Tutorial: Stock Returns

It is unfortunate, but sometimes it is necessary to return faulty or damaged stock to the Supplier. In this tutorial we will discuss the process of entering a Stock Return in the Portal and describe the two reports available to monitor the status of returns.

This tutorial will deal with the Stock Returns section of the Procurement Menu. The Procurement Menu can be opened by selecting Menus, Inventory and Procurement from the Navigation Menu. Open the Stock Returns section by clicking on the provided link. There is a link in the Stock Returns section of the Procurement Menu to open the Site Options screen for Stock Returns.

A return of stock is made to a specific Supplier. Select the Edit Returns link to open the Find Creditor screen to search for the Supplier to return stock to. You can use the Custom tab of the Find Creditor screen to search by Creditor Name or Number. Alternatively, use the tab with the letter that corresponds to the letter that the Creditor's name begins with to search for the Supplier from a list.

After you have selected the appropriate Supplier, the Stock Returns screen is loaded. Supplier details are loaded, such as the Supplier Name and Code as well as the Available Credit you have with the Supplier. The Type, Return Total and Return Status are also displayed. A Stock Return is assigned a unique Return Number when it is created and there is a drop-down in this screen that allows you to select the number of a return in order to edit it. Selecting New Return from this drop-down allows you to create a new Stock Return. A drop-down is also provided to allow you to select the Location that is returning the stock to the Supplier.

There are two tabs in this screen that allow you to enter the data in the Stock Return:

Details, displays the date of the return and allows you to enter a miscellaneous Comment for the return. This comment might include more details regarding the return that are not covered in the Items tab.

Items, allows you to enter the Inventory Items being returned in this Stock Return. Enter an Item Code, select a Reason for the return of the item and press the Add button to add it to the grid. Use the Find Item button to search for the item if you do not know the Item Code. When the item is added to the Stock Return, the Description, Unit Price and Stock on Hand figures are displayed for your reference. Edit the Quantity of the item being returned in the grid and press the Update button to save the details of the Stock Return. The Delete button can be used to remove a selected line from the Stock Return. The Print button allows you to print a hard copy receipt of the Stock Return. Press the Finalise button to finalise the details of the Stock Return or the Delete Return button to remove it from the Portal.

The Portal provides a Summary report to allow you to view the status of the returns entered in the Portal. Select the Summary link from the Stock Returns section of the Procurement Menu to view the report. This report lists details of all Stock Returns made by a Site during a specific period. The Type drop-down allows you to filter this report according to the status of the Stock Return. Information displayed in this report includes the Supplier Name, Account Number, Site, Return Number, Status, Return Date and Total Amount of the Return.

Selecting a Supplier Name opens a popup menu that allows you to perform the following functions:

Edit this Supplier, opens the Creditor Management screen that allows you to edit the details of the Supplier.
Edit Stock Return, opens the Stock Returns screen, allowing the Site to edit the Stock Return selected. This option is only available for non-finalised Stock Returns.
Reprint Stock Return, allows you to print a hard copy of the Stock Return for your records.

There is also a second useful report provided by the Portal - the Supplier Summary report. This report can be opened by clicking the Supplier Summary link from the Stock Returns section of the Procurement Menu. It lists totals by Supplier for all returns made by the selected Site during the specified period. The Type drop-down can be used to filter the report according to the status of the Stock Returns.

By clicking on a Supplier Name, the following actions can be performed:

Edit this Supplier, opens the Creditor Management screen that allows you to edit the details of the Supplier.
Show Returns for this Supplier, opens a report screen that lists the totals of all Stock Returns for the Supplier with the receipt number. The receipt number can be clicked to view the PDF of the receipt.

Show Items Returned for this Supplier, opens a report screen that lists the items returned for the selected Supplier, ranked by total amount returned. The Range tab in this report allows you to display only the Top X number of items returned, while the Options tab allows you to change the Site and period for the report. You can select an Item Description to open the Inventory Management screen to edit the item.

Select Stock Return for this Supplier, opens the Stock Returns screen for the Supplier, allowing you to create, edit, print or delete Stock Returns for the Supplier.

In this tutorial we have discussed the returning of Stock items to the Supplier and the reports that are available to help track the status of Stock Returns.