How order updates and refunds work together in Webgility Online
This article explains how Webgility Online handles refund-related order updates when orders are posted to QuickBooks Online as Sales Receipts and refunds are automatically synced as separate Refund Receipts.
Overview
If you post orders as Sales Receipts and post refunds automatically as separate Refund Receipts, you may see orders appear in the Updates tab marked “Payments Updated” even though the only change in your store was a refund. This article explains what happens when you accept those updates, which accounts are used, and how to set up automatic order-update syncing safely.
Accepting a refund-related “Payments Updated” change does not double-count the refund. Webgility reposts both the Sales Receipt and the Refund Receipt, so your books net out the same.
Why a refund shows up as an order update
When a full or partial refund is issued on an order, the order’s payment information changes in your store. Webgility detects this change and lists the order in the Updates tab as “Payments Updated”, even when nothing else about the order (items, quantities, shipping) has changed.
What happens when you accept a “Payments Updated” change
Webgility does not simply edit or reduce the original Sales Receipt. Instead, it removes and reposts every transaction for that order:
|
Step |
What happens in QuickBooks |
Amount |
|
1. Remove |
Original Sales Receipt and any Refund Receipts for the order are deleted |
— |
|
2. Repost Sales Receipt |
A new Sales Receipt is created |
Full original order total |
|
3. Repost Refund Receipt |
A new Refund Receipt is created |
Refunded amount |
Because your store does not lower the original order total when a refund is issued, the Sales Receipt is reposted for the full amount and the refund is recorded once, on the Refund Receipt. The net effect on your books is unchanged.
Which clearing account is used when an order is reposted
Both the reposted Sales Receipt and Refund Receipt use your current Orders clearing account mapping from the Chart of Accounts settings, not the account used when the order was first posted.
• Both transactions for the order move together, so they always stay consistent with each other.
• If you recently changed your clearing account, those amounts will leave the old clearing account once the order is reposted. Keep this in mind when reconciling the old account.
Can I auto-accept only certain kinds of updates?
Not at this time. When automated synchronization of order updates is turned on, Webgility accepts all detected updates, including payment updates caused by refunds. You cannot currently choose to auto-accept item, quantity or shipping edits while skipping refund-driven payment updates.
Because accepting a refund-only update does not duplicate the refund, you do not need to skip these updates for your numbers to be correct.
Recommended setup
If you post orders as Sales Receipts and sync refunds automatically, you can safely turn on automatic order-update syncing:
1. In Webgility Online, go to Automation > Scheduler Rules.
2. Turn on Enable automated synchronization of order updates.
3. Keep your existing settings: order posting as Sales Receipts (for example, nightly) and Sync Returns/Refunds automatically turned on.
4. Save your changes.
Things to keep in mindNew QuickBooks transaction numbers
Each accepted update deletes the original Sales Receipt and Refund Receipt and creates new ones, so the order will have new transaction numbers in QuickBooks Online.
Deposited or reconciled transactions
If a Sales Receipt or Refund Receipt is already included in a bank deposit or a completed reconciliation in QuickBooks Online, it cannot be deleted. In that case:
• The update for that order shows an error in Webgility.
• No duplicate transaction is created.
• Handle the order manually in QuickBooks, or reject the update in the Updates tab.
Before reconciling a clearing account, review the Updates tab and accept or reject pending updates so transactions don’t move between accounts after you reconcile.