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# Set up returns and exchanges

Returns let customers ask for a refund or a swap from their own account instead of emailing you. Set it up under **Features → Returns and exchanges**. Choose how many days they have, what they can get back, and how items come back to you. Requests then arrive in one queue.

## What this does

Customers email you to start a return, and you email back an address and a refund answer. This replaces that with a form for them and a queue for you.

You also choose what "what they want back" means. A refund is the expensive answer. An exchange or store credit keeps the money with you.

## Before you start

* Your plan includes returns. The page tells you if it doesn't.
* Shopify has granted Account Editor the returns permission. If not, the page asks you to approve it.
* You know your policy: how many days, and whether you refund, exchange, or both.

## The workspace

**Features → Returns and exchanges** has nine tabs. Three get you running.

* **Setup** — What it's for: Return window, eligibility, what customers get back, fees — Needed to start?: **Yes**
* **Reasons** — What it's for: The reasons customers pick from — Needed to start?: **Yes**
* **Shipping** — What it's for: How items come back, and return labels — Needed to start?: **Yes**
* **Requests** — What it's for: Every request and its status — Needed to start?: Where you work day to day
* **Retention** — What it's for: Offers shown when someone starts a return — Needed to start?: Later
* **Automation** — What it's for: Rules that approve or reject for you — Needed to start?: Later
* **Notifications** — What it's for: Emails sent at each stage — Needed to start?: Later
* **Integrations** — What it's for: Connect a carrier for prepaid labels — Needed to start?: Only for labels
* **Analytics** — What it's for: Return rate, and what's driving returns — Needed to start?: Later

## Step 1 — Set your return window

1. On the **Setup** tab, turn on **Turn on return rules**.
2. Enter your **Return window (days)**. Thirty is common.
3. Choose **Window starts from**:

* **Delivery date** — The carrier marks the parcel delivered
* **Fulfillment date** — You ship it
* **Order date** — The customer pays

**Delivery date** is fairest — slow shipping doesn't eat the customer's window.

1. Select **Save**.

Optional rules on the same tab:

* **Require delivery confirmation** — Customers can only start a return after the carrier marks the order delivered
* **One request per order** — Limit customers to a single return request per order
* **Block final-sale items** — Items marked final sale can't be returned
* **Restrict B2B / wholesale orders** — Hide returns for wholesale customers
* **Allow out-of-stock exchanges** — Customers can exchange for a variant that's sold out. You'll need to restock it.
* **Charge restocking fee** — Takes a percentage off whatever the customer gets back

## Step 2 — Choose what customers get back

This setting decides whether a return costs you money or keeps it.

1. Stay on **Setup** and scroll to **Resolution options**.
2. Turn on what you want to offer:

* **Refund to original payment** — What the customer gets: Money back on their card — Cost to you: Highest — the sale is gone
* **Store credit** — What the customer gets: Balance to spend later — Cost to you: Low
* **Store credit + bonus** — What the customer gets: Credit plus a percentage on top — Cost to you: Low, and usually wins them over
* **Gift card** — What the customer gets: A gift card for the item's value — Cost to you: Low
* **Exchange for another item** — What the customer gets: A different item instead — Cost to you: Lowest — you keep the sale

1. Select **Save**.

Turn on at least one, or customers can't finish a request.

A 10% bonus costs you a tenth of the credit. A refund costs the whole sale.

Turn on **Show products to spend the credit on** and customers who pick credit immediately see products in their price range. See [Offer store credit instead of a refund](/en/article/offer-store-credit-instead-of-a-refund-if3efm/).

## Step 3 — Set your return reasons

Reasons tell you why things come back, which is the data that fixes the cause.

1. Go to the **Reasons** tab.
2. Turn off any that don't fit, or select **Add reason** to write your own.
3. Require **Photo proof** on Damaged and Wrong item.
4. Turn on **Group reasons in the portal** so customers see headings instead of one long list.

## Step 4 — Decide how items come back

1. Go to the **Shipping** tab.
2. Under **Return shipping method**, choose one:

* **Prepaid label** — You provide a return label; cost is deducted from the refund
* **Customer ships it themselves** — The customer buys and pays for their own postage
* **QR code / drop-off** — Printerless — customer shows a QR code at a drop-off point

1. Add your **default return address** and some **package sizes**.

Prepaid labels and QR codes need a carrier connected on the **Integrations** tab. Start with **Customer ships it themselves** if you haven't got one. See [Send return shipping labels](/en/article/send-return-shipping-labels-xc0wu8/).

## Step 5 — Add it to your store

Settings alone show customers nothing.

1. Go to **Features**. A banner lists any missing block.
2. Select **Add app block**, then search for **Account Editor**.
3. Add **Returns and exchanges** (a page in the customer's account) or **Request a return** (an option in the order's action menu).
4. Save.

## What your customers see

A customer opens their order and selects **Request a return**. They pick items, a reason, what they want back, and a package size, then submit. They get a confirmation email, then another when you approve, with the address or a label.

If you offer a store credit bonus, they see it as they choose. That's the moment most people switch away from a refund.

## Good to know

**Never refund in Shopify after Account Editor has already paid.** When Account Editor issues store credit, a gift card, or an exchange, Shopify still shows its own "refund owed" banner, because Shopify doesn't know the customer was already paid. Account Editor writes a note on the order saying what was issued. Read it before touching Shopify's refund button — paying twice is the most expensive returns mistake there is.

**Rules only apply to orders placed after you save them.** Turning on returns today does nothing for yesterday's orders. Test with a new one.

**A restocking fee comes off everything** — refunds, store credit and exchanges alike. You can change it per request.

## Troubleshooting

* **Customers can't find the return option** — Why: The app block was never added — Fix: Go to **Features** and use **Add app block**
* **A message asks for the returns permission** — Why: Shopify hasn't granted it — Fix: Select the message and approve it
* **Customers get stuck on the last step** — Why: No resolution is turned on — Fix: Turn on at least one under **Resolution options**
* **Old orders show no return option** — Why: Rules only apply to newer orders — Fix: Expected. New orders will work.
* **Nobody can return anything** — Why: **Require delivery confirmation** is on and the carrier hasn't updated — Fix: Turn it off, or wait
* **Prepaid labels aren't offered** — Why: No carrier connected — Fix: Connect one on **Integrations**
* **Shopify says a refund is owed** — Why: Shopify doesn't know about credit or exchanges — Fix: Read the order note. Don't refund twice.

## FAQ

### How long should my return window be?

Thirty days is what most shoppers expect. Start the clock from the **Delivery date** so slow shipping doesn't eat into it.

### Can I offer exchanges without refunds?

Yes — turn on **Exchange for another item** and leave **Refund to original payment** off. Check your local consumer law first, as some countries require refunds for faulty goods.

### What's the difference between store credit and a gift card?

Store credit attaches to the customer's account and applies at checkout. A gift card is a transferable code. Credit is the better nudge because it only works for that customer.

### Do I have to approve every return by hand?

No. The **Automation** tab can approve, reject or flag automatically. Approve manually for a few weeks first, then automate the pattern you see.

### Can customers return part of an order?

Yes. They pick individual items and quantities, and can request again later unless **One request per order** is on.

## Related articles

* [Manage return requests](/en/article/manage-return-requests-1pzfabc/)
* [Offer store credit instead of a refund](/en/article/offer-store-credit-instead-of-a-refund-if3efm/)
* [Send return shipping labels](/en/article/send-return-shipping-labels-xc0wu8/)
* [Approve returns automatically](/en/article/approve-returns-automatically-n2wwuw/)
* [Let customers cancel an order](/en/article/let-customers-cancel-an-order-1dvl1vq/)