Configuring Refund Settings in Lifetimely
At a glance: Learn how to configure refund settings in Lifetimely’s Calculation Logic to control how product costs and refund dates affect your reports.
Definitions
- Refund Date Assignment: Determines whether a refund is recorded on the date it was processed or the date the original order was placed.
- Product Costs for Refunded Orders: Controls whether the cost of goods sold (COGS) for a refunded item is included in your profit calculations.
How they differ
Lifetimely provides two settings that change the default behavior for refund processing.
| Setting | Default behavior | Enabled behavior |
|---|---|---|
| Assign refunds to the original order date | Refunds are recorded on their processing date. | Refunds are assigned to the original order date. |
| Reset product costs to zero for refunded orders | Product costs are only reset if the item was restocked. | Product costs are always reset to zero for refunded orders. |
Use cases
Assign refunds to the original order date
- Enabled: Use if you want to align refunds directly with the sales trends they affect, giving you a clearer view of transaction timelines.
- Disabled (default): Use if you want reports to reflect the actual day the refund was issued, which matches Shopify’s standard behavior.
Reset product costs to zero for refunded orders
- Enabled: Use if you want a more accurate view of lost profit margin from all refunds, regardless of whether items are restocked.
- Disabled (default): Use if you only want to adjust COGS for items that are restocked.
How to adjust your settings
- In Lifetimely, go to Settings > Calculation Logic
Toggle the switches for the refund settings you want to enable or disable.
