How to Refund an order
Click on an order
At the top of the ticket, click Refund. You can also click the 3 dots in the bottom right > Refund order.
Select Simple or Itemized
Simple refunds a flat dollar amount. You can select Full refund,
Full refund minus fees (customer total, less processing and Hotplate fees), or type in a custom amount.
With Full refund or Full refund minus fees, you’ll then have the option to Cancel the order (stops pickup reminders and hides the order) and Restock items as well.
Itemized refunds specific items in the order. After you select the items to refund, you can Restock them back to the drop’s inventory.
Click Confirm refund
How to Cancel an order
Cancelling an order hides it and stops pickup reminders [🔗 to Notifications] from being sent to your customer
Click on an order
At the top, click Cancel. You can also click the 3 dots in the bottom right > Cancel order.
Optional - choose a refund amount and add a message.
Click X Cancel order
How to establish your cancellation policy
How to establish your cancellation policy
A clear cancellation and refund policy sets expectations and protects your time, ingredients, and income. Last-minute cancellations often mean food has already been purchased or prepared, which can lead to waste and lost revenue. Handling cancellations and refunds also creates extra administrative work, especially when policies aren’t clearly defined.
While Hotplate gives you tools to manage cancellations and refunds smoothly, having a published policy helps customers understand that orders are commitments - not something that can be cancelled at any time without consequence.
You can tailor your policy to match how you operate. Here are a few examples:
Flexible
Customers may cancel for a full refund (minus fees) up to 24 hours before pickup. Cancellations within 24 hours of pickup are not refundable.
Cancel up to 48 hours before pickup for a full refund minus fees, 50% refund within 48 hours. No-shows are not refundable, and the order will be forfeited.
All sales are final once an order is placed. No refunds for cancellations or no-shows.
These policies help protect your business while staying transparent with customers, so everyone knows what to expect before an order is placed.
There are 2 convenient places to put your refund policy on Hotplate:
in your FAQs on your storefront
in your checkout acknowledgement [🔗 to Settings]