Purchase Return
Not everything a supplier sends you is something you can keep. Some of it arrives broken, some of it is the wrong item, and sometimes they simply send more than you ordered. A Purchase Return is how you send those goods back — cleanly, on the record, and without your stock or your accounts drifting out of step.
You start from what you actually received, pick the items and quantities that are going back, say why, and send them to the supplier. Bizconnekt takes the returned goods out of your stock and sets up a supplier credit — a debit note — so the money the supplier now owes you is tracked, not forgotten.
Availability depends on your plan and your role.
The idea in one picture
A purchase return runs the receiving process in reverse. You received goods, some of them can't stay, so they go back out — and the value goes back onto the supplier's account:
Goods you received (on a GRN)
│
├──► Keep the good units ──► stay in your stock
│
└──► Return the bad units ──► leave your stock
│
└──► Supplier credit (debit note) ──► supplier owes you
Nothing is guessed. You return against what you received, so you can never send back more than actually came in.
A real example
Say a supplier delivered 480 units of a part against your order, and you received all 480 into your store. When you check them, 20 are damaged — cracked in transit and unusable.
Here's how the return goes:
- You start a purchase return from that receipt.
- Bizconnekt shows you the 480 units you received. You choose to return 20 of them.
- You set the reason to Damaged.
- You send the return to the supplier and mark the 20 units as dispatched back.
- Your stock drops by 20 — you're left holding the 460 good units.
- A supplier credit of 20 units' worth is set up, so when you next settle up, that money comes off what you owe them.
The 460 good units stay exactly where they are. Only the 20 you sent back leave your stock, and the credit for them is waiting on the supplier's account.
The words you'll see
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Received goods | What the supplier actually delivered to you, recorded on a goods receipt. A return starts from here. |
| Return reason | Why the goods are going back — damaged, wrong item, excess, and so on. |
| Return quantity | How many of a received item you're sending back. It can never be more than you received. |
| Supplier credit (debit note) | The value of the returned goods, set up as money the supplier owes you. See Debit Note. |
| Restocking fee | A charge some suppliers apply for taking goods back. If your supplier charges one, you can record it so your credit reflects the real amount. |
| Dispatched back | Marking that the goods have physically left you and gone to the supplier. |
Why send goods back this way
You could, in theory, just email the supplier and leave a note somewhere. The trouble is your stock and your accounts then quietly go wrong: the system still thinks you're holding goods you've shipped out, and the money the supplier owes you is remembered by nobody. A purchase return keeps three things straight at once:
- Your stock is honest. The units you return leave your stock, so what the system shows is what's actually on your shelves.
- The supplier owes you, on the record. A supplier credit is set up automatically, so the value of the returned goods isn't lost when you settle the next bill.
- There's a clear trail. What you returned, why, when, and against which receipt — in one place, ready if the supplier ever queries it.
Common reasons for a return
You'll pick one when you raise the return. These are the everyday ones:
| Reason | When you'd use it |
|---|---|
| Damaged | Goods arrived broken, dented or spoiled in transit. |
| Defective | The item doesn't work as it should. |
| Wrong item | The supplier sent something other than what you ordered. |
| Excess quantity | You received more than you ordered and are sending the extra back. |
| Expired | Perishable or dated stock arrived past — or too close to — its use-by date. |
| Quality issue | The goods are the right item but not up to the standard agreed. |
| Not as ordered | The goods don't match the specification on your order. |
| Other | Anything else — with a note explaining it. |
How a return moves through its life
A return isn't a single action — it has a short life, from the moment you draft it to the moment it's fully settled:
| Stage | What's happening |
|---|---|
| Draft | You're still building it — choosing items and quantities. Nothing has gone to the supplier. |
| Awaiting approval | If your business requires sign-off before goods leave, the return waits here until an approver says yes. (Skipped if no approval is set up.) |
| Confirmed | The return is agreed. The goods are on their way back and your stock has been reduced. |
| Completed | The goods are back with the supplier and the supplier credit is in place. |
| Rejected / Cancelled | The return was turned down at approval, or called off before it went ahead. |
You'll see the current stage against every return in the list, so you always know where each one stands.
Where a return comes from
A purchase return almost always starts from goods you've already received. You raise it against a goods receipt — the record of what the supplier delivered — which is what lets Bizconnekt show you exactly which items and quantities are available to send back, and stop you returning more than came in.
That receipt traces back to your original purchase order, so the whole story — what you ordered, what arrived, and what went back — stays joined up.
What you can do here
| Task | Guide |
|---|---|
| Send received goods back to a supplier | Raise a Purchase Return |
| Track your returns and the credits they create | Track Purchase Returns |
Related guides
- Goods Receipt — what you received, which a return starts from
- Purchase Order — the original order behind the goods
- Suppliers — the supplier you're returning to
- Debit Note — the supplier credit a return sets up
Need help? Contact support at support@bizconnekt.com