# Cancel an order > Call off an order that hasn't shipped, refund what was paid and tell the customer, all in one step. Its stock goes back on sale straight away. Cancelling is final. Help Centre / Orders and customers - Updated 29 October 2026 Cancel an order when it won't go ahead: the customer changed their mind, the payment looks like fraud, or you can't fill it. Cancelling stops the order, gives its stock back to your shop, and can refund the customer and email them in the same step. ## Cancel or refund? - **Cancel** when the order shouldn't happen at all and nothing has shipped yet. The order is closed for good, and you can refund it as part of the cancel. - **Refund** when the order goes ahead, or already went ahead, and money needs to go back: a late delivery, a damaged item, a return. The order stays open. See [Refund an order](https://v3.shoprocket.io/help/refund-an-order.md). ## Before you begin **Cancel order** is offered only on an order that: - hasn't shipped anything yet. Once something has shipped, cancel its shipment on the order page first, or record a return and refund it instead. - isn't already cancelled. - isn't a draft. A draft you don't need is deleted instead, with **Delete draft**. - wasn't imported from another platform. To cancel, your role on the team must let you edit orders. ## Cancel an order 1. Go to **Orders** and open the order. 2. Click **Cancel order** at the top of the page. 3. Choose the **Reason for cancelling**: **Customer changed their mind**, **Payment declined**, **Suspected fraud**, **Out of stock**, **Staff error** or **Other**. 4. Add a **Cancellation note (internal)** if you want a record of the details. Only your team sees it. 5. If the order has been paid, **Refund** with the amount is switched on. It sends back everything still paid on the order, to the payment it came from. Switch it off to keep the money, for example to refund part of it later. 6. Leave **Notify customer by email** ticked to tell the customer, or untick it. 7. Click **Cancel order**. ![The Cancel order drawer: Reason for cancelling set to Customer changed their mind, the internal note, Refund $36.00 switched on and Notify customer by email ticked](https://v3.shoprocket.io/img/help/cancel-an-order/cancel-drawer.webp) Click **Keep order** to close the drawer without cancelling. If part of the payment can't be refunded automatically, such as a bank transfer or cash payment, the drawer says **You need to send this money yourself** and lists it. Nothing is cancelled yet. Send the money to the customer, then click **I've sent it - cancel the order**. You can also cancel from **Edit**, by setting **Order status** to **Cancelled** and saving. That way can't refund at the same time, so the order page is usually the better place. ## What happens when you cancel - **The order is closed for good.** A red banner at the top of the order shows the reason, when it was cancelled and your note. A cancelled order can't be reopened. If it was a mistake, create a new order. - **Its stock goes back on sale.** The units it was holding are free for other shoppers straight away. Your stock count doesn't change, because nothing had left the shelf. - **The money, if you refunded it, goes back** the same way a refund does: to the card or PayPal account, onto the gift card, or recorded as sent by you. - **An unpaid order gives back what it used.** Discount code uses and any gift card balance the customer put towards it are released, so they can use them again. - **Nothing more can be done to it.** It can't be shipped, and the **Cancel order**, **Return** and shipping buttons disappear. If money is still on it, **Refund** stays available. ## What your customer gets With **Notify customer by email** ticked, the customer gets an email from your store with the subject "Your Aurora Coffee Co order #1042 has been cancelled". It gives the reason in plain words, for example "We've cancelled your order #1042 at your request." for **Customer changed their mind**. **Suspected fraud** and **Other** both say "because of unforeseen circumstances", so the customer is never told you suspected fraud. Your internal note is never included. If you refunded the order in the same step, the same email says how much was refunded and where it went, so the customer gets one email, not two. If the order was never paid, it tells them they haven't been charged. ![The cancellation email: the order was cancelled at your request, the $36.00 refund on its way back with how long the bank can take, and a View your order button](https://v3.shoprocket.io/img/help/cancel-an-order/cancelled-email.webp) ## Questions **Can I un-cancel an order?** No. Cancelling gives the order's stock back, so reopening it could sell the same units twice. Create a new order with the same items instead. See [Create an order by hand](https://v3.shoprocket.io/help/create-an-order-manually.md). **What about an order the shopper never paid for?** When a shopper goes to pay and never finishes, the order is cancelled for you after a while and kept out of your list. You'll find it under **Status**, **Incomplete**. You don't need to cancel it yourself. **Can I change the reason after cancelling?** Yes. Click **Edit**, change the **Reason for cancelling** or the note, and save. The customer isn't emailed again. ## Related - [Refund an order](https://v3.shoprocket.io/help/refund-an-order.md) - [Find and manage your orders](https://v3.shoprocket.io/help/manage-orders.md) - [Fulfil and ship orders](https://v3.shoprocket.io/help/fulfil-and-ship-orders.md) - [Track stock and inventory](https://v3.shoprocket.io/help/track-stock-and-inventory.md) [Open Orders in your dashboard](https://app-v3.shoprocket.io/go/orders) --- - HTML version: https://v3.shoprocket.io/help/cancel-an-order - Language: English (en) - Also in: [العربية](https://v3.shoprocket.io/ar/help/cancel-an-order.md), [Deutsch](https://v3.shoprocket.io/de/hilfe/eine-bestellung-stornieren.md), [Ελληνικά](https://v3.shoprocket.io/el/help/cancel-an-order.md), [Español](https://v3.shoprocket.io/es/ayuda/cancela-un-pedido.md), [Français](https://v3.shoprocket.io/fr/aide/annuler-une-commande.md), [עברית](https://v3.shoprocket.io/he/help/cancel-an-order.md), [हिन्दी](https://v3.shoprocket.io/hi/help/cancel-an-order.md), [Bahasa Indonesia](https://v3.shoprocket.io/id/bantuan/batalkan-pesanan.md), [Italiano](https://v3.shoprocket.io/it/aiuto/annullare-un-ordine.md), [日本語](https://v3.shoprocket.io/ja/help/cancel-an-order.md), [Lietuvių](https://v3.shoprocket.io/lt/pagalba/atsaukite-uzsakyma.md), [Norsk](https://v3.shoprocket.io/nb/hjelp/kanseller-en-bestilling.md), [Nederlands](https://v3.shoprocket.io/nl/hulp/een-bestelling-annuleren.md), [Polski](https://v3.shoprocket.io/pl/pomoc/anuluj-zamowienie.md), [Português](https://v3.shoprocket.io/pt/ajuda/cancelar-um-pedido.md), [Română](https://v3.shoprocket.io/ro/ajutor/anuleaza-o-comanda.md), [Русский](https://v3.shoprocket.io/ru/help/cancel-an-order.md), [ไทย](https://v3.shoprocket.io/th/help/cancel-an-order.md), [Türkçe](https://v3.shoprocket.io/tr/yardim/bir-siparisi-iptal-edin.md), [中文](https://v3.shoprocket.io/zh/help/cancel-an-order.md)