Returns and finance

A return begins with a direction, party, reason and quantity bounded by the original delivered or received line. Authorization permits the physical work; it does not itself create a credit or refund. Return lines retain their original stock and commercial references. Disposition then decides how actual returned quantity is treated.

Accountant prepares the customer invoice from eligible title-transferred quantity and accepted net allocation. Finance Manager independently approves the frozen document before posting. A partial delivery can create partial billing while the remainder stays open. Customer cash is first recorded as a receipt with unapplied value, then a cash application reserves and allocates only the available amount to a specific invoice.

• Return scope. Connect each request to the original line and unused quantity.
• Invoice basis. Use transferred title and the accepted price allocation.
• Settlement. Separate a recorded receipt, an application and bank reconciliation.

Agree who can authorize a return, which physical condition drives disposition and when Finance Manager reviews a refund or credit. Define the open accounting period and approved currency rate before invoicing. Connect actual bank statement lines to settlement evidence. Give Accountant the unmatched receipts and invoices to resolve without allowing a payment instruction or credit note to masquerade as settled cash.

Return part of a delivered order after the original customer invoice posts. Authorize only the remaining eligible return quantity, record the actual receipt and disposition, then prepare a linked credit note. Check the original dispatch remains intact. Record a customer receipt smaller than the open invoice and apply it once; the outstanding amount should remain, while a second application beyond unapplied cash is refused.

A supplier return follows the same source discipline: the physical movement traces the accepted receipt, while a supplier credit traces the original commercial amount. Those amounts can differ after a stock value change. At period close, reconcile open invoices, unapplied cash, supplier obligations and bank evidence by legal entity. A correction uses a linked record so the posted history still explains the original transaction.

For a partial refund, Accountant first checks the linked credit and the customer cash already applied. Finance Manager reviews the payment decision against the remaining eligible amount. A refund instruction stays distinct from bank settlement, which the team reconciles from its actual statement line.

• Returns Awaiting Authorization — Show physical requests needing a human decision.
• Invoices Awaiting Approval — Review prepared bills against eligible delivered scope.
• Period Close Work — Follow unresolved reconciliations at cutoff.

Follow the operating process and use the data model when mapping source records.