How to handle returns and exchanges at a small business

Returns are where small businesses lose track of money. A customer emails, someone says "sure, send it back," the box arrives weeks later, and nobody remembers whether it was a refund or an exchange, or whether the refund went out.

1. Start with a return request form

Ask for:

• Customer name and email
• Order number (required, so you can find the original order)
• Refund or exchange
• Reason

Put the form on your website and link it from order confirmation emails.

2. Check before you approve

Requests start in Requested. Look up the order and the reason. Is it within your return window? Tell the customer what happens next.

3. Inspect when it arrives

The Item received step is where someone checks the returned item. Damaged? Missing parts? Note it on the ticket.

4. Record the refund

Before closing, record the refund amount. It's internal (the customer doesn't see it on the form), and it's what makes your returns report work.

5. Close it out

Refunded or exchanged means the money or replacement went out. Email the customer so they're not left wondering.

Spot the patterns

Turn Reason into a dropdown (wrong size, damaged in shipping, not as described, changed mind) and a monthly report shows which products and reasons cost you the most.

Using the template

The free return request form template includes the form, the three steps and the refund amount. If returns currently arrive in a shared inbox, read shared inbox vs. ticketing system, and see the refunds add up with reports.