 5 minutes for faster synchronization.

Once the orders are downloaded into DotApparel, the system proceeds to evaluate each order's eligibility for automatic refunds in Shopify. DotApparel checks various criteria to determine if an order can be automatically refunded within the Shopify payment gateway. If an order meets the necessary conditions for automatic refunding, DotApparel lists the refund requests within the app for merchant review and processing.

Step 3: The refunded orders are processed in Shopify

Once an order is processed in DotApparel, the corresponding items are immediately refunded in Shopify. DotApparel communicates with Shopify's refund functionality, initiating the refund process for specific items.

Upon successful refund in Shopify, the "refund notes" section within the order will be updated with a reference ID. The reference ID format is as follows: "Reason: '[ERP Refund] - ref: 4a00e8e1-cd94-46f8-9090-f5d9f9e4107b'". This reference ID serves as a unique identifier and enables merchants to easily locate and view the ERP refund details within the DotApparel app.

In the event of any error during the auto-refund process, DotApparel promptly displays an error message. The order associated with the failed refund is labelled as "Failed to refund" within DotApparel, indicating that the refund was not successful. Merchants can review the specific error message in DotApparel to identify the cause of the failed refund and take appropriate action, such as manual refund processing in Shopify if necessary.

Limitations

This section highlights the limitations of the auto-refund feature in DotApparel and its integration with Shopify. It covers scenarios where manual refunds in Shopify, third-party payment gateways, and gift card payments are not supported.

1. If an order has already been refunded manually in Shopify, the auto-refund process in DotApparel will be halted to prevent duplicate refunds. Merchants are required to manually process the refund in Shopify for such cases.

2. The Auto-Refund only supports Shopify Payments. Any other third-party payment gateways are not supported for auto-refunds through DotApparel. Merchants using third-party payment gateways will need to handle refunds directly within their respective payment gateway systems.

3. The Auto-Refund feature does not support refunds for orders paid with gift cards. In cases where an order is paid using a combination of gift card and Shopify payment, only the portion paid with "Shopify payment" can be refunded through Shopify. Merchants need to process any gift card refunds separately, outside the auto-refund process.