--- title: Core Daily Payment Workflows | Shopware Community Hub description: >- Capture, refund, cancel, and void in administration; choose auth-and-capture or authorize-only; plan around authorization windows and customer expectations. canonical_url: 'https://hub.shopware.com/learn/unit/core-daily-payment-workflows' --- # Core Daily Payment Workflows - **Perform** **capture**, **full refund**, **partial refund**, **cancel**, and **void** from the relevant order views in **Shopware administration**. - **Choose** **auth-and-capture** versus **authorize now, capture on dispatch** for your fulfillment model. - **Explain** **authorization window** limits and what happens when a hold expires before capture. - **Set** customer expectations when a **void** or **cancel** releases a hold but the visible balance updates slowly. # Unit 2: Core Daily Workflows Three tasks cover the large majority of day-to-day payment operations: **capturing** an authorized payment, issuing a **refund**, and **canceling** a payment before capture. This unit walks through how to perform each one in **Shopware administration** and when each action is appropriate. Understanding *when* money moves — not just *how* to click the button — is what separates teams that operate payments confidently from teams that create reconciliation problems and customer complaints. --- ## The Four Core Actions ### Capture **Capture is when money actually moves.** Until capture, the customer's funds are only reserved — not collected. To capture manually: 1. Open the relevant order in **Shopware administration** 2. Confirm the payment status is **Authorized** 3. Click **Capture** 4. Confirm the status moves to **Captured** For shops configured for **immediate capture**, this happens automatically at checkout — no manual step required. Manual capture is relevant for delayed fulfillment models covered later in this unit. --- ### Full Refund Refunds follow the same order-first pattern: 1. Open the order in **Shopware administration** 2. Confirm the payment status is **Captured** — you cannot refund an unauthorized or uncaptured payment 3. Click **Refund** 4. Select **full refund** 5. Confirm The refund is submitted immediately. It typically appears on the customer's statement within a few business days depending on their payment method and bank. --- ### Partial Refund The process is identical to a full refund, with one difference at step 4: 1. Open the order 2. Confirm the payment status is **Captured** 3. Click **Refund** 4. Enter the **partial amount** to refund 5. Confirm You can issue multiple partial refunds up to the total captured amount. Each partial refund is a separate transaction in the **PayPal Merchant Dashboard** — finance needs to match each one to the original order during reconciliation. --- ### Cancel and Void — Before Capture Only **Cancel** and **void** release an authorization that has not yet been captured. They apply only before capture — once funds have been captured, you issue a refund instead. > **Set this expectation in your support macros:** after a void or cancel, the visible balance on the customer's card or bank account can take a few days to reflect the release. Customers frequently contact support saying the money is "still gone" after you have already voided the payment. The authorization release has happened on your side — the delay is on the customer's bank side. --- ## Auth-and-Capture vs. Authorize-Only — When Each Fits ### Auth-and-Capture — Default for Most B2C Shops For B2C shops selling instantly fulfilled goods — digital delivery, same-day pick-and-pack — **authorize and capture in one step** at checkout is usually correct and is often the default configuration. Payment is taken when the order is placed. Fulfillment follows immediately. The timing is clean and the customer experience is straightforward. ### Authorize-Only, Capture on Dispatch — For Delayed Fulfillment For **B2B**, **made-to-order**, **pre-order**, **backorder**, or any scenario where physical fulfillment is delayed, consider **authorizing at checkout and capturing only when you ship**. Two reasons this matters: **1. Capturing before you can ship creates a refund obligation.** If the order falls through after capture — a build is canceled, stock is unavailable, the customer withdraws — you are refunding money you have already collected. That creates an unnecessary transaction trail and a worse customer experience. **2. Capture timing affects your books.** Capture is when money moves in the payment flow. Timing capture to dispatch keeps cash reality aligned with fulfillment reality — which makes finance's month-end close cleaner. > **Strum & Co. applies this to custom builds:** when a customer orders a custom-configured guitar, **Strum** authorizes the payment at checkout and captures only when the instrument ships — typically two to four weeks later. If a build is canceled mid-production, no refund is needed because no capture has occurred. The authorization simply expires or is voided. --- ## Authorization Windows — Operate With Discipline Authorizations do not last indefinitely. Every authorization hold has a limited lifetime that depends on the payment method and the card scheme or provider rules. If you do not capture within that window: - The hold is released automatically - You typically need to re-authorize — which usually means asking the customer to pay again For merchants using manual capture, this is not a reason to avoid the approach. It is a reason to align fulfillment workflows with the authorization window so nothing expires unnoticed. **If you are unsure how long the window is for a specific payment:** - Check the order details in **Shopware administration** - Contact **Shopware Support** with the transaction ID ready > **For Strum & Co.:** their custom-build authorization window is monitored as part of the production schedule. If a build looks likely to exceed the window, the owner re-contacts the customer before the hold expires — not after. --- ## Disputes — Where to Go Next Day-to-day capture and refund work happens in **Shopware administration**. Dispute response happens in the **PayPal Merchant Dashboard → Resolution Center**. Deadlines, evidence submission, and **Seller Protection** eligibility all sit on the **PayPal** side. **Shopware Support** can help route cases when you are unsure which path applies. The Disputes Essentials course covers the full workflow — for now, know that disputes are not handled in **administration**. --- ## Summary | Action | When to use | Where | |--------|-------------|-------| | **Capture** | Payment is authorized; order is ready to fulfill | Shopware administration | | **Full refund** | Return the full captured amount | Shopware administration | | **Partial refund** | Return part of the captured amount | Shopware administration | | **Cancel / void** | Release an authorization before capture | Shopware administration | | **Dispute response** | Respond to a buyer claim or chargeback | PayPal Merchant Dashboard → Resolution Center | Three rules to operate by: - Know the **payment status** before you click any action — the available actions depend on it - For **delayed fulfillment**, authorize at checkout and capture on dispatch — not before - **Authorizations expire** — plan fulfillment timelines and support scripts accordingly --- After daily order actions, you'll read payout batches, apply the payout net formula, and learn why reserves and holds are normal parts of the money movement layer—not defects in Shopware.