The short answer: handle a purchase return by recording it as a formal return that reduces your stock and reduces what you owe the supplier (or creates a refund/credit), with a clear reason and a paper trail. Returning goods without adjusting stock and payables leaves your inventory and accounts wrong.
Why purchase returns need care
When you send stock back — because it’s faulty, wrong, or excess — three things must change together: your physical stock goes down, your record of what you owe the supplier goes down (or you’re owed a refund), and the reason is documented. Miss any of these and your books drift from reality.
The correct process
- Create a purchase return referencing the original purchase.
- Reduce stock for the returned items.
- Adjust payables or record a credit/refund so your supplier balance is right — see payables.
- Record the reason (faulty, wrong item, over-delivery) for the trail.
Get the money side right
If you hadn’t yet paid, the return reduces what you owe. If you had paid, you’re owed a refund or a credit note to offset future purchases. Tracking this prevents the common loss of returning goods and never actually getting the money or credit back.
Watch for patterns
Frequent returns to one supplier — faulty goods, wrong items, over-deliveries — are useful signals. They may point to a quality problem worth raising, or a receiving process that lets errors through. Recorded reasons turn one-off annoyances into fixable patterns.
Handle returns cleanly
RushFlow records purchase returns against the original purchase, adjusts stock and supplier balances, and captures reasons — so returns keep your inventory and accounts accurate. See the live demo.