> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.arcuserp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Create a return > Creates a return for a customer, optionally adding line items, a restocking fee, and an immediate refund in the same call. Requires `returns:write` scope, plus `payments:write` when issuing an immediate refund with `auto_refund: true`. ## OpenAPI ````yaml /openapi.yaml post /returns openapi: 3.1.0 info: title: Arcus ERP Public API version: 1.0.0 description: > Arcus ERP public REST API. Designed for external integrations and data migration. **Authentication.** Bearer token (API key) via the `Authorization` header. Format: `Authorization: Bearer ark_live_ent__` (or `ark_test_*` for sandbox). API keys are issued per-entity in **Settings > Developers > API Keys**. **Entity scoping.** The entity is encoded in the API key prefix; routes are flat (e.g. `/v1/accounts`, `/v1/orders`, `/v1/products`). A small set of platform endpoints (migration, reconciliation, events, webhook endpoints, API keys) use the `/v1/entities/{entity_id}/...` form -- those are noted in their tags. **Key capabilities.** - Related-resource hydration via `?expand[]=` (see `x-arcus-expand` on each resource). - Cursor-based pagination (`starting_after` / `ending_before` / `limit`). - Idempotency via the `Idempotency-Key` header. - Webhook events for asynchronous notification. - Conditional requests / ETag for cache validation. **Changelog.** Entries are dated and name every published contract whose MEANING moved, not only the ones whose field names changed. The narrative version of the same entries, written for integrators, is published at https://arcuserp.mintlify.app/changelog. **2026-09-22 (planned 2026-09-21), REORDER-BUYER-TRUTH: demand changed what it MEANS on three published contracts, with no field renamed.** An integrator that pins field names sees no breakage and different numbers, which is why this entry exists. - **Demand now counts build consumption.** `demand_avg_per_day` on the public product, kit and inventory-balance objects, and `daily_demand` / `demand_basis` / `net_suggested_qty` on `GET /v1/purchasing/reorder-report`, are composed from fulfilled sales lines PLUS posted `build_consume` inventory draws: each physical decrement of a product counts exactly once. The previous rule adopted an internal-consumption basis only when the sales blend was exactly zero, so a product both sold AND consumed into work orders planned as if the build draws did not exist. Products drawn into work orders move; on one production-shaped dataset five did, the largest from 0.05/day to 14.95/day. - **`demand_basis` now carries four values, not two:** `sales`, `sales_and_builds`, `builds` and `consumption`. A consumer with a two-branch reader (anything that is not `consumption` is `sales`) silently hides the two new ones. - **`current_demand_units` on `GET /v1/inventory/balances/:id` moved, by a second rule.** It counts committed-but-unshipped CUSTOMER demand, and it now counts a kit component's own line rather than its parent kit line, and excludes non-sales documents. On one production dataset 269 of 1,043 balance rows changed, 227 of them downward; the largest single move was 1,941 to 25, on a product whose open PURCHASE order line had been reported as customer demand. Re-baseline anything that alerts or reorders off this field. - `run_rate_30/90/180/365` and `blended_daily` on the same balance object move for the first reason above. - **Added, not changed:** `GET /v1/purchasing/reorder-report` accepts `demand_window` and returns the unit, cover-through and reorder-point-provenance fields documented on that operation; `order_multiple` is accepted and returned on the product-vendor doors. - **Volume note.** The `inventory.low_stock`, `inventory.out_of_stock` and `inventory.back_in_stock` webhook events are population-gated on `on_hand <= reorder_point`, and reorder points move with the demand above, so subscribers should expect a one-time step change in event volume around the release. servers: - url: https://api.arcuserp.com/v1 description: Arcus ERP API (accepts both live `ark_live_*` and test `ark_test_*` keys) - url: https://dev-api.arcuserp.com/v1 description: >- Dev sandbox API (test-only data, accepts `ark_test_*` keys against dev RDS) security: [] paths: /returns: post: tags: - Returns summary: Create a return description: >- Creates a return for a customer, optionally adding line items, a restocking fee, and an immediate refund in the same call. Requires `returns:write` scope, plus `payments:write` when issuing an immediate refund with `auto_refund: true`. operationId: createReturn parameters: - $ref: '#/components/parameters/IdempotencyKey' requestBody: required: true content: application/json: schema: type: object properties: original_order_id: type: string format: uuid description: >- The originating sales order. Required unless this is a standalone RMA. account_id: type: string format: uuid description: >- Customer account. Derived from the original order when original_order_id is provided. reason: type: string description: Free-text reason for the return. refund_amount: type: number format: float description: >- Total dollar amount to refund before restocking fee deduction. restocking_fee: description: >- Flat number (e.g. 25.00) or object form: { type: 'percentage', value: 10 } or { type: 'flat', value: 30 }. oneOf: - type: number format: float description: Flat dollar restocking fee. - type: object properties: type: type: string enum: - percentage - flat description: Fee calculation method. value: type: number description: Percentage (0-100) or flat dollar amount. required: - type - value items: type: array description: >- Inline return line items. Added atomically with the RMA. quantity is accepted as an alias for quantity_authorized. items: type: object properties: order_item_id: type: string format: uuid description: >- Links to the originating order line. Enables FIFO cost capture for GL reversal. product_id: type: string format: uuid description: Required if order_item_id not provided. quantity: type: integer minimum: 1 description: Alias for quantity_authorized. quantity_authorized: type: integer minimum: 1 description: Number of units authorized for return. condition: type: string enum: - new - used - damaged - defective description: Physical condition of the returned item. reason_code: type: string enum: - defective - damaged_in_transit - wrong_item_shipped - not_as_described - no_longer_needed - found_better_price - arrived_late - other - unspecified description: >- Per-line return reason. Powers returns-by-reason analytics (R31). Defaults to 'unspecified' if omitted. notes: type: string auto_refund: type: boolean default: false description: >- If true, issue the refund immediately after RMA creation. Requires refund_payment_id and payments:write scope. The response includes a 'refund' object. refund_payment_id: type: string format: uuid description: >- Required with auto_refund=true. The original payment to refund against. refund_method: type: string enum: - original - store_credit - check - cash default: original description: >- Refund routing. 'original' refunds to the original payment method. override_window: type: boolean default: false description: >- Bypass the entity's return_window_days check. Requires returns:write. customer_initiated: type: boolean default: false description: True when return was initiated via the customer portal. notes: type: string metadata: type: object examples: full_atomic_create: summary: RMA + items + percentage restocking fee + auto-refund value: original_order_id: a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890 reason: wrong_item refund_amount: 150 items: - order_item_id: 11111111-2222-3333-4444-555555555555 quantity: 1 condition: unused restocking_fee: type: percentage value: 10 auto_refund: true refund_payment_id: 22222222-3333-4444-5555-666666666666 rma_only: summary: Bare RMA without items or refund value: original_order_id: a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890 reason: damaged_in_transit refund_amount: 75 responses: '201': description: >- Created RMA (hydrated with items[] and refund if inline operations ran) content: application/json: schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/Return' '400': $ref: '#/components/responses/Error' '401': $ref: '#/components/responses/Error' '403': $ref: '#/components/responses/Error' '422': $ref: '#/components/responses/Error' security: - ApiKeyAuth: [] components: parameters: IdempotencyKey: name: Idempotency-Key in: header required: false description: | Client-generated unique key for idempotent POST/PATCH/DELETE operations. Alias for the Idempotency parameter. Max 255 chars. On retry with the same key, the original response is returned without re-executing the operation. Keys expire after 24 hours. schema: type: string maxLength: 255 schemas: Return: type: object description: >- RMA (return merchandise authorization). Phase A -- refund_amount is readOnly via PATCH; written only by POST /v1/returns/{id}/refund. properties: id: type: string format: uuid object: type: string enum: - return entity_id: type: string format: uuid readOnly: true return_number: type: string readOnly: true status: type: string enum: - authorized - expected - received - inspecting - restocked - written_off - closed - sent_to_vendor - cancelled readOnly: true description: >- Use action endpoints to transition status; PATCH cannot write status. original_order_id: type: string format: uuid account_id: type: string format: uuid vendor_id: type: string format: uuid nullable: true vendor_rma_number: type: string nullable: true inspection_required: type: boolean restocking_fee: type: number nullable: true refund_amount: type: number nullable: true readOnly: true description: >- SSOT: written only by POST /v1/returns/{id}/refund (refundReturn canonical). PATCH cannot write this field. return_to_vendor: type: boolean refund_hold: type: boolean nullable: true readOnly: true description: >- The refund hold. null = never held; true = accounting put the refund on hold with a question for the office, and POST /v1/returns/{id}/refund answers 409 `refund_on_hold` until the office answers; false = the office answered and the hold is released. Set and released in the Arcus app only; nothing is refunded and no amount owed changes while it is held. refund_hold_note_id: type: string format: uuid nullable: true readOnly: true description: >- The note that holds the hold's question; kept after the hold is released. refund_hold_by: type: string format: uuid nullable: true readOnly: true description: Who put the refund on hold; kept after release. refund_hold_at: type: string format: date-time nullable: true readOnly: true description: When the refund was put on hold; kept after release. source: type: string enum: - csr - customer_portal - marketplace nullable: true notes: type: string nullable: true metadata: type: object nullable: true received_at: type: string format: date-time nullable: true readOnly: true closed_at: type: string format: date-time nullable: true readOnly: true cancelled_at: type: string format: date-time nullable: true readOnly: true created_at: type: string format: date-time readOnly: true updated_at: type: string format: date-time readOnly: true ErrorEnvelope: type: object description: | Canonical error response envelope. All API errors use this shape. required: - error - code properties: error: type: string description: Machine-readable error key example: not_found code: type: string description: Machine-readable error code (often same as error) example: not_found type: type: string enum: - validation_error - permission_error - not_found - conflict - rate_limit - internal - expand_error - not_implemented example: not_found hint: type: string description: Human-readable one-sentence explanation (English) example: >- The requested order does not exist or does not belong to this entity. param: type: string description: The parameter that caused the error, if applicable example: expand[0] required: type: string description: The scope required (only on insufficient_scope errors) example: accounts:read request_id: type: string description: >- Unique request ID for support tracing (maps to CloudWatch log stream) example: req_abc123 responses: Error: description: Error response (400/401/403/404/409/422/429/500) content: application/json: schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/ErrorEnvelope' securitySchemes: ApiKeyAuth: type: http scheme: bearer description: | API key issued per entity via Settings > Developers > API Keys. Each key carries scopes (e.g. orders:read, products:write). Bearer token format: Authorization: Bearer ark_live_ent__ Test keys use ark_test_ent__. Both are issued per entity via Settings > Developers > API Keys. ```` This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.