Checkout Adjustments Guide

When checking out customers, you have two tools for handling adjustments. This guide helps you choose the right one for each situation.

Note: This guide covers the checkout page specifically. You can also adjust account balances from the customer's user profile, or adjust individual orders from the Edit Order page. Those are simpler since there's only one option in each location.

Quick Reference

Customer brought cash/check for more than they owe? → Account Balance
Add or remove item from today's order? → Order Adjustment
Refund for spoiled produce from last week? → Account Balance
Give discount on today's order? → Order Adjustment
Customer paid extra cash at the market? → Account Balance
Fix pricing mistake on today's order? → Order Adjustment

⏰ When to Make Adjustments

Make adjustments BEFORE recording the payment:

  1. Adjust order total if needed
  2. Adjust account balance if needed
  3. Record the payment
  4. Mark the order as picked up

Already recorded payment? Click "Undo Everything" first.

Tool #1: Adjust Account Balance

What It Does

Adds money to or charges money from the customer's account. This affects all unpaid orders and any leftover amount carries to their next order.

When to Use It

  • Customer paid with a $100 check but order is only $45
    → Add $100 to their account. LocallyGrown automatically applies $45 to today's order and saves $55 as credit.
  • Need to refund $20 for spoiled produce from last week's order
    → Add $20 credit. If they have unpaid orders, it reduces what they owe.
  • Customer paid $15 cash for extra items at the market
    → Add $15 to their account.
  • Bank fee for bounced check - charge customer $35
    → Charge $35 from account. This adds to what they'll owe on their next order.

Interactive Preview Demo

Try entering different amounts below. The preview shows you exactly what will change before you commit:

Try It Out!

Try this: Enter 100 and select "Give Money +" to see what happens when a customer overpays. Or try different amounts to explore other scenarios:

The preview calculates everything automatically. Review it to make sure it matches what you intended.

Important Things to Know

  • It applies to ALL unpaid orders - If they have 3 unpaid orders, the credit/charge is distributed across all of them
  • It carries forward - If there's money left over after paying unpaid orders, it goes to their next order
  • Add a note explaining why - This shows in account history and helps resolve questions later

Tool #2: Change Today's Total or Add Notes

What It Does

Changes only this order's total. The customer's account balance doesn't change - just what they owe for this specific order.

When to Use It

  • Customer grabs a $8 jar of honey at pickup
    → Add $8 to order total.
  • Tomatoes are bruised, give 20% off ($5 discount)
    → Subtract $5 from order total.
  • Need to add delivery fee of $10
    → Add $10 to order total.
  • Just want to add notes about the order
    → Leave amount blank, just add your note.

Interactive Preview Demo

See how adjusting the order total affects the final amount. Try different scenarios below:

Try It Out!

Try this: Enter 8 and select "Add +" to see adding a jar of honey at pickup. Or enter 5 and select "Subtract −" to apply a discount:

Important Things to Know

  • Can't adjust after payment - If you already recorded the payment, click "Undo Everything" first. Then make your adjustment and re-record the payment.
  • Only affects this order - Doesn't change their account balance or affect other orders
  • Add a note explaining why - This helps resolve questions later and tracks why the price changed

Common Questions

"Customer overpaid - which tool do I use?"

Use Account Balance Adjustment.

If they paid $100 but only owed $45, use Account Balance to add $100. LocallyGrown automatically applies $45 to today's order and saves $55 as credit for their next order.

"Need to give a discount on today's order - which tool?"

Use Order Adjustment.

This only affects today's order. Their account balance stays the same.

"Customer has 3 unpaid orders, I'm adding $50 credit - what happens?"

The $50 is applied to all 3 unpaid orders.

This is intentional! The system applies the adjustment to the first unpaid order, then the next, and so on until either all orders are paid or the adjustment is used up. Check all 3 orders after adjusting to see how it was applied.

"I already marked the order as paid, now I need to adjust the price"

You must reset the payment first.

  1. Click "Undo Everything" button
  2. Make your price adjustment
  3. Re-record the payment with the correct amount

The only exceptions: orders paid via "Pending Stripe" or "From Account" CAN be adjusted after payment.

🔧 Troubleshooting

I used the wrong tool - how do I fix it?

If you used Account Balance instead of Order Adjustment:

  • Problem: You changed their account balance when you only meant to adjust today's order
  • Fix: Make another Account Balance adjustment for the opposite amount with a note: "Reversing [date] adjustment - should have been order adjustment"

If you used Order Adjustment instead of Account Balance:

  • Problem: Only affected today's order, doesn't create credit for future orders
  • Fix: Use Account Balance tool to properly credit their account, then adjust today's order back if needed

Prevention tip: Always read the preview before clicking submit. It shows exactly what will happen.

Common issues and solutions:

"The preview doesn't match what I expected"

→ Don't click submit. Contact support with a screenshot of what you're seeing.

"I adjusted but customer didn't bring the money"

→ Click "Undo Everything" to reverse all changes, then start over.

"Customer has unpaid orders I didn't know about"

→ The account balance adjustment will apply to all unpaid orders. Check the preview to see how it's distributed.

Step-by-Step Examples

Example 1: Customer Overpayment with Check

Situation: Customer's order is $45. They hand you a $100 check.

Steps:

  1. Click "Need to Adjust Account Balance?"
  2. Select "Give them money"
  3. Enter 100
  4. Select reason "Check for more than order total" or write "Paid with $100 check"
  5. Read the preview - it should show:
    • $100 applied to $45 order
    • $55 credit remaining
  6. Click "Add $100.00 To Account"
  7. Now record payment as "Check"

Example 2: Add Item at Pickup

Situation: Customer adds $8 honey jar while picking up their $45 order.

Steps:

  1. Click "Need to Change Today's Total or Add Notes?"
  2. Select "Add +"
  3. Enter 8
  4. In the note field: "Added honey jar at pickup"
  5. Read preview - should show new total $53
  6. Click "Add $8.00 To Order"
  7. Now record payment for $53

Example 3: Refund from Previous Order

Situation: Last week's tomatoes were bad. Need to refund $12.

Steps:

  1. Go to their current order checkout page
  2. Click "Need to Adjust Account Balance?"
  3. Select "Give them money"
  4. Enter 12
  5. Select "Refund for previous order" or write "Refund for bad tomatoes last week"
  6. Read preview - if they have unpaid orders, it shows how much is applied
  7. Click "Add $12.00 To Account"

Tips for Success

  • Always read the preview - It does the math for you and shows exactly what will happen
  • Add clear notes - Your notes show up in customer account history and help with disputes
  • Check all open orders - When adjusting account balance, remember it affects ALL unpaid orders
  • For large amounts, double-check - A $500 adjustment is easy to undo if caught immediately, harder later
  • When unsure, ask - It's better to ask another manager than to adjust the wrong thing

Still Have Questions?

Contact LocallyGrown.net support at [email protected] with:

  • Your market name
  • The customer's name or email
  • Description of what you're trying to do

We're happy to help!