P4 Software / cifraHQ

Customer Returns

Customer Returns

When a customer sends product back, you need to do three things: get the goods back into stock, credit the customer's account, and keep your Audit Trail intact. A customer return in CifraHQ handles all three — it links back to the original invoice, puts the Inventory into the correct warehouse, and sets up a credit note with a single click. The result is a clean paper trail from sale to return to credit.

Customer Returns list page in CifraHQ.

Customer Returns list, RMAs you have authorised back from Customers.

How to create a Customer Return

From an Invoice (recommended):

  1. Open the posted Invoice.
  2. Click Return — CifraHQ creates a return with the invoice lines pre-filled.
  3. Adjust quantities to match what the customer is actually returning.
  4. Select the Warehouse where the returned goods will go.
  5. Save and release.

From a Delivery — when the goods come back before you have invoiced them:

  1. Open the posted Delivery.
  2. Click Return — CifraHQ creates a return with the delivered lines pre-filled.
  3. Adjust quantities to match what the customer is actually returning.
  4. Save and release.

There is no warehouse to choose: the goods go back to the warehouse they shipped from. Prices come from the sales order behind the delivery, so a delivery entered directly with no sales order produces lines at zero for you to price.

Manually:

  1. Go to Returns > Sales > Customer Returns.
  2. Click the + Data Entry button and select New.
  3. Select the Customer and the Warehouse receiving the returned goods.
  4. Set the Document Date.
  5. Add lines: select the Product, enter the Quantity being returned, and link to the original invoice line if available.
  6. Release the return.
Whichever document you start from, CifraHQ only ever offers the quantity that has not already come back. Return part of a shipment against the delivery and the invoice will offer just the balance, and the other way round — the same goods cannot be credited twice. If a document already has a return that is still open, finish it before starting another.

Field reference

  • Customer — locked after creation; select the correct customer before saving.
  • Warehouse — the location where returned goods will be physically received and counted back into stock. If your returned goods go to a quarantine or inspection location, select that warehouse here.
  • Document Date — the date the return was initiated, not necessarily the date the goods arrive back.
  • Reference Number — capture an RMA number or customer return authorization code here so your team can match the physical paperwork to the system record.

Document lifecycle

State Meaning
Draft Editable; no Inventory impact yet
Released Return is open; Inventory can be received against it
Closed All returned goods have been received; complete
Archived Closed and read-only

What happens next

Once the return is released and goods physically arrive at the warehouse, the Inventory balance is updated. To issue a credit to the customer:

  1. Open the Customer Return.
  2. Click Credit — CifraHQ creates a Customer Credit Note with the return lines pre-filled.
  3. Post the credit note to increase the customer's credit balance.

The customer can then use the credit on a future invoice via Pay → Apply Credit.

Tips

  • For pack-size Products, the returned quantity is entered as number of packs — CifraHQ converts to units automatically.
  • Partial Returns are supported. If a customer returns three of the original ten units, enter three. The return stays open for the remaining quantity so you can track whether the rest is coming back.
  • If the customer wants a price adjustment but is keeping the goods, use a Customer Credit Memo instead — there is no need to create a physical return in that case.

Related: Customer Credit Notes · Invoices · Customers · Return Receipts · Customer Credit Memos · Sales Debit Memos

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