What happens to returned stock
Restock, quarantine or write off: chosen for each item, carried out when the return is completed.
Each item on a return has an Inventory action: what happens to the goods. You choose it when you create the return. It is carried out when the return is completed. Nothing moves before that.
Who can do this: whoever creates or edits the return: the Administrator, Admin, Store Admin or Cashier. This works on every plan.
Product
Added once to the catalogue.
Linked to a store
Gives it a stock on hand count there.
- Sold An order takes stock out.
- Returned Restocked, quarantined or written off.
- Quarantined Held aside and not for sale.
- Written off Removed for good.
The three choices#
| Choice | Use it when | What happens at completion |
|---|---|---|
| Restock to SOH | The goods are fine to sell again. The condition is Resalable. | The goods go back into stock on hand (SOH) and can be sold. For batch products they go back into a batch. Stock history records a return restock. |
| Add to quarantine | The goods need checking. The condition is Damaged or Used. | The goods come back but are kept out of sale, as a pending entry in Quarantine that names this return. Later you release, dispose of, or send them back from there. |
| Write off | The goods are not coming back, for example the customer kept them or they were destroyed. | Nothing moves and no stock entry is written. The return item itself is the record of the loss, and returns reports read it from there. |
Set the action for each item#
- In the return form, tick the item and enter its Return qty.
- In the Inventory action column, pick Restock to SOH, Add to quarantine or Write off. The picker starts on Restock to SOH.
- Set the Condition. Restock to SOH always uses Resalable. The other two let you pick Damaged or Used.
- Save the return. The stock moves later, when you complete it.
An item whose product does not track stock, or a custom line, always shows Write off. There is nowhere to put it back.
Tracked products#
- Serial numbers: for a product with serial numbers, pick the serial numbers of the units coming back. There must be one for each unit, and each must be a unit that was sold.
- Batches: for a batch product, pick the batch the goods return to.
Without these, the return cannot be completed.
Behind the scenes#
- You can change an item's action with Edit return while the return is still Requested.
- Quarantined goods do not count as stock you can sell until you release them.
Watch out#
Troubleshooting#
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Returned goods do not appear in stock. | The return is approved but not completed, or the action was not Restock to SOH. | Complete the return. Check the item's action. |
| The item only offers Write off. | The product does not track stock, or it is a custom line. | This is expected. |
| The return cannot be completed. | Serial numbers or a batch are missing on a tracked item. | Pick them in the return. |