Take goods back with a sales return

Q: The customer brings back part of the goods.

Use Sales return > Add , name the invoice, and lower the quantities. The Return button on the invoice returns the whole invoice.

Q: Do I give the money back?

For a cash return the money is paid out from the Cash ledger with the return. For a credit sale the return lowers what the customer owes; pay back only if the customer had already paid, with a payment voucher made by the accountant.

Q: The goods are damaged and cannot be sold again.

Tick Expiry/Breakage return . The goods are counted as returned and written off at once.

A sales return takes goods back against an invoice. It reverses the sale in the customer's account and the sales ledger, puts the goods back in stock, and is sent to the IRD as a credit note when your company has IRD on.

Accounting Returns
5 min read
Updated October 20, 2026

For Sales clerk Accountant

On this page

What a return does
Return goods
What a return changes
After saving
Common questions

What a return does

A sales return is the credit note of this system. It reverses all or part of an invoice:

The customer owes less: the return amount is taken off the customer's account.
Sales income falls by the returned amount, in the product's sales return ledger (or the company's Sales return ledger). The VAT adjustments are reversed with it.
The goods come back into the warehouse.
When your company has IRD on, the return goes to the IRD as a credit note that names the invoice it returns (How bills reach the IRD, and what to check when one does not).

Open Sales return (menu Sales Entries › Return). The list shows the return number, the invoice it returns, the customer and the amount.

Return goods

Start from the invoice, or from the return screen
Who
Sales clerk or accountant
Where
Sales Invoice > the invoice > Return, or Sales return > Add
What changes
From the invoice, Return returns every line of the invoice: you only choose the Sales return date and the notes. For a partial return use the return screen and change the lines; there you choose the invoice yourself.
Name the invoice
What changes
Ref. invoice no (search to find it). Your company can make it required (Sales invoice required on return? in Configuration); then a return without an invoice is refused.
Choose the products and quantities
What changes
The lines come from the invoice; lower the quantities for a partial return. A return line cannot be more than the referenced quantity.
For goods that cannot go back on the shelf, choose Expiry/Breakage return
What changes
The goods are counted as returned and then written off through a stock adjustment, so they do not become sellable stock. It needs a stock adjustment numbering series.
Save
What changes
The return is saved with its number. If the sale was a cash sale to a customer, the money is paid back from the Cash ledger in the same step.
Needs
A numbering series for returns. In IRD companies the return date is today. A cash refund also needs a receipt series and a Cash ledger.

What a return changes

What happens when you save a return

Area	Change
Customer's account	The customer owes the return amount less, on the return date
The invoice	Its Due amount falls by the return; its Status becomes Partial Return, Returned or Paid With Return
Sales income and VAT	The sales return ledger takes the returned amount; the VAT and discounts of the returned lines are reversed
Stock	The goods come back into the warehouse you choose. An Expiry/Breakage return writes them off again at once
Cash	Only for a cash return: the money is paid back from the Cash ledger in the same step
IRD	When your company has IRD on, a credit note naming the invoice is queued
Number	The next number of the sales return series

Worked example: a part return on a part-paid credit invoice

An invoice to ABC Traders bills 10 units at 1,000 with VAT at 13% (the rate set up for this example): 11,300. ABC Traders has paid 5,000 against it, then brings back 3 units. On Sales return > Add the clerk names the invoice in Ref. invoice no and lowers the quantity to 3.

Where	Change
ABC Traders	Credited 3,390 (3,000 + VAT 390). It now owes 11,300 − 5,000 − 3,390 = 2,910
Sales return ledger	Debited 3,000
VAT ledger	Debited 390: the VAT on the returned units is reversed
Stock	3 units back in the warehouse chosen on the return
The invoice	Due amount 2,910, Status Partial Return
IRD (when on)	A credit note of 3,390 naming the invoice

After saving

The invoice's Status changes: Partial Return or Returned (or Paid With Return), and the invoice can no longer be edited or have another return started from its Return button. Make any further return on the Sales return screen.
A return that was a mistake can be Reversed from the return list. You enter a reason. The return is cancelled with its own number and its effects are undone.
Edit and Delete are not offered on a return when your company has IRD on.

Common questions

The customer brings back part of the goods.

Use Sales return > Add, name the invoice, and lower the quantities. The Return button on the invoice returns the whole invoice.

Do I give the money back?

For a cash return the money is paid out from the Cash ledger with the return. For a credit sale the return lowers what the customer owes; pay back only if the customer had already paid, with a payment voucher made by the accountant.

The goods are damaged and cannot be sold again.

Tick Expiry/Breakage return. The goods are counted as returned and written off at once.

The return was a mistake.

Reverse it from the return list with a reason. The sale is back on the customer's account and the goods leave the warehouse again.

The return date cannot be changed.

When your company has IRD on, returns are dated today, like invoices.