E-commerce operations · Customer service
Returns and refund approval
Take a return from request to refund with the same policy check, the same inspection at the bench and an approval before any refund above your limit. The customer completes their own step through a shared link, and every decision is recorded on the run.
- Duration: 5 to 10 days
- How often: For every return above your refund limit
- Steps: 7 steps
- AI agents: 1 AI agent
- Approvals: 1 approval
Free plan, no credit card needed.
What changes with this template
Without it
Whether a return is refunded depends on who opens the parcel.
Large refunds are issued from the helpdesk in one click, and nobody sees them until month end.
Customer service guesses where the parcel is when the customer asks about their refund.
Someone works out every refund and writes every result email by hand.
With it
Every item gets the same inspection checklist and condition grade.
Refunds above your limit wait at an approval gate for the e-commerce lead.
The tracking number is on the run, and a missing parcel shows as blocked with the reason.
An AI agent recommends the refund and drafts the email, and a person approves both.
The template, step by step
Each step says who does it: someone on your team, an AI agent, or the client through a shared link. An approval keeps every later step locked until it is given.
- Done by your team
- Done by an AI agent
- Done by the client, through a shared link
Starts when
A customer asks to return an order worth more than customer service can refund without approval. Customer service starts a run with the order number, order value and return reason.
- 1
Check the request against the return policy
Day 1Customer service agent · Team
Compare the purchase date, item and return reason with your return policy. If the return passes, send the customer the return label and the shared run link; if not, decline it in the helpdesk with the reason and cancel the run.
Checklist
- Inside the return window
- Not a final-sale item
- Order value above the refund limit
- Return label and shared link sent
Fields to fill in
- Order number (required)
- Order value (required)
- Return reason (required)
- Link to the helpdesk ticket
- 2
Describe the fault and send the item back
Days 1 to 3Customer · Shared link
Through the shared link, the customer describes what is wrong, shares a link to their photos if they have them, and enters the tracking number once the parcel is on its way.
Checklist
- Item packed with its tags
- Return label on the parcel
- Parcel handed to the carrier
Fields to fill in
- What is wrong with the item (required)
- Link to photos of the fault
- Tracking number (required)
- 3
Receive and inspect the item
On arrivalWarehouse lead · Team
Check the item against the order and your inspection checklist, and grade its condition. If the parcel has not arrived or does not match the order, mark the run blocked and note why.
Checklist
- Item matches the order
- Tags still on
- Fault confirmed or not found
- Inspection photos taken
Fields to fill in
- Condition grade (required)
- Link to the inspection photos (required)
- Inspection notes
- 4
Prepare the refund recommendation
After inspectionRefund adviser · AI agent
The refund adviser compares the condition grade, return reason and order value with the refund rules in its instructions, recommends a full refund, partial refund, store credit or decline, and drafts the email to the customer.
Fields to fill in
- Recommendation (required)
- Recommended refund amount (required)
- Policy rule applied (required)
- Draft email to the customer (required)
Checked by: The e-commerce lead checks the recommendation and approves the refund in step 5.
- 5
Approve the refund
Hidden from the shared linkWithin 1 day of inspectionE-commerce lead · Team
Read the recommendation next to the inspection photos and the order, change the amount if needed, and approve it.
Checklist
- Inspection supports the recommendation
- Refund amount is right
- Any exception to the policy noted
Fields to fill in
- Approved refund amount (required)
Approval: No refund is issued until the e-commerce lead approves the amount.
- 6
Issue the refund and email the customer
Same day as approvalCustomer service agent · Team
Issue the approved amount through your store or payment provider, check the drafted email against the approval and send it to the customer.
Checklist
- Refund issued to the original payment method
- Email checked and sent
Fields to fill in
- Refund reference (required)
- 7
Restock, write off or set aside for the supplier
Hidden from the shared linkWithin 2 days of approvalWarehouse lead · Team
Act on the condition grade: put sellable items back in stock, write off damaged ones, and set aside supplier faults with a claim to the supplier.
Checklist
- Stock level updated
- Supplier fault set aside for a claim
Fields to fill in
- Stock decision (required)
- Supplier claim reference
Done when
The approved refund is paid, the customer knows the result, and the item is back in stock, written off or set aside for a supplier claim.
Make it yours. Rename steps, change owners and add checklist items, fields or approvals. The template is a starting point for the way your team works.
The AI agents in this template
An agent only works on its own steps, and a person on your team checks what it did. Anything an agent writes to a connected app waits for approval unless you allow it.
Refund adviser
Turns the inspection result and the order value into a refund recommendation and a draft email to the customer.
What it does
- Reads the return reason, order value and condition grade on the run
- Applies the refund rules written in its step instructions
- Records the recommendation, the amount and the rule it used
- Drafts the email that tells the customer the result
Checked by: The e-commerce lead checks the recommendation and approves the refund in step 5.
Questions this template answers
Let customer service refund small returns on their own and send every refund above a set amount to one approver. Step 5 is an approval gate: the refund step stays locked until the e-commerce lead approves the amount.
Agree the amount customer service can refund without asking, and run every return above it through an approval. This template runs for returns above that limit, and step 1 records the order value so the e-commerce lead sees it at the approval gate in step 5.
Give the inspection bench one checklist and one condition grade for every returned item. In step 3 the warehouse lead ticks the same checks, chooses a grade and links the inspection photos before a refund can be decided.
Keep the return open with a visible reason instead of refunding on the customer's word. The customer enters the tracking number in step 2, and in step 3 the warehouse lead marks the run blocked and notes that the parcel has not arrived.
Let AI apply your refund rules to the inspection result and keep the decision with a person. In step 4 the refund adviser recommends a refund and drafts the customer email, and in step 5 the e-commerce lead checks it and approves the amount.
Grade every returned item at inspection and let the grade decide whether it goes back on sale, is written off or goes back to the supplier. Step 3 records the condition grade, and step 7 records the stock decision and any supplier claim reference.
Keep the order, the inspection and the refund decision together on one record. Steps 3, 5 and 6 record the link to the inspection photos, the approver with name and time, and the refund reference.
Run this workflow in OKiDO
Set up the steps, owners and approvals once, then start a run for every new case.