Customer Returns

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Where Returns Work Happens

• Operations > Returns > Customer Returns: the list of RMAs, the create page, and each return’s detail page.
• Return detail: the action page for receiving, inspection, disposition, labels, exchanges, replacements, vendor returns, and the refund.
• Operations > Warehouse > Returns (the Returns switch on Operations > Warehouse > Receiving opens the same view): where authorized RMAs are received and returned items wait on inspection or disposition. It keeps three queues apart: requests still awaiting approval, goods awaiting receipt, and goods already held for inspection. A return that starts in inspection is not shown as received goods before anything has arrived.
• Operations > Returns > Vendor Returns: items that must go back to a vendor.

Other ways in: search for Customer Returns in the command palette (it also finds a return by its number), use the New Return quick-create action, or open a return from its order, its shipment, a transaction in Inventory Transactions, or a link. If you work in more than one company and open a return link that belongs to a different one, Arcus switches to that company for you and says Switched to (company name) to open this return. If the switch fails, it says Could not switch to (company name) to open this return. Try again. A return that no company you belong to holds shows Return not found.

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Before You Start

• Permissions: the list and detail need View Returns. Creating a return needs Create Returns. Each detail action has its own permission, listed below. Most actions you cannot use stay visible but disabled, and hovering one names the missing permission. The restocking fee edit and Add fee or credit stay clickable, and the server refuses the change when your role lacks the permission.
• The original order: a return starts from the sales order the customer bought on, and the Original Order column and the detail page open it under Sales > Orders > All Orders. Arcus uses it for the account, the lines and quantities, the price paid, tax, and where the refund goes. Every return line must come from a line that has shipped on that customer’s own order, and one return holds lines from one order only. A standalone return, a line from another customer’s order, and a return that combines lines from several orders are all refused.
• Location: the list follows the location picked in the header. When a location has no returns but others do, a note offers to switch to all locations.

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The Returns List

Tiles: Open RMAs (in process), Needs Action (open RMAs past their time limit: 7 days waiting for approval, 14 days awaiting receipt, 7 days awaiting inspection or disposition; select it to open that view), Awaiting Receipt, Awaiting Inspection, Refund Exposure (the refund amounts stored on returns that are authorized, awaiting receipt, inspection, or disposition, or dispositioned but not yet closed; returns waiting for approval are not included), Adv. Replacements Due (due within 7 days), and Avg Resolution (closed in the last 30 days). Select Awaiting Receipt or Awaiting Inspection to open its tab; Open RMAs, Refund Exposure, Adv. Replacements Due, and Avg Resolution are counts only. Tabs: All, Pending Approval, Authorized, Awaiting Inspection, Awaiting Disposition, Closed, and Cancelled, each with its count. An Attention tab appears only when a return has a status none of the tabs cover. Columns: Return #, Original Order, Account, Origin, Status, Days in status, Items, Method (the refund method: Cash Refund, Credit Memo, Store Credit, or Auto (decide later)), Promised, Settled, Date, Tags, and Next step. Turn columns on or off from the Columns menu. Filters: the Created date control, and Worklist view (Needs action (aged), Ready for refund, Pending disposition), Migrated RMAs (imported RMAs are left out of the aged view unless you choose Include migrated), Reason, and Customer. Saved views work as on other lists. This list has no export. Next step tells you what each RMA needs and opens it:

• Approve on a return waiting for approval. It needs Approve Returns and shows “RMA RMA-1001 approved” (with the return number).
• Receive, Inspect, or Disposition for the warehouse step that is due.
• Refund once the goods are dispositioned and money is still owed. It needs Refund / Void Payments and opens the refund picker, where you split the refund across the original payments.

When nothing matches, the list says No returns found and “Return authorizations will appear here once created.”

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Return Statuses

• Pending Approval: the return is over your auto-approve threshold (set at Settings > Shipping & Fulfillment > Returns) and waits for someone with Approve Returns. Approve it from the Next step column on this list; the return’s own page has no Approve button.
• Authorized: the RMA exists and is waiting for the customer’s return to arrive.
• Expected: a return that a mis-shipment correction creates for the wrong item, waiting for that item to come back. It appears on the Authorized tab.
• Received: items arrived in holding and still need inspection. The tab calls this Awaiting Inspection.
• Inspecting: items are graded and wait for a disposition. The tab calls this Awaiting Disposition.
• Restocked, Written Off, Sent to Vendor, and Closed: the goods are dispositioned and the return is settled or ready to settle. They appear on the Closed tab.
• Cancelled: the RMA was stopped before anything was received. Nothing is owed on it and no refund will be issued.
• Voided: every effect was reversed to zero and the return is read-only. Voided returns appear on the Cancelled tab. The only action left on a voided return is Un-void RMA.

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Create an RMA

1. Open Operations > Returns > Customer Returns and select Create RMA. The Create Return page opens.
2. Search for the original order by its number and select it.
3. Choose the return type: Standard return, Exchange, Advance replacement, Refund only (keep item), Warranty repair, or Mis-shipment (wrong item shipped).
4. Select each item being returned, confirm the quantity, and pick a reason for every line (Defective, Damaged in transit, Wrong item shipped, Not as described, No longer needed, Found better price, Arrived late, or Other).
5. For an exchange or a replacement, pick the replacement product.
6. Choose the Refund outcome (Refund to original tender, Credit Memo, or Store Credit), and review the refund estimate, the restocking fee, and any shipping or fee lines to include. The outcome records the plan; money moves only when someone selects Issue Refund.
7. Select the create button. Its label follows the type, for example Create Return, Create Return + Exchange, or Create Refund-Only Return.

While something is missing, the button stays disabled and says why: “Pick the original order first”, “Select at least one item to return”, “Pick a reason for every selected line”, or “Pick a replacement product”. A line marked final sale can only be returned by someone with Override Final-Sale Return, who must enter a reason. If you name a line that cannot be returned, the refusal names the line and says why, for example “is a line of order 1002, which never shipped, so there is nothing to return. A return must land on a shipped sales order line.”, “is a line of order 1002, which belongs to another customer. A return takes lines from its own customer’s orders only.”, or “One order per return for now.” The refusal lists every refused line at once so you can fix them in one pass. Arcus confirms with “Return RMA-1001 created”, or for other types, messages such as “Refund-only return RMA-1001 created. Issue the refund from the return.” or “RMA RMA-1001 created and exchange order SO-1002 spawned”. A mis-shipment reopens the order so the correct item can ship. The choices each type adds, such as the replacement, the mis-shipment correction, and the refund economics, are covered step by step in Create a Return From an Order.

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Use the Return Detail Page

Return detail is the control page for the RMA. It shows a progress stepper, the items, the refund summary, the return label, the financial settlement, linked documents, and the timeline. The action buttons change as the return moves through the lifecycle. On a phone, the header actions wrap onto more than one row and the progress stepper scrolls inside its own card, so the page itself never scrolls sideways. Each item line shows the Reason the customer gave and any Notes recorded on the line: the note typed at receiving, the grade note from inspection, and the disposition note, one per stage. The Condition Media card, subtitled Photos & video on the RMA and on each line, shows every photo and video attached to a line and every file uploaded to the return as a whole, listed under On the RMA as “not tied to a line”. A cancelled or voided return is sealed. It offers no receiving, inspection, disposition, vendor return, label or fee actions, its documents are read-only, and its Financial Settlement card says This RMA was voided. Nothing is owed on it and no refund will be issued. (or cancelled). The Return Summary shows Owed $0.00 with the same sentence instead of projected goods, tax, fees or credits, and the return label card says No return label was bought, and none can be: this RMA is voided. A return that was migrated from an earlier system names its source in a footer and, while the return is open or closed, the amount that system promised. Main buttons:

• Receive & Inspect (Receive Returns): opens the receiving page to book the goods into holding and grade them. Grading in the same step also needs Inspect Returns; without it, receive now and inspect later.
• Inspect Items (Inspect Returns): grades each received line and parks it for disposition.
• Disposition Items (Process Returns): decides restock, write off, quarantine, or vendor return per line.
• Issue Refund (Refund / Void Payments): refunds what is still owed, split across the original payments. For a warranty return it may read Refund instead of replace.
• Override & Refund (Override Return Condition and Refund / Void Payments): appears beside a disabled Issue Refund when the refund waits on dispositions; it asks for a reason, which is recorded, and refunds anyway.

The actions menu adds, when they apply:

• Dock receive (receive + dispose) (Process Returns): receive and disposition in one pass.
• Ship Advance Replacement and Create Exchange Order (Edit Returns).
• Create Vendor Return (Process Returns): once a line is dispositioned to the vendor.
• Resolve Quarantine (Process Returns): on a line holding quarantined units, restock or otherwise resolve them.
• Generate Return Label (Edit Returns): rate-shop and buy a prepaid return label.
• Recalculate Refund (Edit Returns): re-derive the promised refund from the order; you confirm before anything changes.
• Re-inspect (Re-grade) (Inspect Returns), Un-disposition (Reverse Return Disposition), and Un-receive (Unreceive Returns): step a return back. Un-receive takes back every received unit or none, and only goods Arcus can trace in the return’s own holding stock. See Common Blocks for the messages it gives when units cannot be found.
• Re-open settlement (Override Return Condition and Process Returns): reverses the settlement so the return can be edited. When every line is already put away, the page shows a warning that the settlement was re-opened and every line is already put away. Do not close that return with Un-disposition and Disposition Items, because that queues the full refund again; stop and ask the person who owns your Arcus account for help.
• Supplemental refund and Recovery charge (Refund / Void Payments; a recovery charge also needs Override Return Condition): refund more, or claw back an over-refund.
• Cancel RMA (Cancel Returns): only before anything is received.
• Void RMA and Un-void RMA (Void Returns): reverse every effect to zero and seal the return, or reopen a voided one.

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Receive and Dispose Items

1. Open the RMA.
2. Select Receive & Inspect when the customer’s shipment arrives. The Receive & Inspect page opens with the return number.
3. Read the Why it is coming back box and any Office note at the top, then confirm the quantity received for each item, and the serial numbers when they apply. Each line shows its Reason and Notes so far so the dock knows what to expect before the box is opened.
4. Choose the condition: New / Resaleable, Used / Opened, Damaged, or Defective. Add photos and notes when they help. A note you type is saved with the line whether you inspect now or choose Receive, inspect later.
5. Book the goods into holding now and inspect later, or receive and grade in one step. Arcus says “Received into holding; parked for inspection” or “Received into holding and inspected; parked for disposition”. Receiving into holding does not move money or post to the ledger.
6. From the return, select Disposition Items (if you received the goods without grading them, select Inspect Items first) and choose per line: Restock, Write Off, Destroy, Quarantine, Refurbish (hold for rework), or Send to Vendor. For a restock, choose where the stock goes.

The dock flow (Dock receive (receive + dispose)) does both at once with Mark as Received + Dispose, and says “Return received and dispositioned”.

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Restocking Fees and Settlement

• The Return Summary shows the refund method, the goods amount, the restocking fee and any other fees or credits, and the net refund.
• Restocking fees can be edited before the RMA is closed, and your return settings may apply one automatically.
• The refund method chosen on the create page is recorded as the plan only. Settling a return works out what is owed but pays nothing and issues no credit, for any refund method. On an open return the Financial Settlement card says nothing is paid automatically: when the RMA is closed the amount owed is worked out and waits in the Ready for Refund worklist in AR Management (Finance > Receivables > AR Management) until someone issues it with Issue Refund. The card repeats what the return asked for: This RMA asks for store credit (a credit memo, no cash leaves) or This RMA asks for a refund to the original payment method.
• To pay the customer, someone with Refund / Void Payments selects Issue Refund at the top of the return page and chooses Original payment method(s), Store credit, Check, or External / outside Arcus. When the return asked for store credit or a credit memo and nothing has been paid on it, the dialog opens on Store credit and says This RMA asks for store credit (a credit memo, no cash leaves). It is preselected below. If you choose another destination it says The destination below differs from it. A credit memo, once issued, appears in the Financial Settlement panel.
• Finance staff can place a refund on hold with a question for the office from AR Management. While a hold stands, Issue Refund is refused with a message that names who put it on hold, when, and the question, and nothing is refunded until the office answers it and releases the hold in the Ready for Refund worklist.

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What Returns Change

• Inventory: receiving puts units in holding; restock moves them to sellable stock; write off, destroy, quarantine, and vendor return keep them out. Stepping back (un-receive, un-disposition, void) reverses those moves, and new stock levels go to your connected marketplaces.
• Accounting: dispositions post returned inventory, cost of goods sold, and write-offs to the general ledger, along with any restocking or other return fees; the refund or credit memo and the tax on it post when someone selects Issue Refund.
• Money: a refund goes back to the original card or payment through your payment processor, or becomes a credit memo or store credit. A cash refund is paid from a register drawer (Finance > Close & Reconcile > Cash Registers), and a check refund is recorded in the check register. A marketplace order is refunded on the marketplace.
• Carrier: a return label is bought through your shipping carrier and charged to your account.
• Emails: the customer can receive the authorization, the return label and return updates by email, depending on your notification settings. Each message is decided from the return’s current state: it quotes the goods still expected and the remaining estimated credit, and the authorization, label and replacement notices are not sent when the return no longer expects goods. A closed return is left out of receipt digests. The authorization email carries a printable return authorization document with the return number and barcode, the customer, the order, each item with its authorized quantity and reason, the Return to address, pack-and-ship instructions, and an estimated credit that is labeled as an estimate. A return migrated from an earlier system gets no automatic customer email.
• Audit trail: every step is recorded in the activity log, and others viewing the return see changes right away.

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Common Blocks

• Create RMA is disabled or missing: your role needs Create Returns; on the create page, the button says what is missing.
• Order not found: only fulfilled orders with items left to return appear. Search by the original order number and confirm the order belongs to the company you are working in.
• No items on the return: Arcus will not create a return without at least one line, so a return with no items was imported from your previous system. If goods are coming back, create a new return from the original order.
• Cannot receive: a return waiting for approval must be approved first, a Refund only (keep item) return is never received, and closed, cancelled, and voided RMAs do not allow further receiving or disposition. Arcus also refuses a receipt that would write nothing to stock: a return that already has units received will not take a second lot (“A further lot cannot be received on it yet”), so inspect and disposition what arrived or un-receive and receive the full quantity again. If your company has no active Holding location, the message says the returned goods have nowhere to land in stock and nothing was received; set up a Holding location in your location settings. A kit whose order line was never broken into components gives the same kind of refusal: edit the kit components first, then receive.
• Un-receive is refused: Un-receive drains every received unit or none. If some units cannot be found in the return’s own holding stock, the message says how many units are received, how many can be drained, and that the rest must be found first. Find the units, then try again.
• Issue Refund says the refund is on hold: a finance user placed a hold. The message names who held it and the question; answer it and release the hold from the Ready for Refund worklist in AR Management.
• A location or vendor is refused: the message says no location or vendor with that id exists in your company. Choose one from your own list.
• Restock location: Arcus preselects one; choose another before restocking if the goods belong elsewhere.
• Return label fails: confirm shipping settings, carrier connection, package size, package weight, and return address setup.
• Customer needs the label: check whether the label was emailed, then select Email to customer on the return label card, or Download PDF and send it yourself.
• Vendor return button missing: at least one item must be dispositioned to Send to Vendor first.
• Refund is missing on the list: the return is fully settled, has no original order, or is not yet received or dispositioned.

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