Returning goods from a customer invoice

Create Sales return from the original customer invoice to retain the source document and its commercial details. This workflow covers a direct partial return with Refund with credit, followed by a separate warehouse receipt where required.

Have the original invoice, returned item, quantity, batch and receiving warehouse ready. Match the document to the goods actually returned.

Record the partial return

1. Open Sales > Sales documents (all) and find the original Customer invoice by number, date and customer.
2. From the invoice, choose Create based on > Sales return using the green-arrow document button.
3. Check the inherited source invoice, customer, legal counterparty, terms, contract and warehouse.
4. In Goods, reduce the quantity to the amount being returned. For example, if the invoice contained 2 PCE and the customer returns 1 PCE, enter 1 PCE. Check the item, unit and batch against the returned goods.
5. Review the unit price, tax settings, price-includes-VAT basis and total for the return quantity.
6. In Compensation, select Refund with credit for this workflow. The selector also offers Refund immediately, which belongs to a separate refund process.
7. Choose Post and close. Find the saved Sales return and check its source invoice, quantity, batch, compensation choice and total.

The compensation choice does not confirm that money has been refunded or that credit has been applied to another purchase. Those actions require their own settlement process.

Receive the returned goods at the warehouse

If the receiving warehouse uses separate receipt notes:

1. Open Warehouse and delivery > Receipt. In Warehouse receipt note, select the receiving warehouse and refresh the waiting list.
2. Find Sales return in the upper table. Check the document number and customer, then select only the intended return.
3. Click Create note. Check the new note's reference and enter the incoming document's number and date.
4. Check the goods quantity and batch. For a partial return of 1 PCE, the receipt must cover the returned 1 PCE, not the invoice's original 2 PCE.
5. After checking the goods, set Accepted and choose Post and close.
6. Check the saved receipt note and the waiting list. For a fully received return, verify that its reference no longer appears among the documents awaiting receipt.

See Receiving goods and Warehouse management scheme for the separation of commercial documents and physical receipt. Do not create a second receipt if the return has already been processed.

Reconcile the quantities

Open Warehouse reports > Warehouse stock. Set a period that includes the return, include the relevant warehouses, click Generate and wait for the report table. Compare the same item, batch and unit before and after receipt.

For example, returning 1 PCE to a warehouse with 7 PCE gives:

Stage	Receiving warehouse, PCE	Other warehouse, PCE	Total, PCE
Before the return	7	1	8
After receiving 1 PCE	8	1	9

The other warehouse's quantity is unchanged. Across both warehouses, 10 purchased − 2 sold + 1 returned = 9 PCE; an internal transfer between them does not change that total.

This is a quantity reconciliation. Return requests and approvals, damaged-goods handling, cash or bank refunds, later use of credit, fiscal corrections and cost valuation require separate procedures.