A supplier return — often called an RTV (Return To Vendor) — records goods you send back to a supplier against a delivery you already received. It is the reverse of a goods receipt: where a receipt brings goods into the warehouse, a return takes them back out. Each return references one completed goods receipt, and its lines say which received items go back and in what quantity.
Typical reasons: a defect discovered after the goods passed the receiving inspection, an over-delivery you agreed to send back, or items you no longer need and the supplier accepts back.
Key Concepts
- Supplier Return (RTV) — A document authorizing and recording the shipment of goods back to a supplier, always linked to the goods receipt that brought them in.
- Returnable quantity — How much of a receipt line can still be returned: the quantity it accepted minus everything already returned against it, across all returns. Rejected quantities never entered stock, so only accepted goods can come back out.
- Shipping — The step that actually moves stock. Until a return is shipped, it is just paperwork.
Creating a Supplier Return
The easiest way is from the receipt itself:
- Open the completed goods receipt and click Create Return in its header.
- Confirm or override the suggested return number (e.g., RTV-2026-000001) — leave it empty to auto-number.
- A draft return is created with one line per receipt line, pre-filled with each line’s full remaining returnable quantity. You land on the return, ready to trim it down.
Only completed receipts can be returned against — an earlier receipt hasn’t put anything into stock yet.
You can also start from scratch:
- Navigate to Procurement > Supplier Returns in the sidebar and click New.
- Pick the Goods Receipt the goods go back against — the purchase order, supplier, and warehouse fill in automatically from it.
- Set the Return Date and any notes, then click Save. The return is stored in Draft status; its details are on the left of the page and its Lines are beside them on the right, empty until you add them.
Editing Lines
While the return is in Draft, the Lines beside its details are where you adjust what goes back:
- GR Line — Which receipt line this return line reverses. The picker shows each line’s product and remaining returnable quantity (e.g., “4 of 10 returnable”). Picking it fills in the product, unit, and location automatically.
- Quantity — How much goes back. Partial returns are normal — return 4 of the 10 you accepted and the other 6 stay returnable for a future return.
- Reason — Why the line goes back (late-found defect, over-delivery, wrong item). This is the record you’ll lean on when negotiating with the supplier.
- Notes — Internal remarks such as lot references or the supplier’s own return-authorization number.
Lines can only be added or modified while the return is in Draft status.
Shipping the Return
Click Shipped, the next step on the road at the bottom of the return’s page, and confirm, once the goods leave the warehouse. The road runs Draft → Shipped → Closed: the steps already passed are ticked, the one the return is at is filled, and the next one is a button — every move on a return is yours to make. Rest on a step to see when it was reached and by whom. Clicking the step you are at opens the map instead, where Cancelled is picked while the return is still a draft. Shipping is the step that moves stock, all at once:
- Each line’s quantity is taken out of stock — from the exact place the receipt put it (same warehouse, location, and receipt lot). If a lot’s stock reaches zero, the lot is retired.
- The purchase order’s received quantities roll back by the returned amounts. A fully-received order drops back to Partial (or Confirmed if everything went back), so the goods can be re-delivered later.
- If the order thereby drops out of Completed, the contribution it made to the supplier’s quarterly performance metrics is reversed. The defect rate recorded when the goods arrived stays untouched — it measures what was rejected at the dock, not what came back later.
- An outbound stock movement is recorded for full traceability.
Shipping only works while the goods still sit where the receipt put them. If any of the stock was already moved, consumed, or quarantined, the shipment is refused with a clear message — correct the situation with a stock adjustment first.
The Returnable Cap
Each receipt line can only ever be returned up to what it actually accepted, counted across all returns. If you accepted 10, shipped one return of 4, a second return can take at most 6. Shipping a return that exceeds the cap is refused with a clear message — trim the quantity and ship again. This means you can never send back more than you took in.
Finding a Return
The Supplier Returns list searches by number, and its filter button narrows it by Status, Supplier, Warehouse, the Receipt or Purchase Order it came from, or a Return Date range (see Working with lists).
Statuses
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Draft | The return is being prepared. Lines and quantities can still be edited. Nothing has left stock. |
| Shipped | The goods are on their way back: stock has been decremented and the purchase order’s received quantities rolled back. Set by the Ship action, never by hand. |
| Closed | Administratively settled — typically once the supplier has delivered a replacement or agreed a credit. Reached from Shipped. |
| Cancelled | The draft was abandoned before anything shipped. Nothing was booked, so nothing needs undoing. |
A return can only be deleted while in Draft.
Replacement or Credit
The return handles only the goods leg. What you get back from the supplier is agreed outside the document:
- Replacement — the supplier re-delivers the goods. Record the new delivery as a fresh goods receipt against the same purchase order (its received quantities were rolled back, so there is room to receive again).
- Credit or refund — the supplier credits your account. Track the money leg with a supplier debit note (below).
After shipping — getting your money back
Once the return is Shipped, use Raise Debit Note — under More actions, the three dots at the bottom of the return’s page — to formalize the credit: a draft supplier debit note is created, priced automatically as each returned quantity × its purchase-order line price, in the order’s currency. Review the draft, link the supplier’s bill if one exists, and issue it — issuing reduces the bill’s amount due immediately, and any remainder is collected as an inbound refund receipt in Treasury. A return carries at most one live note, and its notes are listed on the return’s Debit Notes tab.
Once the outcome is settled, click Closed, the last step on the road.
A typical flow in DZD terms: you ordered and received 10 units at 2,000 DA each (20,000 DA). Two weeks later 4 units turn out to be defective. You create a return from the receipt, trim the line to 4, and ship it — stock drops by 4 and the order falls back to Partial (6 of 10 received). The supplier then either re-delivers 4 good units (received on a new receipt) or issues a credit of 8,000 DA, after which you close the return.
Return vs. Cancelling the Receipt
Both take received goods back out of stock, but they serve different situations:
- Cancel the receipt when the whole delivery was a mistake and its goods still sit untouched in stock — cancellation reverses everything the receipt booked, at once, as if it never happened.
- Create a return for the real-world cases cancellation can’t handle: sending back part of a delivery, or goods returned some time after receipt.
Important Notes
- Supplier returns share their access rights with goods receipts — the same warehouse team that receives goods sends them back.
- Shipping is not reversible from the app. Double-check quantities before shipping; if you make a mistake, receive the goods again on a new receipt.
- The return date is informational — stock moves on the day you run the Ship action.