Voiding and Cancelling Sales at the Till
How to cancel a sale in progress, void a completed transaction, and process customer refunds through the AskBiz POS Returns & Exchanges flow.
Key Takeaways
- Cancel a sale in progress at any point before payment is confirmed — the basket clears with no record.
- Void a completed transaction via Operations > Returns & Exchanges to reverse a sale and update stock.
- Every return is tracked: Total returns, Amount refunded, and Return rate are shown on the dashboard.
- All voids and refunds are permanently logged in the Audit trail with the cashier's name.
The Returns & Exchanges dashboard
Operations > Returns & Exchanges is your central view for all reversed transactions. The three headline metrics are: Total returns (number of transactions reversed in the period), Amount refunded (total KSh returned to customers), and Return rate (percentage of sales that were refunded). The message 'Refunds will appear here when processed via the till's refund flow' confirms that refunds must go through the correct process — not by manually adjusting stock or cash — to be properly recorded.
Cancelling a sale before payment
If a customer changes their mind before paying — or a cashier builds a basket incorrectly — tap the Clear or Cancel button at the till. This removes all items from the basket instantly. No transaction record is created because no payment has been taken, so there is nothing to reverse. The stock levels are not affected. The cashier can then start a fresh sale. This is different from voiding, which applies to sales that have already been completed and paid for.
Voiding a completed transaction
To void a sale that has already been paid, go to Operations > Returns & Exchanges. Find the transaction by searching the date, cashier, or product. Select it and choose Void transaction. AskBiz will ask for confirmation and, if PIN authorisation is required, prompt for the manager PIN. Once confirmed, the transaction is reversed: the revenue is subtracted from your Sales report, the stock quantities are returned to inventory, and the refund is added to the Amount refunded total.
Free — no card needed
See this in action for your business
AskBiz tracks these metrics automatically — just connect your data and start asking questions.
Start for free →Processing a partial return or exchange
Not every return involves the full transaction. A customer may want to return one item from a five-item sale, or exchange a product for a different variant. In the Returns & Exchanges flow, select the specific line items to return rather than the whole transaction. For exchanges, process the return of the original item first to bring it back into stock, then create a new sale for the replacement. This gives you clean inventory and revenue records for both legs.
Refund payment methods
AskBiz returns money via the same method it was received by default: cash sales get a cash refund, M-Pesa sales get an M-Pesa reversal. Managers can override this — for example, issuing a store credit instead of a cash refund. Any refund method other than the original is logged with a reason in the Audit trail, ensuring a clear record if the customer disputes the refund later. Store credit is applied to the customer's profile and can be used on their next purchase.
Viewing all refund history in the Audit trail
Every void and refund is permanently recorded in the Audit trail accessible via Operations > Reports > Audit trail. Filter by the Returns category to see only refund events. Each entry shows the cashier who processed it, the original transaction ID, the items returned, and the refund amount. This log cannot be edited or deleted — it is a tamper-proof record for accounting, dispute resolution, and staff accountability. If refund rates are higher than expected, the Audit trail is the place to investigate patterns.