Return stock to suppliers and track the credit
When stock arrives damaged, wrong or not what you ordered, raise a return against the supplier, record what shipped back, and track the credit you are owed until it arrives.
Returns work like purchase orders
Returns sit in the same list as purchase orders, use the same statuses, and have their own RET- numbering.
- Start from the delivery that went wrong. Create a return from a received PO. The lines and costs prefill from what you received, and the return links back to the PO.
- Or start from scratch. Pick a supplier and the items, then send. You do not need an original PO.
- A reason on every return. Choose damaged, ordered in error, or write your own note. You can edit it while the return is a draft, and it is carried into your inventory history.
- RMA documents your supplier recognises. A return document as a PDF, emailed from Stockroom the same way as a PO.
- Its own filters in the list. A Return badge on the row, and one-click filters for returns only or purchase orders only.
- Photograph the damage. Attach claim photos to the return. They go to your accounting with the credit.
Stock changes when the goods ship back
Marking a return sent does not change anything in Shopify. Stock leaves when you record what shipped back. The credit you expect is tracked separately from the credit you have received.
- Stock leaves on the ship-back. Recording what went back writes a reason-coded decrease at the right location, and the adjustment names the return document.
- Part shipments. Send back what you have and record it. The return stays at partially returned until the rest goes.
- Undo a ship-back. Void a ship-back and the reverse adjustment is pushed as a correction.
- Not counted as incoming. Outstanding returns are left out of incoming quantities, reorder supply and stock-on-the-way views.
- Expected credit per line. Line values default from your cost book and are the credit you expect. They do not change your product costs, cost layers or retail prices.
- Vendor credits in your accounting. Returns go to MyWorks Sync as vendor credits, separate from supplier bills, and arrive in QuickBooks as credits.
Returns reported as their own line
Returns are reported as their own outflow rather than subtracted from purchases, so you can see which suppliers keep sending damaged stock.
- Returns, credit and net by supplier. Vendor purchase history shows returns, credit and net beside spend, so you have the full picture before a supplier negotiation.
- Direction on every receipt. Returned units and value are shown separately from receipt totals.
- A returned column in the roll-forward. The roll-forward shows opening, received, adjusted, returned, COGS and ending, and the columns reconcile.
- Returns in the movement ledger. Return movements appear in the same audit trail as every other movement.
Common questions
Does a return change my cost of goods sold?
No. A return takes the units out of your cost layers at the cost they carried, without booking COGS, so your COGS reporting is the same as if you had never returned them. The credit is recorded against the supplier instead.
What happens to inventory when I mark a return as sent?
Nothing. Marking a return sent is a document status, like marking a purchase order ordered. Your Shopify stock changes when you record what shipped back.
Can I return part of a delivery?
Yes. Return any subset of the lines, and ship them back in as many parts as you need. The return stays at partially returned until everything has gone back.
Does this work with my accounting sync?
Yes. Returns arrive in QuickBooks as vendor credits through MyWorks Sync, separate from supplier bills. Purchase orders become bills and returns become credits.
Is this part of the free app?
Yes. Purchase orders and receiving are free and stay free, and supplier returns are part of that core. As Stockroom grows into deeper inventory management, the advanced end of that will be paid, along with things like hands-on onboarding and priority support.
Try supplier returns free
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