Return Settings
Navigate to WooCommerce → ReturnDesk → Returns to configure all return behaviour.
Eligibility
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Enable Returns | Yes | Master toggle for return requests |
| Return Window (days) | 7 | Days after order completion for returns |
| Allowed Order Statuses | Completed, Processing | Eligible order statuses |
| Allow Sale Products | Yes | Allow returns of sale-price items |
| Allow Partial Returns | No | Allow customers to return only some items/quantities |
| Terms Page | - | Optional T&C acknowledgement page |
Return Reasons
Manage reasons under Returns → Reasons. Pro also supports a separate Exchange Reasons list. See Exchanges for details.
Auto-Approve & Auto-Restock
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Auto-Approve Returns | No | Automatically set new return requests to approved |
| Auto-Restock on Approval | No | Increase product stock by the returned quantity when a return is approved |
Enable Auto-Restock only if your returns process physically returns items to stock. Enabling it without a physical return check may result in incorrect inventory counts.
When Auto-Approve is enabled:
- Customer submits a return request.
- Status is immediately set to
approved(skippingpending). status_approvedemail is sent to the customer.- If Auto-Restock is enabled, WooCommerce stock is incremented.
- If a refund option is configured, the refund is queued.
Refund Options
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Refund to Store Credit | Issues WooCommerce store credit (requires a compatible store credit plugin or WooCommerce Wallet) |
| Refund to Payment Method | Triggers a WooCommerce refund to the original payment gateway |
| Include Shipping Fee | Whether to include the shipping cost in the calculated refund amount |
| Manual Processing | No automatic refund; admin processes refunds manually |
Automatic refunds via Refund to Payment Method depend on the payment gateway supporting programmatic refunds through WooCommerce's woocommerce_create_refund API. Most major gateways (Stripe, PayPal, Square) support this.
Exclusions
Prevent certain products or categories from being eligible for returns:
- Excluded Product IDs - comma-separated product IDs that cannot be returned.
- Excluded Category IDs - products in these categories are ineligible.
Excluded products show a "This item is not eligible for returns" notice on the My Account returns form.