Mark as received

Receive and register returns in the control panel

When packages start coming back, this is the Returns page you work on: you see what's on its way, confirm what actually arrived, and register returns that never went through the online store.

One thing to be clear about before you start: registering a return does not refund the customer and does not change inventory levels. It registers that the items came back, for your return statistics. Crediting and inventory you handle as you always have — but the two are linked in the flow described below.

Incoming returns

At the top of the returns dashboard is the work list Incoming returns — returns the customer has reported in the online store, but which you have not yet confirmed as received.

The list is sorted with the oldest first, and the waiting time is color-coded: over 7 days yellow, over 14 days red. These are the rows worth addressing.

The list is intentionally not limited to the period you have selected on the dashboard. All other figures there answer «what happened during this period». This one answers «what is outstanding right now», and a return reported before the period is more interesting, not less — it's usually the one that has gone missing.

Click the order number to open the order in a new tab. You retain your place in the list while you work.

Only online store returns end up here. Returns you register yourself, and returns processed at the POS, are received the moment they are created — they are never outstanding.

You can also mark rows in the list as received without going through the order. It is a separate tool for cleanup, not the main flow — see "Mark many returns as received" below.

How the return came in determines what you do

There are three ways a return can occur, and they require completely different actions from you. It's worth having this clear before you proceed:

The first is the intended flow, and the one you should build your routines around. The customer has already told you what is coming back and why, so your job is to confirm that the package arrived — and to give the customer their money.

Main flow: scan the return package

This is the fastest way, and the one that completes the entire job in one operation.

1. Open order list in the control panel.

2. Scan the barcode on the return package. It is the package ID from the return label the customer received.

3. The order automatically opens with the credit window displayed.

4. Check the quantities in the window. The quantity you set here is also the quantity marked as returned.

5. Leave Complete return checked. It is on by default.

6. Complete the credit.

Below the checkbox it says «The customer registered this return in the online store, so it will simply be marked as received». This is confirmation that you are in the correct flow — the customer has already specified items and reason, so you will not be asked for anything further.

When you complete, everything happens at once:

• The customer is credited, and the credit order is created.

• The items are returned to stock.

• The return is marked as received, and disappears from Incoming Returns.

• The item lines change their label from Waiting for return to Return received

• The customer receives the email «Return received», if the template is active.

You will receive the message Return completed, and then a question if you want to open the credited order. It opens in a new tab, so you keep your place if you are in a stack of packages.

If the scanner does not find the order

The scan first looks for order number, tracking number, and reference — and only falls back to return package ID when none of these match. If you don't get the correct order, search for it manually and proceed as in the next section. The result will be the same.

Option: start the credit from the order

Same flow, without the scanner. Use this when the package lacks a readable barcode, or when you are already inside the order.

1. Open the order.

2. Select Credit or Return order from the tools menu — which one you get depends on the order's status.

3. Set the quantities that actually came back.

4. Leave Complete return checked.

5. Complete the credit.

This is the same operation that the scan triggers, and it ensures the same: the customer gets their money, the stock is updated, and the return is marked as received with the quantities you set.

The quantity in the credit window controls the return

This is worth noting, because it's easy to think that the customer decides it: it is the numbers you set in the credit window that are marked as returned — not what the customer originally reported.

If the customer reported three and sent one, you credit one. Then one is marked as received, and the two missing remain as a still outstanding return. The item line retains the marking Waiting for return until nothing is left waiting, and the statistics always show the correct — one item back, two still owed.

If the two never arrive, you cancel them. See «Cancel or remove a return» further down.

If you don't want to register the return yet

Uncheck Complete return. Then the customer is credited, but the return is not touched: the marking Waiting for return remains, and the return stays in Incoming returns.

This is the correct choice when you credit for a reason other than items having been returned — a price adjustment, a cancellation, a goodwill refund. A credit is not the same as the package arriving.

When you credit an order without a booked return

If you credit an order where the customer has not reported a return in the online store, a different text appears below the checkbox: «Nothing has been registered for this order yet, so you will be asked what came back and why»

Then you get the question Complete return update after the credit is complete. If you say yes, you will go to the return form with the items pre-filled from the credit — you just need to select a reason. If you say no, the order is credited and no return is registered.

Afterwards, you will get the same question about opening the credited order.

The receipt occurs during crediting

There is no longer a separate Receive return in the tools menu. Confirming that the package arrived is part of the crediting process: that's where you state what was in the box, and those are the numbers that are booked.

The reason is that a separate menu option did half the job. It stamped "received" on everything outstanding, without knowing what actually arrived, and without considering the money. The crediting process handles all three parts — money, inventory, and return statistics — in the same operation, and it's the one way that cannot get out of sync with itself.

💡 One daily return belongs in the crediting process
If a package arrives today, you process it through crediting. Mark as received in Incoming returns is for the pile left over from before — see next section.

The order log shows what arrived

Each receipt is logged in the order history with quantity and which items it concerns — 2 x Wool Sweater (Color: Gray, Size: M), one line per item. If the return arrives in two batches, you get one log entry per receipt.

It is the same form used when the customer reports the return themselves, when you register one manually, and when you remove one. One order with several of the parts is read as one continuous log.

The product names are those that were on the order when it was sold. If you have since renamed the product, the log still shows what the customer actually purchased.

Mark many returns as received

Some stores start with Returns and immediately have a pile of old returns — reported in the previous solution, sent long ago, and long since picked and put on the shelf. They remain outstanding in Incoming returns even though the items have been with you for months, and no one should credit a return from last year again.

For that job, there is Mark as received in Incoming returns. It does one thing: it registers that the items were returned.

⚠️ It does not move any money or inventory
Mark as received does not create a credit note, does not put items back in stock, and does not handle any payment. If the customer is to receive money back, you must also credit the order — see "Main Flow" above. The modal says the same before you start, and it's worth reading it there too.

How to do it

1. Check the rows you want to mark in Incoming returns. The checkbox at the top selects the entire page.

2. If you have checked the entire page, an offer will appear to select all matching rows — including those on pages you haven't scrolled to. If you filter or search first, it only applies to what you have filtered.

3. Click Mark as received in the dark bar that appears.

4. Read the warning. It tells you how many return lines and how many orders you are about to mark.

5. Choose whether the customer should receive an email. See below — it is intentionally turned off.

6. Click Mark as received

You can process up to 2000 lines in one round. If you have more than that, do another round.

While it's working

The job runs in batches, with a progress indicator counting return lines. It takes a few minutes for several hundred lines, and that's how it should be — each order must be written, marked, and logged.

You cannot exit the modal while it's working: the cross is gone, Escape does nothing, and you cannot click outside. This is intentional. A half-finished round — some orders marked and the rest not, with nothing to indicate where it stopped — is a difficult situation to be in. Leave the window open until it's finished.

If a single order fails, the job skips it and continues. Finally, you will receive a list of the failed orders, with a link to each of them, so you can review them individually. The error has been logged with us.

What actually happens

Per order:

• The return lines you checked will be marked as received and disappear from Incoming Returns.

• The item line changes its label to Return received — but only if everything reported on that line is included. If something is still outstanding, Waiting for return remains.

• The receipt is logged in the order history, with quantity and item name, in the same format as usual.

Check one row on an order that has two outstanding returns, and the other will remain. That's the whole point of being able to select rows: an order for which you only have half the package should not be settled.

The email is disabled

The checkbox Send «Return received» email to the customer is empty when the modal opens. This is the opposite of what it is on the order page, and it is intentional: one click here can cover several hundred rows, and «we have received your return» is not something to send about a package that arrived nineteen months ago.

If you check it, the email is sent per order — as normal, and only if the template is enabled for the store. Then the job also runs slower, because each email needs to be sent out.

When you should not use it

It is designed for cleanup, not for daily operations. If a return comes in today for which the customer should receive money, it belongs in the credit note process: there, money, inventory, and return statistics are handled in one operation, and nothing can be forgotten.

Use Mark as received when only the registration is missing:

• Old returns from before the store migrated to Acendy.

• Items that have been on the shelf for a while, and which have been settled with the customer in another way.

• A batch where the credit has already been issued, but the return was never marked.

Register a return manually

You use this when items are returned without the customer notifying the online store — she called, or included a note.

⚠️ The option is off by default
Manual return is not in the tools menu unless an administrator has enabled it under Orders › Returns › Settings › Manual return. A return should normally start from a credit, so manual registration is the exception — see «When you should use manual return» below.

1. Open the order and select Tools › Manual return

2. Fill in how many of each item were returned.

3. Select a return reason, and feel free to write a comment.

4. Choose whether the customer should receive an email.

5. Click Complete

The return is received immediately — you have the items in hand. You handle the crediting separately, as you always have.

When you should use manual return

Manual return only registers the return. The money and inventory remain with you, and that is precisely why it is the exception and not the main path: if the same return goes through the crediting instead, all three parts are done at once.

However, it is correct in some cases:

• The items are already back on the shelf, and you just want them included in the statistics.

• The money has been arranged elsewhere — in the payment solution, or as an exchange.

• The customer has received a new item instead of money back.

Stores that don't relate to this, leave the option disabled. Then there is only one way in for a return, and no one can take the shortcut without thinking about it.

What you can register

The form calculates what remains per item line, not per order. If the customer bought five and returned two last week, you can register up to three now. The column ","Already registered"," shows what has been reported previously, with a note on how many of them are still pending arrival.

Lines where everything is registered are not hidden — they get the label "All registered", so you see why they are not offered instead of wondering where they went.

Note the difference between the three states:

The page has its own explanation button — What do these numbers mean? — right away, if you are in doubt in the middle of your work.

Email to customer

You choose whether «Return registered» and «Return received» should be sent. Both are by default "off" here: a manual return covers many situations, and often the customer has already been notified by phone.

If a template is turned off for the store, the option is deactivated in the form, with an explanation of why. You will not receive any notification yourself — after all, you are the one registering.

Orders that cannot receive a manual return

Manual return is not offered on credit orders and standalone return orders, for example, a return processed at the POS. There, the items are already registered as returned, and another round would count them twice. The menu option is hidden on those orders, so that the menu and the page say the same thing.

If the order is a credit order belonging to a sale, we will forward you to the sales order. That is where the return belongs — it is the order from which the items were sold, and only there will the totals be correct.

Cancel or remove a return

On the return form, you'll find the section Returns on this order. There you can resolve two situations:

Refunds and stock are not affected by either of these.

If you cancel the last unit that was still outstanding, the line is settled: the label changes from Waiting for return to Return received, since there's nothing left to wait for.

💡 You'll always find your way here when something is missing
The section is located on the Manual return-page. If the option is turned off in the settings, it will still appear in the tools menu on orders where something has been reported but not fully received — precisely because this is where you cancel the unit that never arrived.

What you cannot remove here is an online store return where the items have already been received. In that case, both the customer's message and the items are a fact, and deleting the row would falsify the history instead of correcting it.

If you want to change a return, remove it and register it again. There's one way in, and then two forms cannot calculate differently.

Labeling on item lines

Returns use two labels on the item lines in the order:

You can filter the order list by them, and you can manually remove a tag if you wish. If you remove it manually, it will not reappear upon the next receipt — we do not override a choice you have made.

The counter below the item line

Below the line, it states how much of the return has arrived: 2 of 3 received. The numbers are received out of reported — how many the customer ordered, you already see in front of the item name.

The tag and the counter answer different things, which is why both are there:

Therefore, Awaiting return remains as long as one unit is missing, even if two are already in stock. Click the counter to jump to the log entry for the last receipt.

Tip

• Build the routine around scanning. It handles money, inventory, and return statistics in one operation, and is the only way where you cannot forget one of the steps.

• Did only half arrive? Credit half. The rest remains outstanding, and that is more correct than closing the entire return.

• Process incoming returns in fixed rounds. The list is designed to be worked downwards, and the oldest at the top are those that need your attention.

• If a return has been pending for over 14 days, it has usually either never been sent or was lost in the mail. Contact the customer before canceling it.

• If you have just switched to Acendy and have a long list of old returns, clear it with