Sale returns — goods a customer sends back
When a customer returns goods, a Sale Return brings the stock back, credits the customer, and adjusts your GST — all in one voucher.
A Sale Return is what you raise when a customer sends goods back to you. It is the mirror image of a sale: the returned items come back into your stock, the customer's account is credited for the value, and your GST is adjusted as a credit note — automatically, in one step.
Raise a sale return
- 1
Open the voucher
Go to Transactions → Vouchers → Sale Return and choose the customer who is returning goods.
- 2
Add the returned items
Use the same item search bar you know from billing — type to find an item, set the quantity returned and the rate. Press F2 to create or edit an item on the spot if needed.
- 3
Match the original where you can
Using the same rate and tax treatment as the original sale keeps the figures clean, but it is not mandatory — you can raise the return on its own.
- 4
Add bill sundries if relevant
Freight or other charges from the original bill can be reversed here too, the same way you add them on a sale.
- 5
Save
Stock for those items goes up, the customer's balance comes down, and the credit note flows into your GST returns.
You don't need to find the original invoice
A sale return can be raised on its own, without hunting down the original sale — this is allowed and keeps day-to-day work fast. Matching the original item, rate, and type simply keeps your tax tidy.
Goods moved? Use this. Money only? Use a note.
If stock physically came back, a Sale Return is right because it corrects your inventory. If you are only refunding value with no goods returned, raise a Credit Note instead — see Credit & debit notes.
It shows up in GST as a credit note
A Sale Return is treated as a GST credit note and appears in the credit/debit-note section of your GST return for the period. Raise it in the right period so your filing matches your books.
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