This article covers how merchants can view, manage, and file claims from the Onward merchant dashboard.
The Claims Queue
The claims queue is your central hub for managing all claims. You can access it from the Claims section of your Onward merchant dashboard.
What You'll See
The claims list shows all claims filed for your store, with key information at a glance:
Order number — The original Shopify order associated with the claim.
Customer — The customer who filed the claim.
Cause — What went wrong (damaged, stolen, stuck in transit, etc.).
Status — Current claim status (In Progress, On Hold, Resolved, Denied, etc.).
Resolution — How the claim was resolved (if applicable).
Reported amount — The value of the claimed items.
Date filed — When the claim was submitted.
Filtering and Searching
You can filter claims by:
Status — View only claims in a specific status (e.g., In Progress, Resolved).
Cause — Filter by claim type (damaged, stolen, etc.).
Date range — View claims from a specific time period.
Search — Search by order number, customer name, or email.
Viewing Claim Details
Click on any claim to see the full details:
Customer information — Name, email, phone, shipping address.
Order details — The original order, items, and order value.
Claimed items — Which specific line items were included in the claim.
Evidence — Photos uploaded by the customer (if applicable).
Claim cause — What the customer reported.
Resolution preference — What the customer chose (reorder, refund, store credit).
Resolution details — The outcome (reorder order number, refund amount, gift card code, etc.).
Claim timeline — A history of all status changes and actions.
Filing a Claim on Behalf of a Customer
Merchants can file claims for their customers directly from the dashboard. This is useful when:
A customer contacts your support team about an issue.
You want to initiate the claim process without asking the customer to do it themselves.
You're handling a complex situation that requires merchant involvement.
How to File a Merchant-Initiated Claim
Navigate to the Orders section in your Onward dashboard.
Find the order you want to file a claim for.
Click File a Claim.
Select the claim cause (what went wrong).
Choose the affected line items.
Upload evidence (photos) if applicable.
Select a resolution preference.
Submit the claim.
The claim will follow the same review and resolution process as customer-filed claims.
Note: The order must have active Onward protection and be within the claim submission window to file a claim.
Understanding Claim Financials
Each claim has associated financial details:
Reported amount — The total value of the items the customer claimed.
Protected amount — The covered value based on the order's protection.
Resolution value — The amount paid out (reorder value, refund amount, or store credit issued).
Claims payouts are tracked in your billing and appear on your settlement invoices.
Customizing Claim Cause Notes and Tags
You can customize what happens for each specific claim cause.
Refund Notes
When a claim is resolved with a refund, a note is added to the original Shopify order. You can customize this note for each claim cause. For example:
Damaged: "Refunded via Onward — item arrived damaged in transit."
Stolen: "Refunded via Onward — package reported stolen."
Reorder Tags
When a claim is resolved with a reorder, custom tags are added to the new Shopify order. You can set different tags for each claim cause. For example:
Damaged:
onward-reorder, damage-claimStolen:
onward-reorder, stolen-claim
These tags help you identify and track reorders in Shopify.
You can configure these per-cause customizations from Protect > Settings > Claims in your merchant dashboard.