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Purchase returns

A purchase return sends goods back to the supplier, for example when they were damaged on delivery or expired. The goods leave stock at the cost they came in at, and the return records the credit you expect from the supplier.

Purchase returns are part of the Purchasing add-on. You make a return from the posted purchase it belongs to, and find all returns under Purchases › Purchase returns.

Return goods

  1. Open Purchases › Purchases and open the posted purchase.
  2. Click Return goods.
  3. For each item, the dialog shows how much was Bought and how much you Can return (what has not been returned yet). Enter the quantity to Return. Click the Can return figure to return all of it.
  4. Add a Note, for example damaged on delivery.
  5. Check the Credit from the supplier (about).
  6. Click Post return.

A return is posted at once and gets a number (PR-000001 …). The purchase then lists it under Returns.

You can make several returns against one purchase, for different items or in parts, until everything bought has been returned. Two people returning the last units at the same moment cannot return more than was bought.

Example

A restaurant bought 20 kg of tomatoes at 3.00 per kg plus VAT. On delivery, 4 kg are bruised. The chef opens the purchase, clicks Return goods, enters 4 for tomatoes and the note bruised on delivery, and posts. 4 kg leave stock at 3.00 per kg, and the return shows a credit of 12.00 plus VAT.

How the money is calculated

The return takes the same share of the purchase line as the quantity returned. If you return a quarter of a line, you get a quarter of its amount after discounts, and a quarter of its VAT. The return that takes the last units gets exactly what is left, so returns never drift from the invoice by rounding.

The return shows the Credit: Taxable amount, VAT and Total.

How stock and cost change

The goods leave at the cost they came in at (the purchase line's cost per unit), not at the current average. The average cost of what stays is then recalculated, so the value of the remaining stock is right. See Stock on hand and the stock ledger.

Void a return

If a return was entered by mistake, open it and click Void, then give a reason. The returned goods are added back to stock (Voided: the goods were added back to stock) and can be returned again later.

While a purchase has posted returns, the purchase itself cannot be voided. Void the returns first.

Find returns

Purchases › Purchase returns lists every return with the same filters as purchases: Supplier, Warehouse, Status (Posted, Voided) and dates. Search by return number, purchase number or supplier. Opening a return shows the Supplier, Warehouse, Date, Note, the lines, a link to the purchase and the History.

Last updated 17 Oct 2026