An Overview of Returns
After shipping your order to your customer, you can create a "return document" to keep track of items being returned by your customer and check in those items to stock (increasing your stock levels). Although return documents are most common for consignment sales, they can be created for any type of sale.
Adding a Return Reason/Note
Before you create a return for an order, first, you have to add possible reasons for the return. To do so, navigate to Settings >> Invoicing >> Return Reason, then add a reason. Note that you can enter any value for the "code".
Creating a Return
To create a return, open the order you want to generate a return for, select the warehouse(where the returned product will be sent back to), and then a return reason and a sub-reason (optional).
Next, select the products in the order you wish to add to the return. You can do this manually or by turning on the barcode scan toggle button.
Finally, select if you want to create a credit note or refund for the account, or if you simply want to send it to Shopify and then create the return.
Once you are done, check in the return to sync the items with your existing inventory.
There are times when generating a credit note simultaneously with the return isn't feasible. A good example is when you are still waiting to physically receive the returned item, even though you've created a return in the system.
In such an instance, simply click the Create Credit Note button. There's a dedicated column on the returns page where you can see all the credit notes created against your returns.
Note: You can perform a partial or full return. Partial return means not all the items in the order were returned. For example, you shipped 3 products, but the customer returned only 2. You can input the returned quantity. Full return is the other way around.
Creating Return Labels
There are two methods for creating return labels:
Creating labels from returns
Directly from shipments
Let's go over the methods.
Creating labels from returns:
This method is particularly useful when you've already shipped an order to a customer but they wish to return it.
To generate the label, open the order, create a return for it and click the Return Label checkbox. Then create the return followed by the return label.
PS. It's important that you select the right shipping carrier and service, or else you will run into a system error.
With the label generated, you can download it or email it directly to your customers.
Creating return labels directly from shipments:
This method requires selecting return labels when creating shipments for an order. To use this method, first, you need to select Generate Return Label at the order level. Doing this ensures that the Return Label option is automatically selected once you reach the shipment page.
Once selected, open the order's pick ticket, then ship and pack it. Finally, hit the print button to generate the shipping and return label, which you can download to your machine.
Note - For this method to work:
You need to have a printer installed and configured
You must have connected your shipping carrier
You must select the right carrier and shipping service on the final shipment page.
The advantage of this method is that it lets you send return labels when shipping orders to customers. That way, your customers won't have to worry about generating the labels themselves should the need arise.
Another advantage is that it makes the lives of your warehouse operators easy, as they don't need to bother about printing shipping and return labels when packing and shipping orders.
Checking In Returned Items
Once you've created a return, you will want to update your stock level by checking the returned item. You can always reverse the check-in whenever you deem fit. The process is illustrated below:
Managing Returns on Shopify
Managing returns on Shopify via Uphance has become easy and seamless. The logic is as follows:
As soon as you create and fulfill an order on Shopify, it will automatically be synced to Uphance
With the order in Uphance, create a return for it. Once you create a return in Uphance, it will also sync automatically to Shopify. You might have to wait a while for the return to sync up.
Once the return hits Shopify, it will take up the "in progress" status.
To complete the return process, check in the item in Uphance. As soon as you do this, the return will be automatically closed, and the order archived on Shopify.
It's that simple, and it's illustrated below.
In a similar vein, you can manage returns the other way around. By this, we mean creating and completing returns on Shopify, and it syncs to Uphance.
The logic is pretty much the same: create a return on Shopify, and it automatically syncs to Uphance. To complete, process and refund the return. Once you do, the returned item will automatically get checked in on Uphance.
Return Address
You may be wondering which address the products that customers return get shipped to. The simple answer is the delivery warehouse address. By delivery warehouse, we mean the warehouse from which the items in the sales order were shipped.
This:
Exporting Returns as Excel/CSV
You can easily pull all the returns for a certain period and export them as an Excel/CSV file. For example, you can pull all the returns for July and August and export them.
To do so, navigate to Order Management >> Returns. Filter for the dates you have in mind and export:
