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Refunds & Voids on POS
How to void a completed order, refund all or part of an order, and cancel an unpaid order on the IdePOS — with manager-PIN rules, same-day limits, reasons, and refund methods.

Why This Matters

Even a well-run counter needs a way to correct a sale — a duplicate charge, a wrong item, or a customer who changes their mind. IdePOS provides two controlled ways to reverse a completed order (void and refund) and one way to discard an order that was never paid (cancel an order).

These actions move money and change your reports, so they are deliberately gated behind a manager PIN and limited to the same day. Using the right one, with a clear reason recorded, keeps your sales figures accurate, your cash drawer balanced, and your audit trail clean.

Void, Refund, or Cancel — Which One to Use

The three actions look similar but apply in different situations. Choose based on whether the order was paid, and whether you are reversing all of it or only part.

  • Void — Reverses a whole completed order that was paid today. Use it to undo a sale in full — for example a mistaken or duplicate transaction — soon after it happened.
  • Refund — Returns money for all or part of a completed order paid today. Use it when the customer keeps some items but returns others, or when returning the full amount after time has passed in the day.
  • Cancel (Dine-In) — Discards an order that has not been paid yet. Use it to clear a dine-in bill or draft order that will not be settled; stock is returned automatically.

Note  Void and refund both apply only to completed orders from the same calendar day. For anything older, follow your venue's back-office or accounting process instead.

Before You Begin

A few conditions must be met before you can void or refund. If they are not, the button will be hidden or the action will be blocked.

  • The order is completed and from today — Void and refund are available only on completed orders created on the current day.
  • A manager PIN is required — Every void, refund, or order cancellation must be authorized with a manager PIN. Have a manager available.
  • Permission to act — Managers can always use these actions. Other operators can use them except when the device is in mobile (mPOS) mode, where they are restricted.
  • The payment must support it — Void works for cash and eligible terminal payments; online payments (for example Stripe) cannot be voided. Refund works only for payment methods marked refundable.
  • Connectivity for terminal refunds — Returning money to a card or QR method needs the relevant terminal or gateway to be online, just like taking the original payment.

Voiding an Order

A void reverses an entire completed order in one step. It is the quickest way to undo a sale made in error, and it opens the cash drawer and prints a void receipt so the reversal is documented.

When to Void

  • Duplicate or mistaken sale — The order should not have been rung up at all.
  • Wrong order taken to payment — It is cleaner to void the whole thing and start again than to unpick it.
  • Same day, paid, not yet refunded — Void is only available while all of these are true.

How to Void an Order


  1. Open the order from the order list, so its detail screen is shown.
  2. Tap Void All in the top bar.
  3. Confirm on the “Void Invoice” prompt.
  4. Enter a manager PIN to authorize.
  5. Type a reason for the void — this is required — then tap Continue.
  6. The order is voided; a void receipt prints and the cash drawer opens for any cash to be returned.

Caution  For orders paid on some terminals, the app may remind you to also void the transaction on the terminal itself. The POS void alone does not reverse the card transaction on the terminal.

What to Know About Voids

  • Whole order only — Void always reverses the entire invoice. To reverse only some items, use a refund instead.
  • A reason is mandatory — The void will not proceed until a reason is typed; it is stored with the order for reporting.
  • Not reversible — A void is final. If you void by mistake, you must re-create the order.
  • Eligible payments only — Cash and eligible terminal (for example NETS kiosk) payments can be voided; online payments cannot. For a split bill, every split must be on a voidable payment.

Refunding an Order

A refund returns money to the customer for all or part of a completed order. Unlike a void, you can choose exactly which items and quantities to refund, and the money is returned through a payment method on the payment screen.

When to Refund

  • Partial return — The customer keeps some items and returns others — refund only the returned lines.
  • Full return after the fact — Return the whole amount when a void is not appropriate or not available.
  • Documented reason needed — A refund records a set reason (see below), which is useful for reporting and disputes.

Full vs Partial Refund

Which path you take depends on the payment method:

  • Refund All — When the payment method does not support partial refunds, the button reads “Refund All” and returns the whole order in one step.
  • Partial refund — When partial refunds are supported, you are taken to a Refund screen to pick items and quantities.

How to Refund an Order

  1. Open the order so its detail screen is shown.
  2. Tap Refund. For a split bill, choose which split to refund from the list.
  3. Confirm on the “Refund Invoice” prompt, then enter a manager PIN.
  4. For a partial refund, the Refund screen opens: tick the items to return and set the quantity for each; optionally include the tip. The Total Refunds figure updates as you select.
  5. Tap Continue, then choose a Reason for the refund and confirm.
  6. The payment screen opens to return the money. Select the refund method and complete it as you would a payment.



Refund Reasons

You choose the reason from a set list so refunds report consistently:

  • Duplicate — The charge was made more than once.
  • Fraudulent — The transaction is suspected to be fraudulent.
  • Requested by Customer — The customer asked for the refund.
  • Other — Where enabled by your store, lets you type a free-text reason.

How the Money Is Returned

After you confirm, IdePOS creates the refund and opens the payment screen to return the funds:

  • Original-style method — Return the money through the appropriate method — cash from the drawer, or a card/QR refund on the terminal that took the payment.
  • Refundable methods only — Only payment methods marked refundable can be used; some methods are configured for refunds only.
  • Terminal refunds need connectivity — Card and QR refunds require the terminal or gateway to be online to complete.

What to Know About Refunds

  • Refund up to the amount sold — You cannot refund more than the original quantity of each item.
  • Multiple partial refunds allowed — You can refund parts of an order across several refunds until the whole order is refunded, after which the refund option disappears.
  • Not for delivery orders — Delivery orders cannot be refunded from this screen.
  • Same day only — Like voids, refunds are available only on the day the order was completed.

Canceling an Order

Canceling is different from voiding and refunding: it discards an order that was never paid — typically a dine-in bill or a draft that will not be settled. Because no money changed hands, there is nothing to return, but the stock is put back automatically.

How to Cancel an Order

  1. Open the order list and find the order to cancel.
  2. Under the Action Column, choose Cancel.
  3. You can also cancel a dine-in order by navigating Sales -> Dine In -> click on tables -> Cancel.
  4. Confirm on the “Cancel Order” prompt.
  5. Enter a manager PIN to authorize.
  6. The order is removed, its items are restocked, and a cancellation ticket prints where configured.

Note  Use cancel for orders that were never paid. Once an order has been paid and completed, use void or refund instead — a completed bill cannot simply be canceled.

Limits and Important Notes

  • Same-day only — Void and refund apply only to orders completed on the current day.
  • Manager PIN always required — Void, refund, and canceling an order each need a manager PIN and cannot be undone.
  • Void is whole-order and final — There is no partial void, and a void cannot be reversed.
  • Online payments cannot be voided — Only cash and eligible terminal payments are voidable; refunds are limited to refundable methods.
  • Delivery orders cannot be refunded here — Handle these through your usual delivery or back-office process.
  • Refunds cannot exceed what was sold — Each item can be refunded only up to its original quantity, across one or more refunds.
  • Availability is permission- and mode-driven — Non-managers cannot use these actions in mobile (mPOS) mode.

Best Practices

  • Prefer void for a clean, same-moment reversal — If the whole sale was a mistake and it just happened, a void is simpler than a refund.
  • Use refund for partial returns — When the customer keeps some items, refund only the returned lines rather than voiding and re-ringing everything.
  • Always record a clear reason — A meaningful void or refund reason makes end-of-day reconciliation and any dispute far easier.
  • Finish terminal reversals on the terminal — For NETS and other card payments, complete the reversal on the terminal as well as in the POS.
  • Reconcile the drawer after cash reversals — Voids and cash refunds open the drawer; confirm the cash returned matches the receipt.
  • Act the same day — Because void and refund are same-day only, handle corrections before shift close rather than leaving them.

Common Pitfalls

  • Trying to void an online payment — Online-paid orders are not voidable — use a refund through a refundable method instead.
  • Voiding when only one item is wrong — A void reverses everything. Use a partial refund to return just the affected items.
  • Forgetting the terminal step — A POS void or refund does not always reverse the card transaction on the terminal — complete it there too.
  • Canceling vs voiding confusion — Cancel is for unpaid orders; void and refund are for completed, paid orders.
  • No manager on hand — Every reversal needs a manager PIN — line one up before starting.

Quick Reference

At a Glance

  • Void — Whole completed order, same day, manager PIN; reverses the sale, prints a void receipt, opens the drawer.
  • Refund — All or part of a completed order, same day, manager PIN; returns money on the payment screen with a recorded reason.
  • Cancel — Unpaid orders only, manager PIN; discards the bill and restocks items.

Glossary

  • Completed order — A paid order recorded as complete; the starting point for a void or refund.
  • Void — Reversing a whole completed order (status becomes Void).
  • Refund — Returning money for all or part of a completed order (status becomes Refund).
  • Partial refund — Refunding selected items or quantities rather than the whole order.
  • Cancel — Discarding an unpaid order; its items are restocked.
  • Manager PIN — The authorization code required to void, refund, or cancel.
  • Refundable / refund-only method — A payment method that can receive refunds; some methods are for refunds only.