Purchase Return Management

Controlled Approval Workflow

Five-stage workflow (Draft → Submitted → Approved → Processing → Done) with manager-only approval and full chatter audit on every request.

Automatic Return-Line Generation

Return lines are generated straight from purchase order lines — lot/serial aware and capped by real on-hand stock at the chosen source location.

Location-Aware Returns

Ship from wherever the goods actually are — main stock, QC or rejection area — with quantities re-capped automatically when the source changes.

Return-to-Vendor Shipment

A return delivery picking chained to the original receipt moves for full traceability, correct valuation, and automatic PO quantity adjustment.

Vendor Credit Note Engine

Automatic partial vendor credit notes that absorb unbilled capacity into future billing and refund only what has already been billed.

Reporting & Analysis

SQL-backed purchase return analysis with graph, pivot, and list views, plus printable QWeb PDF return request documents.

Dependencies

stockaccountpurchase

Screenshots

1. Navigate to Inventory Module

Access the Inventory application from the main Odoo app dashboard to prepare tracked products.

2. Select Products Menu

Click on the Products menu in the navigation top bar to manage catalog items.

3. Create New Product

Click on the New button to open the product creation form.

4. Configure Product & Inventory Tracking

Enter product name, set cost price, and enable inventory tracking to control stock at lot or serial level.

5. Configure Security Access Rights

In Settings > Users & Companies, assign privileges to the Return User or Return Manager roles.

6. Access Purchase Module

Open the Purchase application to initiate vendor purchase orders.

7. Manage Vendor Contacts

Navigate to Purchase > Orders > Vendors and click New to add or select a supplier.

8. Create & Confirm Purchase Order

Create a Purchase Order with products and quantities, then click Confirm Order.

9. Receive Goods on Purchase Order

Click Receive Products to record incoming inventory for the purchase order.

10. Validate Incoming Receipt

Validate the receipt operation to record received stock quantities into the warehouse location.

11. Open Return Application

Click on the Return app icon from the main menu launcher to begin managing vendor returns.

12. Purchase Return Requests Dashboard

View all existing return requests or click New to create a new return authorization.

13. Select Vendor & Purchase Order

Select the vendor and purchase order to automatically generate location-aware return lines.

14. Optional Bill & Receipt Linkage

Optionally select specific reference vendor bills or receipts for precise refund calculation.

15. Specify Return Quantities & Submit

Enter the requested return quantities — capped automatically by stock on hand — and click Submit.

16. Approval Process & Execution Tracking

Track full approval progression with chatter updates and access linked stock pickings via smart buttons.

Lot & Location-Aware Return Lines

Return lines are generated automatically from the purchase order — one per lot actually received — and capped by real on-hand stock at the chosen source location, so users can only claim goods that are genuinely available to return.

• Returnable quantity capped by on-hand stock per lot at the source location
• Serial-tracked products constrained to a return quantity of 0 or 1 per line
• Live visibility of ordered, received, billed, on-hand, and returnable quantities
• Changing the source location automatically re-generates and re-caps every line

Return-to-Vendor Shipment with Full Traceability

A single return-to-vendor delivery picking moves goods from the source location back to the vendor's supplier location — chained to the original receipt moves so every return is fully traceable and correctly valued.

• Uses the configured return operation type, falling back to an outgoing type
• Return moves chained to original receipt moves (newest first) for accurate valuation
• PO received quantity adjusts automatically when the picking is validated
• Request auto-completes to Done once the whole shipping chain is done

Vendor Credit Note & Refund Engine

The module drafts vendor credit notes automatically — absorbing unbilled capacity into future billing and refunding only the amount that eats into already-billed totals, with a clear per-line breakdown in the chatter.

• Optional reference vendor bill and receipt linkage for precise refunds
• Refund targets the selected or newest covering bill, accounting for existing refunds
• Concurrency-safe across multiple open requests on the same PO line or lot
• Warns when fewer units are shipped back than were requested