Refunds, cancellations and order edits
How refunds reverse purchase points, what canceling an order does, and when an order edit changes points.
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Refunding an order takes back the points it earned. EarnKit works this out automatically, in proportion to what was actually refunded. Canceling an order changes points only when the cancellation refunds the order.
How refunds affect points
When you refund all or part of an order, EarnKit reverses the points attributable to the money refunded, not simply the quantity of items refunded. A partial refund reverses a proportional share of the order’s points; a full refund reverses all of them.
Because the reversal is based on eligible spending, it follows the same rules as earning: shipping and tax refunds don’t affect points, since they were never counted as spending in the first place.
Reversing points can take a customer’s balance negative. A negative balance simply means they’ve been refunded for more than their current points cover; it doesn’t stop them earning points normally afterwards. They can redeem a reward again once their balance covers its cost, since a redemption itself is never allowed to make a balance negative.
Canceling an order
EarnKit reverses points when Shopify records a refund. If you cancel an order and refund it, the refund reverses the points as described above. If you cancel an order without refunding it, its points stay as they are.
Order edits
Editing a paid order (changing quantities, discounts or line items) does not change points that have already become available. EarnKit does not automatically adjust a customer’s balance just because an order was edited after the fact.
The one exception is points still in their pending period: if an order edit removes merchandise before its points become available, the pending award is reduced or canceled to match. See Pending and available points.
Good to know
- A reversal is recorded as its own entry in the customer’s points history, alongside the original award; nothing is deleted or overwritten.
- To take back points without a refund, adjust the customer’s balance instead. See Adjust a customer’s points.