> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://www.adorabl.info/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Customer returns > Authorize a customer return, restock what comes back, and credit the original invoice. A return starts from a shipped sales order. adorabl recommends whether to take the goods back or credit the customer for keeping them, then posts the credit memo and, when goods come back, the inventory restock. ## Prerequisites * The sales order is **Fulfilled**, **Invoiced**, or **Closed**. * [Returns rules](https://www.adorabl.info/commerce/setup/returns-rules.md) are set if you want a default keep-or-receive answer. Until you save rules, adorabl uses the starting settings. * The return date falls in an open accounts receivable period. Receiving goods also needs an open inventory period. See [Period close](https://www.adorabl.info/books/period-close.md). ## Start a return **1. Open the sales order** In the sidebar, open **Commerce** → **Sales Orders**, then open the order the customer is sending back. **2. Create the return** Click **Create return**. adorabl opens a draft return for the shipped lines. Drafts display as **Draft return**. The `RMA-` number is assigned when the return leaves draft. **3. Set quantity and warehouse** Enter the quantity to authorize on each line, and choose the warehouse that will receive goods you take back. You can also open **Commerce** → **Returns** and click a row. The list opens unfiltered, including [supplier returns](https://www.adorabl.info/purchasing/supplier-returns.md). Click a tile to narrow it, and click that tile again to see every return. ## How adorabl chooses keep or receive The **Keep or receive** panel compares two numbers: the inventory value you would recover by restocking, and the cost to bring the item back (its share of return freight plus warehouse handling). | Situation | Default | | - | - | | You are ahead, or even | **Receive and restock** | | Taking it back would lose money | **Customer keeps the item** | | Freight or your cost is unknown | **Needs review** — you choose on the return | A draft still shows that recommendation. After you authorize, the panel and the **Decision** column show what you did: **Received and restocked** or **Customer kept the item**. **Rules said: …** appears only when you chose a different path. The sales order **Returns** tab uses the same outcome. ## Authorize, receive, and credit **1. Choose a reason** Set **Reason** before you authorize: **Damaged or defective**, **Wrong item**, **Not as expected**, **No longer needed**, or **Other**. **Other** asks you to say why in a few words. **2. Authorize** On a draft, click **Authorize** when any line is coming back. Click **Authorize & credit** when every line stays with the customer — the credit memo posts immediately and nothing waits for a receipt. **3. Receive goods** When an authorized return is waiting for product, open it from the **Awaiting receipt** tile. Enter **Received** and **Damaged** on each line. **Restock** is the quantity that goes back on the shelf — received minus damaged. If the receiving warehouse uses bins, choose **Bins** for the restock. Then click **Receive & credit**. Restocked units increase on-hand at the receiving warehouse. The journal debits inventory and credits cost of goods sold at the item's posting cost. A quantity that did not arrive stays available for a later return; the line notes how many were not received. **4. Close** A credited return shows **Close**. Closing does not create another journal entry. The credit memo already reversed revenue, and a receive already restocked inventory. The credit is a partial credit memo against the original invoice. An open balance absorbs it. Amount already paid becomes refund payable. Click **View credit memo** to open that memo. The return's **Journal entries** tab lists both postings when they exist: | Posting | When it appears | | - | - | | **Inventory restock** | Goods were received | | **Credit memo** | The credit posted | ## What the customer is credited The merchandise credit is the price they paid for the returned units, plus that item's share of tax. Shipping charged on the original order is never credited. | Path | What changes the credit | | - | - | | Customer keeps the item | No restocking fee. A goodwill setting can credit only the return freight and handling you did not pay, instead of the full price. | | Goods come back | The customer sees the restocking fee. They do not see your handling or freight. | Change the amounts and the default path under [Returns rules](https://www.adorabl.info/commerce/setup/returns-rules.md). Shopify returns use those same rules. ## Returns list | Tile | What it shows | | - | - | | **Needs a decision** | Drafts the rules could not decide | | **Awaiting receipt** | Authorized customer returns whose goods are not back yet, plus supplier returns still in draft | | **Credited** | Credited and closed returns, with the credit total | **Decision** is the choice on the return. A draft the rules could not decide still says **Needs review**. **Status** moves from **Draft** to **Authorized**, **Received**, **Credited**, **Closed**, or **Void**. ## Change or void a return Editing quantity, disposition, return freight, or the receiving warehouse on a return that has left draft asks **Why is this return changing?** The reason is stored on **Return actions**. **Activity** is the field log. Choosing a different keep, receive, or scrap path than the rules recommended asks for a reason that matches that decision — for example **Needed back in stock**, **Customer will not keep it**, or **Needed for a claim**. **Void** is available while the return is **Draft** or **Authorized**. **Void return** asks for **Customer cancelled**, **Entered in error**, or **Other**. A credited return is closed rather than voided; reverse the credit memo if the credit itself must come off the books. See [Invoices & adjustments](https://www.adorabl.info/accounts-receivable/invoices-and-adjustments.md). The header **Relationships** control opens the map back to the sales order, invoice, fulfillment, credit memo, and restock journal. **Credit memos** lists the memo on this return. ## Example: Trail Ridge Outfitters Aspen Sports Co. sends back two Summit Fleeces from a shipped order. 1. On the sales order, the clerk clicks **Create return** and authorizes both units to the Denver warehouse. 2. The rules are ahead on the fleece, so the panel recommends **Receive and restock**. The clerk clicks **Authorize**. 3. When the carton arrives, they click **Receive & credit**. Stock goes back on hand, and a credit memo posts against the original invoice, less the restocking fee. 4. They click **Close**. The return shows **Received and restocked** on the Returns list and on the order's **Returns** tab. A later return of a low-cost cap is cheaper to leave with the customer. The rules recommend **Customer keeps the item**, the clerk clicks **Authorize & credit**, and no receipt is expected. ## Related guides > **[Returns rules](https://www.adorabl.info/commerce/setup/returns-rules.md)** > > Set the default credit, restocking fee, and cost to bring an item back. > **[Supplier returns](https://www.adorabl.info/purchasing/supplier-returns.md)** > > Send received goods back to a supplier and post an accounts payable debit. > **[Sales orders & fulfillment](https://www.adorabl.info/commerce/sales-orders-and-fulfillment.md)** > > Ship the order before you start a return. > **[Invoices & adjustments](https://www.adorabl.info/accounts-receivable/invoices-and-adjustments.md)** > > Read the credit memo a return posts. > **[Items](https://www.adorabl.info/products/items.md)** > > Posting cost used when a return restocks. ## Troubleshooting > **Create return is missing** > > The order has to be **Fulfilled**, **Invoiced**, or **Closed**. Draft and open orders have not shipped yet. > **The return stays on Needs a decision** > > Freight or item cost was unknown, so the rules did not pick a path. Open the draft, choose keep or receive, and authorize it. If you want a default next time, set **If shipping cost is unknown** on [Returns rules](https://www.adorabl.info/commerce/setup/returns-rules.md). > **The Journal entries tab looks empty** > > A keep posts on the credit memo, not on the return. Open **Journal entries** and look for **Credit memo**. **Inventory restock** appears only after goods are received. **Close** does not post another entry. > **Authorize is blocked** > > Choose a **Reason**, and authorize at least one unit. If the message names a closed period, reopen accounts receivable or inventory for that date, or change the return date. See [Period close](https://www.adorabl.info/books/period-close.md). 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