Emails, built in
Every step confirmed automatically — plus a 7-day ship reminder.
Shopify-native · Free to start
Keep the cash. Keep the customer.
The returns app that turns refund requests into Shopify-native store credit. You approve every payout by default.
Founding cohort: 20 stores · Assisted setup · Direct founder support
1Your customer picks store credit — worth $14.80 more
2The request lands in your queue — nothing paid yet
3You review the evidence and authorize the return
4The item is back — one click issues the credit
5$162.80 kept in your store instead of refunded
One return, start to credit · Illustrative numbers
What RefundShift does
A return request comes in
Your customer files it on a branded portal — no emails, no back-and-forth.
Store credit beats the refund
The portal offers credit with a bonus you control.
Evidence comes before payment
Photos and return history help you review risky requests. Paid plans can automate routine decisions.
The money becomes the next order
Cash stays in your store; the customer comes back with a balance to spend.
02 · The problem in cash terms
A refund is cash out. Store credit isn't.
Store credit keeps the money on your ledger and gives the customer a reason to come back. Same return, two very different entries:
Refund path
Item returned · Order #2041$148.00
Cash refunded−$148.00
Reason to come back$0.00
Leaves your account−$148.00
Credit path
Item returned · Order #2041$148.00
Store credit issued$148.00
Bonus — 10%, yours to set+$14.80
Waiting in their account$162.80
Illustrative example — Free shows both options. Core and Growth can show credit only, refund only, or both where your policy and local law allow it.
03 · Inside the product
Follow one return through the app, start to credit.
A $148 refund. Turned into $162.80 in store credit.
Order #2041, Stoneware Table Lamp — follow it through Authorize and Resolve below, status by status.
Product screens and example data below are illustrative.
STEP 01 — THE OFFER
You set the rules. Customers see exactly what you've configured.
Free shows cash refund and store credit side by side. On Core and Growth, show both, store credit only, or standard refund only where your policy and local law allow it. Add a credit bonus if you want; on Growth, you can also add a percentage or flat fee to eligible cash refunds.
- Free shows both; paid plans let you choose
- Bonus: percentage, flat amount, or zero
- Proof photos required for damage claims
- Restocking fee: percentage or flat — cash refunds only
STEP 02 — THE INSPECTION
Every request lands in your queue with the evidence attached.
Free puts photos, order history, and amounts in one row. Core and Growth add repeat-returner alerts and revision requests for updated photos, written explanations, or both. Authorize when you're satisfied, reject when you're not; payment is a separate step.
- Proof photos uploaded by the customer
- Repeat-returner alert on Core and Growth
- Status: pending — nothing paid yet
STEP 03 — THE AUTHORIZATION
Approve the send-back. Still nothing paid.
One modal: pick who ships, confirm the items, and see the exact credit — base plus bonus — before you commit. The customer is notified automatically.
- Customer-arranged shipping or your prepaid label
- Expected totals shown before you authorize
- Reject with a reason — the customer is told why
- Return authorization number issued automatically
STEP 04 — THE SETTLEMENT
The box comes back. Then — and only then — you pay.
When the item is back and inspected, click Issue Store Credit. Shopify-native store credit lands on the customer's account — base plus bonus — and your ledger shows money kept instead of money gone.
- Two-step: Authorize first, settle when it's back
- Mixed outcomes — credit some items, refund others
- Restock approved items — inventory updates in Shopify
Basic setup takes a few minutes · Zero carrier integrations · No theme code to edit
Also in the box
Bulk approve
On Core and Growth, approve routine requests together instead of opening them one by one.
Shipping, your way
Attach a prepaid label — or let the customer ship it and add their tracking number.
Credit that waits
The balance stays live until it's spent — expiry is optional, and yours to set.
Returns analytics
Core and Growth add credit-rate, refund, product, reason and outcome breakdowns.
Order #2041 — the refund that never left
$0.00
$148.00 item + bonus you set — kept on the shelf, not wired out the door
04 · Return-abuse safeguards
See the evidence before a return is paid.
Photos, return history, and separate approval and payment steps help you review risky returns. Paid plans can automate routine decisions under rules you set.
Proof before payout
Require photo evidence on damage claims. Review uploads and tracking in the request before you approve the payout.
Serial-returner flags
On Core and Growth, repeat requesters are flagged before approval using your own return history, not a third-party score.
Request revision
On Core and Growth, ask for updated photos, a written explanation, or both instead of approving or rejecting. The customer gets a secure link.
Item-level decisions
Approve the lamp, reject the chipped vase. Credit and bonus recalculate instantly for each approved item.
Two-step sign-off
Authorize the return first. Issue the refund or store credit after the item is back and inspected.
Portal design & branding
Every plan includes your logo and colors. Core adds five ready-made designs and editable messages. Growth adds advanced styling and reusable designs.
For a practical review checklist, readhow small stores catch return fraud without an enterprise budget.
05 · Native credit, clean books
Clean entries your books can live with.
Two Shopify-native entries per credit. No gift-card codes in inboxes, nothing to explain at tax time.
Movement 1 — The base
Return — Order #2041, settled as store credit$148.00
Issued through Shopify's own returns flow, so the order, the return, and the credit reconcile the way Shopify expects.
Movement 2 — The bonus
“Return bonus for Order #2041”+$14.80
A separate, clearly noted store-credit entry — your accountant can see exactly what it is and why it exists.
Built entirely on Shopify's native store credit — the same ledger Shopify itself maintains. More detail inour guide to store credit and your books.
Your return records — downloadable on every plan
Pick a date range and download Excel or CSV rows with the order, return, outcome, refund, store credit, bonus, fee and currency details. Core and Growth add summaries, trends and reconciliation views that help you spot exceptions without rebuilding the report.
Accounting exports
Core reconciliation view shown.
Start month
May 2026
End month
May 2026
3 rows UTC window: 2026-05-01 to 2026-06-01
Core summary · USD
3 rowsRefunds$0.00
Store credit$1,959.90
Bonus credit$196.00
Total credit issued$2,155.90
06 · Pricing
Keep the customer. Keep the value.
If 10 of 40 $148 refunds become store credit, $1,480 stays committed to your store that month — before restocking fees or eligible return-shipping deductions.*
Free
$0/month
Process 10 returns/month
See the evidence before any refund or credit is issued.
Plan highlights
- Photo evidenceOne photo per returned item, for any reason
- Approve first, refund laterApprove the return, inspect the item, then issue the refund or credit
- Refund or Shopify store creditCustomers can choose cash or store credit, with an optional bonus on credit
- You approve every refund or creditNothing is issued automatically
Core
$49/month
Process 100 returns/month
Approve routine returns automatically. Issue refunds and credit yourself.
Everything in Free, plus:
- Request a revisionAsk for updated photos, a written explanation, or both through a secure link
- Automatic approval with a limitApprove returns under the value limit you set; refunds and credit stay manual
- Approve several returns at onceClear routine requests together
- Repeat-returner alerts and blocked customersSpot frequent returners and block selected customers
RECOMMENDED
Growth
$129/month
Process 300 returns/month
Apply the right return rule to each product automatically.
Everything in Core, plus:
- Restocking feesDeduct a flat amount or percentage from a cash refund when allowed
- Rules by product or categoryChoose which products can be returned and which refund choices they get
- Different fees and return windowsFor example, 14 days for sofas and 30 days for lamps
- Automatic return decisionsAutomatically approve a return or issue the refund or credit when it matches your rules
Compare every feature
Free
- Photo evidenceOne photo per returned item, for any reason
- Approve first, refund laterApprove the return, inspect the item, then issue the refund or credit
- Automatic return reference numberEvery approved return gets an RA/RMA number for emails, tracking and receiving
- Refund or Shopify store creditCustomers can choose cash or store credit, with an optional bonus on credit
- Handle each item separatelyApprove one item and reject another in the same return
- Return portal and status pageCustomers submit and follow their return online
- Automatic customer emailsSend clear updates with ready-made wording
- Dashboard and accounting exportsTrack requests and download your return records in Excel or CSV
- You approve every refund or creditNothing is issued automatically
- Your logo and colorsAdd your logo and colors
Core
- Everything in FreeAll Free features stay included
- More photos per itemUp to two photos per item
- Request a revisionAsk for updated photos, a written explanation, or both through a secure link
- Automatic approval with a limitApprove returns under the value limit you set; refunds and credit stay manual
- Approve several returns at onceClear routine requests together
- Choose refund, store credit or bothControl the choices where your policy and local law allow it
- Cash-refund time limitChoose when your normal cash-refund option is available
- Edit customer messagesChange the portal text and email wording
- Repeat-returner alerts and blocked customersSpot frequent returners and block selected customers
- Analytics and reconciliationCompare trends and surface exceptions by reason, product and outcome
- Five portal designsChoose a ready-made look for your return portal
Growth
- Everything in CoreAll Core features stay included
- Restocking feesDeduct a flat amount or percentage from a cash refund when allowed
- Rules by product or categoryChoose which products can be returned and which refund choices they get
- Different fees and return windowsFor example, 14 days for sofas and 30 days for lamps
- Final sale or refund without returnMark items final sale or issue a refund or credit without asking for them back
- Deduct return-shipping costsDeduct the prepaid return-label cost when allowed
- Automatic return decisionsAutomatically approve a return or issue the refund or credit when it matches your rules
- More control over portal designFine-tune the styling and save designs to reuse
Need more than 300 returns a month?Contact us about volume.
Photos are stored privately on every plan, with a 5 MB limit per photo and the same data-retention rules. Free includes one photo per item; paid plans include up to two. Core and Growth also let you request updated photos, a written explanation, or both.
*Illustrative scenario, not accounting profit. Store credit remains a liability until redeemed; product, bonus, tax and fulfillment costs still apply.
What happens at your limit
Your customer portal never shuts off — requests, photos, evidence keep arriving and queueing past your allotment. What locks is one-click processing on the overflow. Free and Core can upgrade; Growth stores can contact us about higher volume. You can always resolve overflow requests by hand in Shopify Admin, free.
No overage invoice. Ever.
Billed through Shopify · Cancel anytime
07 · What we don't do
A focused returns workflow, without bundled logistics.
Many returns suites combine approvals with labels, exchanges, carrier rules and warehouse routing. RefundShift focuses on the request, evidence, decision and settlement while you keep the shipping process that already works for your store.
| Feature | RefundShift | Logistics-first returns suites* |
|---|---|---|
| Product focus | Evidence, approval and settlement | Returns plus labels, exchanges and logistics |
| Pricing model | Flat monthly, with no per-return overage | Varies by provider and plan |
| Shipping workflow | Keep your process; attach your own label if needed | Label and carrier tools are usually built in |
| Carrier account | Not required by RefundShift | Depends on the provider and label method |
| Who approves returns | Free is manual; paid plans offer optional automation | Manual and automatic options vary |
| Store credit | Shopify-native, with an optional bonus | Implementation varies by provider |
| Plan-limit behavior | Portal stays open; resolve overflow in Shopify | Overages and limit behavior vary |
| Portal customization | Logo and colors on Free; 5 designs on Core; advanced styling on Growth | Often locked to higher tiers |
| Records and reporting | Excel/CSV on every plan; analytics on Core and Growth | Varies by provider and plan |
*This is a category comparison, not a claim that every provider works the same way. Features and plans change; verify the current provider details for your workflow. Our full reasoning:you probably don't need the returns app you're about to pay for.
08 · FAQ
Straight answers.
Doesn't store credit just sit on my books as a liability?
Generally, store credit remains a liability until the customer spends it. RefundShift keeps the original amount, bonus credit, refund, fees and Shopify transaction references separate so your records can be reconciled. The exact accounting and tax treatment depends on your business and jurisdiction, so confirm it with your accountant.
Can I export my return records on the Free plan?
Yes. Every plan can download return transactions in Excel or CSV, including dates, order and return references, outcomes, amounts, fees, currencies and Shopify transaction IDs. Core and Growth add dashboards and reconciliation views that summarize trends and flag exceptions.
Can my customers still choose a plain cash refund?
Yes. Free shows cash refund and store credit side by side. Core and Growth let you show refund only, store credit only, or both when your policy and local law allow it. Statutory refund rights still take priority.
What does the bonus actually cost me?
You set the additional credit — 10%, a flat $5, or zero. On a $148.00 return at 10%, the customer receives $162.80 in credit, so the additional face value is $14.80. Your actual economic cost still depends on product margin, tax, fulfillment and whether the credit is redeemed.
Does anything ever get approved automatically?
Free is fully manual. Core can automatically approve routine requests below a value limit you set, while you still issue the refund or store credit. Growth adds automatic decisions based on your product rules and fees. Automation is optional on both paid plans.
Do you print shipping labels or connect to carriers?
No. RefundShift handles the request, evidence, approval and settlement while you keep your current shipping process. Customers can arrange shipping, or you can attach a prepaid label you already buy elsewhere. RefundShift does not require a carrier account.
What happens when I hit my plan limit?
Your customer portal stays open, so requests and evidence keep arriving past your plan limit. One-click processing pauses for the overflow, but you can resolve those requests by hand in Shopify Admin without an overage fee. Free and Core can upgrade; Growth stores processing more than 300 returns a month can contact us about volume.
How long does setup take?
Basic setup takes a few minutes: choose the customer options, add your policy terms and share the portal link. Branding, messages and paid automation rules take longer if you choose to customize them. There is no theme code, carrier account or API key to configure.
Launching soon
Stop wiring cash out of your business.
Apply for one of 20 founding-store places and help shape RefundShift before its App Store launch.