Whether the purchase is made online or in-store, an occasional employee errors or customer dissastifaction are inevitable. Providing a refund helps retain dissatisfied customers and reinforce your company's reputation when service issues or mistakes occur.
This guide explains how to process full or partial refunds in Lightspeed Restaurant POS after a sale has been completed.
Only staff members with Admin access or Void/Return Sales permission are authorized to process refunds in the POS. Refunds can only be done once per transaction, either for the entire sale or for specific items.
What's in this guide?
Processing a full refund
Processing a partial refund
Frequently asked questions
Processing a full refund
If a transaction requires correction due to an error during checkout or a change in the customer's payment method, a full refund can be processed to maintain accurate accounting. Follow the steps below to refund the entire order using the original payment method.
To process a full refund:
- Navigate to the POS, then tap the Menu (☰) icon.
- Select History.
- Locate the transaction by scrolling through the list or use the filter option to search the transaction by date, receipt number, or product name.
- Select the transaction, then tap Refund Sale.
- Review the refund prompt and verify the original payment method used, then tap Refund Sale.
- All products included in the order will appear, tap Refund All.
- (Optional) If the Refund Reason feature is enabled, select the appropriate reason for the refund.
- Select the same payment method used in the original transaction to process the refund. A banner will appear confirming the refund was successful.
If you need to re-enter the order to use the correct payment type, note that this will trigger a new docket to print. To avoid confusion, either add a note saying "Do not make" or quickly retrieve the docket from the printer before it reaches the kitchen.
Processing a partial refund
Use this process to refund specific items from a transaction. This allows you to select individual products to refund while keeping the rest of the order intact.
To process a partial refund:
- Navigate to the POS, then tap the Menu (☰) icon.
- Select History.
- Locate the transaction by scrolling through the list or using the search bar to search the transaction by date, receipt number, or product name.
- Select the transaction, then tap Refund Sale.
- Review the refund prompt and verify the original payment method used, then tap Refund Sale.
- From the Original Sale column, select the product to refund to move it to the To Refund column.
- Tap Continue to proceed.
- (Optional) If the Refund Reason feature is enabled, select the appropriate reason for the refund.
- Select the same payment method used in the original transaction to process the refund. A banner will appear confirming the refund was successful.
Refunding orders will return the products to your Lightspeed inventory. For items that cannot be resold, e.g., made-to-order food and drinks, record them as wastage to maintain accurate stock levels.
Frequently asked questions
If you can't see the Refund Sale button, this means the transaction may have already been refunded, or you may not have the necessary permission to process a refund. Each transaction can only be refunded once. Once refunded, the Refund Sale button will no longer appear for that transaction. Only admins or users with Void/Return Sales permission can process a refund in the POS.
No, once the sale has been cashed off and finalized, it cannot be deleted. Any corrections must be made by processing a full or partial refund, then reprocessing the transaction if necessary.
For Australian merchants, the ACCC advises that refunds must match the amount originally paid and be issued using the same payment method. Refer to your local government regulations to ensure legal compliance.
What's next?
Finalise your takings for accurate daily reconciliation.
Manage price adjustments to apply discounts or add surcharges at checkout.