The Returns List and the Return Page
Updated 11 November 2026
Overview
This article explains the Returns page, the work queue for your support and warehouse staff. It lists every return and warranty claim, newest first, with tabs, filters, a barcode scanner box and bulk actions that get a day of processing done without opening each return.
Use the menu on the left to quickly navigate this article.
The returns list
Opening the list
In the admin, go to Returns > Return Processing.
The page is titled Returns. Its header holds Events Feed, Find an Order and Create Return.
Returns > Return Processing, the Returns page with the tabs, search box, Filter button and the first few returns
How it works
Tabs. All, then Open, Cancelled, Closed and Expired, then Needs review on its own. A return ReturnZen has held sits on Needs review; see Held returns. A card on Home opens the list on a tab directly; see Dashboard.
Search. The box reads Order, RMA or email and searches those three. An email address matches whatever its upper or lower case. A tracking number is not searched here. For a tracking number, Scan Label opens a Scan label barcode dialog with a Tracking number field for a USB barcode scanner, or you type the number and press Enter. A match opens that return. A USPS barcode that carries extra digits in front of the tracking number, 420 and the ZIP code, still finds the return. The whole number is needed: part of a tracking number finds nothing. When nothing matches, the dialog reads No return found for this label. with the scanned text under it.
Filter. Filter opens Show all where, with a field and a value, and Add Filter adds it as a chip. The fields are Shipping status (No label, Label failed, New, Pre transit, In transit, Out for delivery, Delivered, Return to sender, Failure), Outcome (Exchange, Shop Now, Refund, Store credit, Keep), Day limit (30, 60 or 90 days), Age (Older than 30, 60 or 90 days) and Return activity (Low, Moderate, High). Each chip has a remove control; Clear All removes them all.
The Filter popover open on Shipping status with Label failed chosen, and two filter chips above the table
Columns. Order links to the return. A gift icon marks a gift return, a Withdrawal chip marks an EU or UK withdrawal, and an Out of stock chip means the replacement the shopper chose is below your inventory threshold in Shopify right now; the chip clears if stock comes back before you process the return. Then Customer, Created, Outcome, Status (with a Halted chip when processing failed and will not retry), Shipping status (Label failed is highlighted because a person has to act), Return method (Return label, QR code, No label), RMA # and Total.
Total is the amount actually paid once a return has processed and the quote before that. It reads - when no figure exists and Unavailable when the amount cannot be known. The other headers sort; this one does not. The figure matches the return page; see Refund figures versus quotes.
Bulk actions. Tick returns (or Select every return on this page) and the bulk bar appears with a count and the actions Process return, Reject return, Mark as reviewed and Flag for review. A dialog asks, for example, Process 4 returns? and reads Any return that fails is reported separately. On Process it adds how many will be skipped and the reason the return page would give. Confirm with Process Returns, Reject Returns, Mark as Reviewed or Flag for Review. The result toast counts what went through and what failed.
The bulk bar with three returns selected and the Process 3 returns? dialog open
Instant Resolution returns. Process Return does not run on an Instant Resolution return, from the list or in bulk. Where Shopify shows the refund was issued, the list and the bulk dialog give the same sentence as the return page: Shopify shows this Instant Resolution refund was issued, and it is recorded on this return. Process Return does not run on an Instant Resolution return.
Note: The list shows 25 returns a page, with a Showing counter and Previous and Next at the foot.
What the shopper sees
Nothing from this page itself. A bulk Process, Reject or Flag has the same effect as the same action on the return page: the processing emails, the rejection email, or a flag with no email.
The return page
This section covers the return page: the items, the money, the label, the customer, the history, and every button your team can click. Editing items and fees is covered in Editing a return.
Opening a return
In the admin, go to Returns > Return Processing and click an order number.
The page is headed Returns / and the order number, which links to the order in Shopify. Beside it sit the status chip, RMA:, the submission date, and either a Return policy: link or a Created Manually chip that opens the manual return's details. The Return status page link in the right column opens the shopper's own status page.
The top of a return page: the heading, status chip, RMA, the action bar and the first banner
Banners
The requested replacement is out of stock names the item that is below your inventory threshold in Shopify; it clears itself if stock comes back before you process.
Refunded in Shopify (or Refund found in Shopify when no amount was read) appears when the order carries a refund the app did not issue: Shopify shows a 40.00 refund on this order that was not issued here. Check the refund in Shopify, then close this return. Its buttons are Open in Shopify and Close Return. ReturnZen never records that refund as its own. See Close Return and refunds made in Shopify.
Card charge needs attention, Duty could not be read and Instant Exchange held for review each name an amount and one way out; see Held returns.
The action bar
Approve Return shows only while the status is Needs review and returns the return to open.
Reject Return opens Reject this return? with a Rejection reason (optional) box; the body reads This cannot be undone. It sends the rejection email and voids an unscanned label. Cancel Return opens Cancel this return?; when a label exists it warns that cancelling asks EasyPost to void it and that a label the carrier has already scanned may not be refunded. A Cancellation reason (optional) box lets you say why; the reason is added to the cancel entry in the return's history and the shopper does not see it. The buttons are Keep Return and Cancel Return. Cancelling here sends the shopper no email. If the label could not be voided, the message after the cancel says so in one sentence, either The label could not be voided because the carrier shows it as shipped. or The label could not be voided. EasyPost did not accept the request., and adds The label details stay on this return. Both actions are hidden once a return is cancelled, closed, rejected or completed. On a return refunded in Shopify the tooltip reads This return cannot be rejected, flagged or cancelled. Use Close Return.
Flag Return opens Flag return for manual review with reasons to tick and a Comment; the return moves to Needs review. Unflag Return restores the previous status. See Flags and Needs review.
Process Return is the primary button on an open return. If the parcel is not confirmed delivered it first asks Process return before delivery?, naming the shipping status, and you confirm with Process Anyway. It is disabled with a tooltip while you have unsaved changes or an uneven balance. Reopen and Process replaces it on an expired return inside the reopening window; past that it stays visible, disabled, with the reason. Close Return replaces it on a return refunded in Shopify, on one stopped with a held refund, and on one held because a refund ReturnZen did not record was found on the order after Shopify's answer was lost. See Processing a return.
Process Return does not run on an Instant Resolution return. Once Shopify shows the refund, the page reads Shopify shows this Instant Resolution refund was issued, and it is recorded on this return. Process Return does not run on an Instant Resolution return.
Return credits
One line per item with a pill (Returning, Returned, Keeping, Removed, Rejected, Received, Missing, and after processing Refunded, Credited, Exchanged or Kept), the price, the Customer return reason, any photos and comment, and a restock checkbox on each line with a Restock all checkbox while Restock functionality is on under Policy > General. Mark Missing opens Flag as missing on receipt?: the item's restock selection is cleared and a workflow can act on it, for example with an auto-reject. The Missing pill unmarks it. While editing is allowed each line also has Remove, Reject, Change to Keep and Reduce Refund; see Editing a return. On a keep item or Instant Resolution return the card is titled Kept items and has no restock controls. Bundle pieces are grouped under their bundle; see Bundles.
The Return credits card with two items, one Returning and one Missing, and the Restock all checkbox
Purchased
On an exchange or Shop Now, the new items with how each was chosen, Exchange total or Cart total, the Shop Now bonus, and Customer owes or Remaining credit. Each line has Remove while editing. When the last item is removed the card asks you to Choose a refund or store credit for the returned items before processing.
Uneven return balance
A warning card appears when a removed, rejected or missing item leaves an amount owed. On a refund or credit it reads Returns cannot have an amount owed (40.00). and then what to do: Reduce the refund by the missing item's value. with a Reduce Refund button when a missing item is the cause, otherwise Remove purchased items, reduce the refund, or both. On an exchange it asks you to remove the matching item from the Purchased card. It is titled Item marked as missing when a missing item is the only cause.
Return summary
The money card, with a badge of Return pending or Returned (Pending or Resolved when nothing comes back). Its lines are the items, Return credit (or Agreed amount on an accepted Instant Resolution), Tax credit and Shipping reimbursement with a note when they are not in the total, Purchased on an exchange, Other with Fee, Discounts and any Bundle adjustment, Refund adjustment when Shopify recorded a different amount, and Refund total, Gift card total or Credit total with its destination and a View gift card details link. Edit beside Fee opens Fee options; Edit beside the total opens Refund method. Charged at submission shows a card payment taken for a Shop Now cart or exchange difference, with Open in Stripe; Card charges on this return carries Refund Charge. When part of a charge was refunded in Stripe, the card states all three figures, for example 80.00 USD recorded on this return; 30.00 USD of it was refunded in Stripe, and 50.00 USD is not refunded.
The Return summary card on a processed refund with a Refund adjustment line
Instant Exchange
On an Instant Exchange the card shows the saved card, the hold, Ship by and the status, with Charge by Line Item, Refund Charge, Retry Charge, Record Arrival and Close Return. See Instant Exchange.
Return history
The timeline, newest first. Post a note with Post; notes can be posted whatever the status. Every event expands for its details: Return processed with the amount the shopper receives and what was restocked, Flagged for review with its reasons, label entries with Open label PDF or the carrier's message, Workflows activated, Email sent with View Email and Send Again, and Processing failed entries that say what was sent. A refusal made before anything goes to Shopify says that nothing was sent for that step, that the return is not complete and that it can be processed again, with its reason: Refund of $40.00 failed: The store's Shopify connection could not be read, so nothing was sent to Shopify. The return is not complete and can be processed again. On a return held after a lost answer, the entry names the refund Shopify shows and its figure, says what this return owes, and reads Nothing was recorded and nothing was sent. Pay anything the customer is still owed in Shopify, then click Close Return.
Right column
Customer info with the customer's name, email and phone, a count such as 12 Orders | 3 Returns, Returns history and Edit customer info; Ship-to address (for exchanges), which shows any address the shopper changed in the portal; Return method information with the EasyPost shipment status, the tracking number, Rate, Label type, Email Shipping Label, Regenerate Label when the returning items changed, and the Destination address, or Create Shipping Label with the parcel weight when no label exists; Tags; Customer feedback with the two survey scores and comment; and the Return activity level.
- Orders and Returns: the count on the Customer info card covers your store only. Returns is the number of returns filed under that email address, and Returns history opens the Returns list showing those same returns. Orders is the customer's order count in Shopify, read each time the page opens. When the order count cannot be read, or is 0, the card shows the Returns count alone.
With EasyPost switched off or no key saved, Create Shipping Label and Regenerate Label are disabled, with a sentence that says why and a link to the EasyPost settings. Shoppers get the self-ship method and your return address until EasyPost is back.
What the shopper sees
Their status page shows the same items, status and money. Every action here that moves money or changes status sends the matching email from Shopper > Notifications, except Flag Return, Cancel Return and Close Return, which send the shopper nothing. Only the shopper's own cancellation sends the cancel email.
Note: Edits are held until you click Save Changes in the bar at the foot of the page; Discard Changes drops them. Every date and time on the page is in your store's timezone.
Find an Order
This section covers the Find an Order page, where your team looks up a shopper's Shopify orders to start a return for them or to copy a portal link for a support ticket. A return started here is an ordinary portal return. For a return with overrides the portal would refuse, see Manual returns.
Before you start: A connected Shopify store. Without one the page shows sample orders under a banner headed Sample data: Shopify is not connected.
Searching
In the admin, go to Returns > Find an Order.
The Find an Order button on the Returns page opens the same page.
- Pick Customer name, Order number or Email.
- Type the value and click Search.
Order numbers work with or without the leading #, and the search matches part of a number, so a short query returns many results; the page then reads There may be more results. Refine your search. Results are headed Matching customers or Matching orders, grouped by customer, with Expand All and Collapse All.
Find an Order after an email search, one customer expanded with two orders
Each order
- Order #: click it to open the order in Shopify. Then Date, Items and Address. An order that already has a return shows a chip with its status that opens that return.
- Start Return: opens the portal's item selection page for that order, skipping the shopper lookup form. On an order that already has a return the button reads Start Another Return and first asks Start another return?: Order #1001 already has return #RMA 100045 (needs review). Start a new return anyway? Confirm with Start Return.
- Share: the share icon copies the same portal link so you can paste it into a support ticket; the tooltip reads Copy the portal link for this order and the button reads Copied for a moment.
Note: Nothing on this page sends an email. The Deep link created email under Shopper > Notifications is not sent by Start Return or Share.
What the shopper sees
If you send the link, the portal opens on their items with no order number or email to type. A return started from here reads the policy, workflows and outcomes exactly as if the shopper had started it.
FAQ
What does the Return activity level mean? It is a count, not a verdict: how many returns the same email address has filed in the last 90 days, against the thresholds under Policy > General. Low is below the moderate threshold; moderate and high have reached it. It never approves, rejects or holds a return on its own; a workflow can act on it. See Return activity.
Why is Process return greyed out in the bulk bar? The option reads Process return (not available for these returns) when none of the ticked returns can be processed, for example because they are all closed or held.
Can I search by tracking number? Not in the search box, which takes an order number, an RMA or an email address. Click Scan Label and scan or type the tracking number.
Can I start a return for an order the portal would refuse, for example outside the window? Not from here: the portal applies the policy as usual. Use Create Return on the Returns page; see Manual returns.
Please reach out to support@returnzen.app with any additional questions.