Refund Allocation

This article explains how to correctly allocate refunds when delivering orders in multiple shipments.

The Challenge

When customers return goods from a partially delivered order, the refund should be allocated to the invoice corresponding to the returned shipment. However, this isn't always the case, leading to customer confusion.

The Solution

Kustom can correctly allocate refunds based on the order lines in the capture and refund requests. To ensure accurate allocation:

1. Identify the Capture: Determine the specific capture corresponding to the returned goods. Example: If a customer returns a pair of sneakers from a two-part delivery (Capture A for T-shirt/jeans, and Capture B for sneakers), you need to focus on Capture B.

2. Consistent Order Lines: Ensure the order lines in your refund request have the same reference attributes as the order lines in the corresponding capture request. This is critical for correct allocation.

3. Request a Refund: Use the Order management API to send a refund request, including order lines matching the specific capture.

Conditions

Correct refund allocation depends on these conditions:

• No previous failed refund allocations for the order.
• The total amount of refunded order lines matches the refund amount.
• The refunded amount must be less than or equal to the captured_amount in the specific capture being refunded.

{
  "captured_amount": 10000,
  "description": "Capture A, shipping part of the order",
  "order_lines": [
    {
      "reference": "A12345",
      "name": "T-shirt",
      "type": "physical",
      "quantity": 1,
      "total_amount": 3000,
      "unit_price": 3000
    },
    {
      "reference": "A98765",
      "name": "Jeans",
      "type": "physical",
      "quantity": 1,
      "total_amount": 7000,
      "unit_price": 7000
    }
  ]
}

{
  "refunded_amount": 10000,
  "description": "Returning the sneakers",
  "order_lines": [
    {
      "reference": "B24680",
      "name": "Sneakers",
      "type": "physical",
      "quantity": 1,
      "total_amount": 10000,
      "unit_price": 10000
    }
  ]
}

For more details on API calls, refer to the related documentation on refunding an order.