Returns and cancellations — the rules

One rule for every order: it can be cancelled until it ships. Paid orders make a refund request you approve. Customised items cannot be cancelled or returned.

Where to set it

Settings → Returns — https://flowgento.ai/settings/returns

Return window (days after delivery; 0 = off), suggested restocking fee, your policy in your own words.
How returns come back: you arrange a pickup, the customer sends it back, or both (at least one stays on).
A different rule for some products: on the category (Master → category ⚙ → Returns) or on the product (Return window / Replacement only).

The same page is linked from Orders → Returns, Orders → Refund requests and the Action Centre.

Cancelling — one rule for every order

A customer can cancel any order, cash on delivery or paid online, until it is shipped (Pending, Confirmed or Packed). They can cancel the whole order or just some items (the total, tax, coupon and delivery are worked out again).
Once an order is shipped, there is no Cancel button anywhere. The customer sees: “This order has shipped and can no longer be cancelled. You can refuse delivery or request a return after delivery.”
You can cancel any order before it ships — you must pick a reason, and the customer is told it. After shipping, use RTO (returned to origin) if the parcel comes back.

Paid orders: refund requests

When a paid order (or some of its items) is cancelled, the order is cancelled at once (stock goes back; no invoice exists yet, because invoices are raised at dispatch) and a refund request is created.
You get an email/notification and the bell shows it. Open Orders → Refund requests, or the order page, and press Approve refund — the money goes back through your Razorpay. If the payment was not online, type how you paid the customer back. You can also Decline with a note (for example, you already paid them back another way).
Nothing is refunded automatically. Only the shop admin can approve; staff cannot.
The customer sees “Cancelled — refund being processed” until you approve.

Customised / personalised items

Tick Customised on the product in Master (the Options chips), or set it for many products at once with Set GST / HSN / Customised. Each variant can follow the product or have its own answer (the Customised chip on the variant row: follow → yes → no).
Optional: Customer input needed (label) — for example “Name to print”. The shop then asks the customer for it before adding to cart, and it is printed on the order.
For an order with a customised item: the customer cannot cancel at any stage (you still can, with a reason), and it is not returnable unless it arrived damaged or the wrong item was sent.
The shopper sees it clearly: a badge on the product page, a note in the cart, a required tick at checkout (“I understand this customised item cannot be cancelled or returned”) and a note on the order page.

Common mistakes

Looking for return options in Store settings: they moved to Settings → Returns.
Expecting a cancelled paid order to refund by itself: approve the refund request.
Marking a shipped parcel cancelled: use RTO instead.