Keep three events separate
A customer can request a return before dispatching it. A parcel can arrive before anyone inspects it. An inspection can finish before the stock record is updated. Treat these as separate events so the team knows what still needs doing.
Give the return a reference linked to the original order where possible. Record the product and quantity expected, then compare them with the parcel actually received. A return request for two items should not automatically add two units to stock. If only one arrives, the remaining unit is an unresolved return, not an inventory adjustment to make the request look complete.
Inspect for the next use
In a fictional example, a customer returns four cabinet handles. Two are unopened, one has scratched plating, and one is a different size. Recording four saleable handles would combine three distinct decisions. A practical inspection record identifies each outcome and who approved it.
Define your own condition categories before the receiving team needs them: ready for normal sale, held for further assessment, or unsuitable for normal sale. Keep held goods physically separate. Product-specific inspection and safety requirements may need specialist procedures; a generic software guide cannot establish that a returned item is suitable for reuse. Avoid relabelling an uncertain unit as new simply because the order permits a restock action.
Choose the inventory action deliberately
InFlow's sales-order documentation distinguishes returned products from the subsequent Restock or Discard action. That means the existence of a return line alone should not be treated as evidence that stock has re-entered the usable supply. Check the actual resulting quantity and location after the chosen action.
If your process holds goods for assessment, verify how that holding location affects availability and picking in your configuration. Merely naming a location “quarantine” does not guarantee it is excluded from all order promises. Keep customer communication and any payment resolution separate from the physical stock decision; this guide does not determine refund entitlements or accounting treatment.
Close with a traceable disposition
For each arrived item, record what was received, what condition was found, what action was taken, and where the item went. If a replacement is supplied, keep its dispatch connected to the case without pretending it is the same movement as the incoming return.
Review recurring reasons: incorrect picking, confusing descriptions, size mismatches or damage during handling may each need different repairs. A small return log can be adequate when volumes are low and one person owns the process. A larger team benefits from linked records and explicit permissions, but software cannot replace an inspection standard. Your next step is to take one recent return and verify that another person can trace it from the request to its final location and saleability decision.
Sources used for this page
These records support the facts and comparisons above. Merchant-controlled records are labelled so you can separate product claims from independent evidence.
- inFlow: sales orders and returns — Merchant documentation · inflowinventory.com · Merchant-controlled · checked 2026-09-24