Refunding to a gift card

A return does not always have to mean money leaving your business. With the customer's agreement, you can hand the value back as a gift card instead. The credit arrives by email straight away, and the money stays in your store.

Considerations

• Orbit has no refund option that pays money back onto a gift card. You refund or cancel the order as usual, then issue a new card by hand.
• This also applies when the customer paid with a gift card. Refunding that order does not put the value back on the card they used.
• Ask the customer first. Store credit instead of money is their choice to accept, not a default you can apply.

Give a refund as store credit

1. Agree the amount with the customer, and check they are happy to take it as a gift card.
2. Handle the return or cancellation in Orders the way you normally would.
3. From your Orbit dashboard, go to Gift Cards.
4. Click Issue gift card.
5. Enter the refund figure in Amount.
6. Under Recipient, enter the customer's Email and Name, and add a Personal message if you want to explain what the card is for.
7. Click Issue gift card. The code is emailed to the customer.

Add a note to the order saying the refund went out as a gift card, with the card code. That way anyone who picks the order up later can see what happened.

Warning: Statutory returns, such as faulty goods or a cancelled distance sale, usually entitle the customer to their money back. Do not replace that with store credit unless they have agreed to it.

When a gift card is the right answer

• A goodwill gesture after a delivery went wrong or a service slipped.
• A return the customer is happy to swap for credit, often with a small extra amount on top.
• A gesture you offer without a return at all, such as keep the item and have credit for the trouble.

Gift cards are also a tidy way to hand out prizes, staff perks and samples, because each one carries its own balance and history.

Related guides

• Issuing a gift card
• Managing gift cards
• Redeeming gift cards and checking balances
• Setting gift card expiry dates