Understanding Refund Discrepancies Between WeSupply and Shopify

Occasionally, refunds processed through WeSupply may not align with the amounts recorded in Shopify. This article explains why such discrepancies can occur, provides a breakdown of the underlying issue, and offers guidance to prevent similar situations in the future.

Why Do Refund Discrepancies Occur?

Refund discrepancies typically arise when the return process bypasses standard approval steps in WeSupply. Specifically, this happens when:

• A return is processed directly to the Refunded status via API without transitioning through the appropriate approval stages.
• The refund value, which is calculated during the Return Processing stage, is skipped, resulting in a $0 refund being sent to Shopify.

This workflow gap occurs because WeSupply’s system relies on sequential processing to calculate and transmit refund totals accurately.

How to Prevent Refund Discrepancies

To ensure accurate refund amounts are sent to Shopify, follow these best practices:

1. Process Returns Through Standard Stages:
   • Ensure the Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA) moves through one of the following statuses before marking it as refunded:
     • Received and Control
     • Awaiting Refund
2. Manually Approve Returns When Necessary:
   • You can manually approve returns in WeSupply to move them to the appropriate stage. This ensures the refund value is calculated before the API processes the refund.
3. Avoid Direct API Refunds:
   • Do not bypass standard processing steps by directly marking returns as refunded via API calls.
4. Monitor Updates:
   • WeSupply is actively working on extending its current solution to address this use case. The update is expected to go live early next year, enhancing the system’s ability to handle such scenarios seamlessly.

What's Next?

By adhering to the recommended workflow, you can prevent refund discrepancies and ensure alignment between WeSupply and Shopify. If discrepancies do occur, review the return’s status in WeSupply to verify whether it followed the correct processing steps.

For further assistance or clarification, please contact our support team. We’re here to help!