Recording goods returned by customers

When a customer brings goods back, many shopkeepers hand the money over, put the item on the shelf and consider the matter closed. In the records, however, that event leaves no trace: less money in the till, more goods on the shelf, and the table unchanged. Stock and till stop matching, and the cause is hard to find. You do not need a complicated system to record returns properly; three or four rules are enough.

Returns are not all alike

In practice there are three situations, each leaving a different trace in your records:

• The item is in good condition and the customer changed their mind. The item goes back to stock and the money goes back to the customer.
• The item is faulty: a seam has split, it does not work, it is cracked. The money is refunded or the item replaced, but a faulty item never returns to sale. It goes back to the supplier or to write-off.
• An exchange: the customer takes another size, colour or model. This is two separate movements, one receipt and one issue.

Fix the return terms in advance and post them at the till: within how many days, with receipt and label, unused. Then the salesperson does not decide differently each time, and the customer knows what to expect. The rules must not conflict with the customer's legal rights; if in doubt, ask a specialist.

An exchange as two movements

Take a shoe shop. A customer bought size 38 trainers for 320,000 so'm, came back the next day, said they were too small and took size 39. The price is the same, no money moved, so the salesperson wrote nothing down. The table now shows size 38 at 0 pairs and size 39 at 1 pair, while the shelf holds 1 pair of 38 and none of 39. The total looks right, but both lines are wrong. The next customer asks for a 39, the table says "in stock" and the shelf is empty. There are two correct entries: a receipt of 1 pair for size 38 (returned) and an issue of 1 pair for size 39 (exchanged).

The returns log

Keep a notebook or table by the till and write every return in it. At minimum it needs these columns:

• the date and the number of the original sales receipt;
• the item name, size or variant;
• the reason for the return;
• the condition: good or faulty;
• the amount refunded and the method (cash, card);
• the employee who accepted it;
• the next step: to the shelf, to the faulty-goods zone or to the supplier.

The "reason" column is very useful. If one item keeps coming back, the fault may lie in a wrong size chart, a misleading description or poor quality.

Check before it goes back on the shelf

Do not push a returned item straight onto the shelf. Inspect the packaging, label and contents first, and make sure it has not been used. Keep a separate box or shelf for returns, put what passes the check back on sale and move the rest to the faulty-goods zone. If the label has come off, stick on a new one, otherwise the item will ring up at the wrong price or not be found.

Faulty goods and the money side

For a faulty item, write a short report: date, item, type of defect and, ideally, a photo. Your supplier agreement may set terms for returning or replacing faulty goods, so keep a document. If the supplier will not take the item back, write it off and note the reason.

A refund at the till must leave a trace too. Ring it through as a separate return receipt or a negative line in the cash book; otherwise nobody can explain at day's end why the till is short. For online orders (Telegram, marketplace), book in a courier's returns only when they reach the stockroom, and mark them "in transit" until then.

At month end skim the log: how many returns, how much money in total and which item came back most often. If returns grow month by month, look for the cause.

Conclusion

Every return is at least one entry, and often two: goods movement and money movement; an exchange always needs two goods entries. Make these a habit and the mysterious gaps between stock and till disappear. If returns have gone unrecorded for years, the AniqHisob team can run a stock count, restore your balances and help set up a routine for recording returns.