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Answers to the 20 most common questions about installing, configuring, and using IFG Returns & Withdrawals — the same content available as an in-app accordion on the Support page.

Getting started

How do I install the return module on my store?

From the Shopify admin, go to Online Store → Themes → Customize (the theme editor). From there, add one of the app’s 3 blocks, choosing based on where you want the module to appear: – “Module”: you place it on a dedicated page or section (e.g. a “Returns” page in the footer) — the best choice for a complete, standalone information page. – “Pop-up”: it opens in a window over the page content when the customer clicks a link or button you choose. – “Floating”: it adds an always-visible floating button at the bottom of the screen, clickable from any page of the store. It’s activated differently from the other two: it’s not dragged in, but toggled on from “App Embeds” (same editor page).

You can also use them together, in different spots on your site. Drag the block wherever you prefer and press Save: the module goes live immediately, with no code to write and nothing else to install.

What is the difference between the Module, Pop-up and Floating blocks?

The 3 blocks cover different ways of showing the same module, and you can combine them however you like: – “Module”: places the module directly on a dedicated section or page of your site — the right choice if you want a “Returns” page that’s always reachable, for example from the footer. – “Pop-up”: opens the module in a window over the current page when the customer clicks a link or button of your choosing — it doesn’t take up space until it’s needed. – “Floating”: adds an always-visible floating button that follows the customer on every page of the store — the most visible choice, useful if you want the module to always be one click away. It’s activated differently from the other two: it’s not dragged in, but toggled on from “App Embeds” (same editor page).

Many stores use Floating for constant visibility together with Module on a dedicated information page.

In how many languages does the app work?

The app supports 30 languages in total, including all 24 official languages of the European Union.

These are two separate, independent settings: the module shown to customers follows the primary language you set in the Form Editor (or several languages at once, with Unlimited), while the admin panel you’re using right now and the emails you receive as a merchant follow the admin language chosen in Settings. So you could, for example, have a module in German for your customers and an admin panel in Italian for yourself.

EU withdrawal & legal

What is the DPA and why do I have to accept it?

DPA stands for Data Processing Agreement: it’s the agreement required by art. 28 of the GDPR between you (the “data controller”, i.e. the store) and IFG Returns (the “data processor”, i.e. whoever processes the data on your behalf). It sets out, in a binding way, how the app handles your customers’ data — which data, for what purpose, and with which security guarantees.

Accepting it is a necessary step to use the app in a GDPR-compliant way: without a signed DPA, entrusting data processing to an external provider like IFG would not be lawful. You’ll find it and sign it in Settings, in just a few clicks — it’s a standard text that doesn’t require any changes or negotiation on your part.

How does the EU right of withdrawal work?

Directive 2011/83/EU (updated by Directive 2023/2673) gives consumers who buy online the right to withdraw from the purchase within 14 days, without having to give any reason — it’s a legal right, separate from any voluntary return policy you might choose to offer on top of it.

The app makes this process manageable without manual work: it collects the request from the module, automatically verifies the order details on Shopify’s servers (email, order number and date, to rule out non-genuine requests) and guides you through managing the return of the goods and the refund, in a traceable and compliant way.

When do the 14 days of withdrawal start?

By law, the 14 days start from the day the customer physically receives the goods, not from the order or payment date — this is an important detail, since shipping can take several days.

If an order is delivered in several separate shipments, the count starts from the delivery of the LAST shipment: the customer doesn’t lose the right of withdrawal on an item just because another package from the same order arrived earlier.

This is the legal minimum, which you cannot reduce. In Settings, however, you can voluntarily extend the window up to 365 days (Grow and Unlimited plans), to offer your customers more generous terms.

How do I exclude some products from returns?

With Product Restrictions you specify products, collections or categories that can’t be handled through the automatic module — useful for items that need a case-by-case evaluation (e.g. personalized products, perishables, or items subject to special conditions).

An important point from a legal standpoint: the customer is NEVER told that they have no right of withdrawal — that right remains theirs by law, regardless of your settings. They’re only told that for that specific item they need to contact you directly, because what changes is the METHOD used to handle the request, not the right itself.

Who pays for the return shipping?

You decide in Settings who pays for return shipping: the customer or the store. Whatever you choose, the app automatically shows it to the customer both on the module and in the confirmation email — they shouldn’t find out afterwards.

This transparency isn’t just good practice: by law (art. 14 of the Directive) the cost of return shipping falls on you as the merchant if you don’t clearly inform the customer, BEFORE they submit the request, that they will be the one to bear it. The app protects you from this risk by always showing the information explicitly.

Where do I set the return address and my legal details?

In Settings (and already during initial onboarding) you enter your company name, VAT number, business address and return address — that is, where customers need to physically ship the goods.

This data isn’t just informational: the app needs it to generate withdrawal notices and receipts that are genuinely compliant with the regulations (they must show the seller’s identity), and to tell the customer precisely where to send the package. Without this data filled in, some legal communications would be incomplete.

Plans & billing

What is the difference between the Free, Grow and Unlimited plans?

Free includes the basic return module, at no cost: the customer can submit the request and you manage it manually.

Grow ($4.99/month or $49.90/year) adds: automatic tags on orders with a return, a logistics pipeline to track the goods coming back, CSV export of cases, direct refund from the app (without going through Shopify) and the Analytics page.

Unlimited ($9.99/month or $99.90/year) adds everything above plus: a customizable email editor, automatic reminders, custom CSS for the module, sending emails from your own SMTP server, PDF receipts, custom return reasons and product restrictions.

You can change plan at any time from the Plans page, with nothing to reinstall.

Returns process & refunds

How do I approve a request and how do I issue the refund?

The flow is designed to always include a confirmation step before an actual refund is issued:

  1. Open the request from the Dashboard or the Returns page and press “Approve Return” — this tells the customer that the request has been accepted and that the refund will arrive once the goods have been received and inspected.
  2. When the parcel arrives and you’ve checked that everything is in order, press “Confirm Goods Received”: this unlocks the selection of items to refund.
  3. Choose the quantity and amount for each item, then press “Refund Items”. A final confirmation popup will always appear before the refund is actually carried out.

If you’d rather not wait for the goods to physically come back, you can press “Approve Return” and then “Confirm Goods Received” right away, one after the other — that’s a legitimate choice, it’s simply one extra step, entirely up to you.

Can I refund directly from the app without opening Shopify?

Yes, with the Grow and Unlimited plans the refund is carried out directly from the app: you select the items, confirm the amount and the refund goes through without needing to open Shopify’s order page.

On the Free plan, the approval flow (reviewing the request, confirming receipt) still happens inside the app, but the technical execution of the refund is something you have to do manually from Shopify’s order page — the app clearly tells you the amount and items to refund, but it doesn’t press the button for you on that plan.

What do the statuses of a request mean?

Every request has a status that tells you at a glance where the case stands: – “In progress” = just arrived, still to be reviewed. – “Approved” or “Partially Approved” = you’ve accepted the request, either in full or only for some items. – “Rejected” = the request has been turned down. – “Refunded” or “Partial Refund” = the refund has actually been issued, in full or in part.

The color associated with each status (visible in the Dashboard and on the Withdrawals page) helps you immediately spot the cases that need your attention without having to open each one individually.

Customization

How do I enable automatic reminders?

Reminders (Unlimited plan) alert you — not the customer — when a request has been sitting for too long. You turn them on from Settings, where you choose after how many days to get an alert for: requests still awaiting review, and refunds still to be issued after approval.

A common mistake is editing only the reminder text in the Email Editor, thinking that this turns it on: the Email Editor only changes WHAT the email says when it’s sent, while WHETHER and WHEN it’s sent is decided only in Settings.

How do I customize the texts of the return module?

From the Form Editor you can customize everything the customer sees: titles, field labels, legal text and module messages.

First you choose the module’s primary language — this is the language the module is shown in by default to your customers, regardless of the language you use in the admin panel. With the Unlimited plan you can also enable several languages at once, with customized text for each one: useful if you sell in different markets and want the module to automatically adapt to the customer’s language.

How do I customize the emails sent to customers?

With the Unlimited plan, from the Email Editor you customize the subject and body of every type of email the app sends to customers: confirmation that the request was received, approval, refund issued notice, and reminders — all in each of the 30 supported languages.

You can also connect your own SMTP server: this way emails are sent from your domain (e.g. returns@yourstore.com) instead of the app’s default service, for an experience that feels more consistent with your brand in the eyes of the customer.

How does the PDF receipt work?

With the Unlimited plan, the app automatically generates a PDF receipt for every withdrawal case: a summary document that serves as durable-medium proof, for both you and the customer, in case it’s ever needed to show what was agreed.

You can customize it by removing the IFG logo, so the document is entirely branded as your own store, consistent with the rest of the communication the customer receives from you.

Can I use custom CSS or my own SMTP?

Yes, both features are included in the Unlimited plan: with custom CSS you write your own style rules to match the module’s appearance (colors, fonts, spacing) to the rest of your brand, on top of what you can already do without code from the Form Editor’s base colors.

With your own SMTP, on the other hand, you connect your mail server so that emails to customers are sent from your domain instead of the app’s default service — the customer sees a sender consistent with your store, not a generic address.

Analytics & data

What is the Analytics page for?

With the Grow and Unlimited plans, the Analytics page gives you an overview of your returns without having to count cases by hand: total number of requests, approval rate, average handling time, refunds actually recorded and their average value.

You’ll also find the breakdown of requests by status (how many approved, rejected, etc.) and by reason declared by the customer — useful for understanding, for example, whether a specific product generates more returns than average, and why.

Is my customers’ data safe?

Yes: all data is processed in compliance with the GDPR, the app’s servers are located in the European Union, and the database isn’t publicly accessible — only the app, using your credentials, can read it.

When the app is uninstalled, or upon a data deletion request (right to erasure), customers’ personal data (name, email, address, phone) is irreversibly anonymized. Only the accounting fields remain, made anonymous (amounts, dates, order numbers), because the law requires you to keep them for tax purposes, typically for up to 10 years — but without them staying linked to the customer’s identity.