Overview
When Luminous syncs a return from Shopify, it creates a Return Order linked to the original sales order. That return order can carry one of two statuses: Pending or Received. Understanding the difference explains why inventory has not yet changed and what to expect next.
What "Pending" means
A return order shows Pending when Shopify has surfaced the return but the items have not yet been physically received back by the merchant. Specifically, this happens when the return's status in Shopify is either:
- Requested — the customer submitted a return request that is awaiting merchant approval, or
- Open — the return has been approved and is in transit, but the merchant has not yet confirmed receipt.
In both cases, Luminous mirrors the return as a Pending Return Order so you have visibility into the in-flight return, but no inventory adjustment is made yet. Your on-hand stock count is not changed until the return is actually received.
What happens next
| Shopify closes the return (items confirmed received) | Luminous automatically transitions the Return Order from Pending → Received and restocks the inventory at that moment. |
|---|---|
| Shopify cancels or declines the return | Luminous voids the Pending Return Order. No inventory change occurs. |
| Shopify return stays Open/Requested | The Return Order stays Pending until one of the two outcomes above happens. |
Key points to remember
- No stock impact while Pending. Inventory is only adjusted when the return reaches the Received status. If you expect a restock that hasn't appeared, check whether Shopify has marked the return as Closed.
- Automatic transition. You do not need to manually advance a synced return from Pending to Received — Luminous does this automatically when it detects the Closed state in Shopify during its regular sync.
- Voided ≠ Received. If a customer cancels or a merchant declines a return in Shopify while it is still Pending in Luminous, the Return Order is voided — not received — and inventory is never restocked for that return.
- Manual returns behave differently. Return orders you create manually in Luminous (via the Refund/Return Order action on a Shipped sales order) are immediately set to Received and restock inventory right away.
Where to find Return Orders
Return orders appear on the Refund/Return Orders tab of the original sales order. Navigate to Operations → Sales Order Grid, find the sales order, open it, and click the Refund/Return Orders tab to see all associated return orders and their current status.