New to Retailer 260X.3,
Retailer's Returns Authorisations console lets you build, send, track, and complete a returns claim against a single supplier. You choose the supplier and the range of stock you want to return, review and adjust the list, send it to the supplier, record what they authorise, and then push the authorised titles into Retailer's stock returns for credit. Each claim is saved and carries a status so you can see where it is at any time.

This feature was built for the book trade, where stores return unsold titles to publishers and suppliers for credit, but it works for any supplier you return stock to for credit.

Note: Returns Authorisations is separate from the magazine and newspaper returns process used by newsagents. It does not change or replace that process. If you return magazines through Stock Returns > Return Stock, keep using that. Returns Authorisations is a different screen for a different job.

Before you start

Returns Authorisations is a licensed Retailer module, available on the Ultimate software rental plan. If it is not on your plan, the menu item is still shown but is greyed out and cannot be clicked. Hover over it to see how to add it to your plan, or contact accounts@towersystems.com.au to have it added.

To use the console you also need the Returns Authorisations staff permission. If you can see the menu item but the console will not open, ask whoever manages your Retailer user permissions to grant it.

Opening the console

From the main menu in Retailer, go to Stock > Stock Returns > Returns Authorisations.

The Saved Returns Authorisations list opens first. This is your home base for the feature.

The Saved Returns Authorisations list

The list shows every returns request you have created. Each row shows:

• RRN# the request number Retailer assigns to each claim, for example RRN#001
• Supplier
• Supplier RA No. the authorisation number the supplier gives you, once you record it
• Range type how the request was built (Recall, Arrival Date, Invoice Number, or Manual)
• Created and Submission due dates
• Lines, Qty, and Exp. Credit totals
• Status with a coloured status icon

Use the Supplier filter at the top to show requests for one supplier only.

By default the list shows only in-progress requests. Tick Show all (incl. completed and rejected) to also see requests that are finished or were rejected.

To work on a request, select it and click Open, or double-click the row. To start a new claim, click + New request.

Step 1: Create a new request

Click + New request to open the New Returns Authorisation dialog.

1. Choose the Supplier.
2. Choose a Range type. This decides which stock Retailer offers you to return:
   • Recall shows titles due for recall within the dates you set. This option is only available for book recall suppliers. It is not offered for magazine and newspaper suppliers.
   • Arrival date shows stock that arrived from this supplier within the dates you set.
   • Invoice number shows the stock from one supplier invoice. You enter or pick the invoice number, for example INV-AU-4402.
   • Manual starts with an empty list. You add every title yourself. Use this when you want full control over what goes on the claim.
3. Depending on the range type, set the Recall date from / to, the Arrival date range, or the Invoice number.
4. Optionally set a Submission due date, the date the return needs to reach the supplier. This is shown on the list and printed on the form. It does not send a reminder in this release.
5. Click List stock -> to build the request and open the console.
   
   

Step 2: Review and adjust the request

The console opens with the title bar Returns Authorisations and the status shown at the top, for example Status: Draft. The grid lists the stock for the supplier and range you chose.

Each line shows: Description, Author (for book suppliers), Department, Category, ISBN / Barcode, SSC (the supplier's own stock code), Orig. Inv. (the originating invoice), Range, QOH (quantity on hand), Retail, Cost, Qty to Return, a free-text Note, Incl. (included), the Quarantine controls, Exp. Credit, and GST. A Multi marker shows when a title's stock spans more than one arrival. A running total is shown in the footer row.

What you can do here:

• Set the quantity to return. Edit Qty to Return on any line. It defaults to the lesser of the range quantity and the current quantity on hand.
• Include or exclude lines. Untick Incl. to leave a line off the claim. Use Include all to tick every line, or Include qty > 0 to include only lines that have a quantity to return.
• Add a title that is not listed. Click Find or Add item to search your stock and add a line. If you try to add a title you have never had an arrival for from this supplier, Retailer warns you.
• Remove a line. Click the trash-can Delete in the line, or select the line and click Remove line.
• Reorder the list. Use Order by Description, Order by Author, Order by Department, or Order by Category.
• Add a note to any line if you need to tell the supplier something about it.

Click Save at any time. The request is saved with its RRN and appears in the Saved Returns Authorisations list.

Note: You must choose a supplier before you can add items, and you must have at least one line before you can save or send.

Step 3 (optional): Quarantine stock you are returning

Quarantining sets aside the stock you are returning so it cannot be sold while the return is in progress. This is useful for faulty or dead-on-arrival stock you want off the shop floor and off your website straight away, held aside until the supplier credits it.

• Tick Quarantine on a line and set the Quar. qty, or click Quarantine all to quarantine every included line.
• Quarantined stock is taken out of your saleable quantity on hand, so it will not sell at the point of sale and will not show as available to your website.
• The request must be saved before you can quarantine. Retailer offers to save it for you.
• Quarantining is reversible while the request is still editable. Un-ticking a line, reducing the quantity, excluding or removing the line, deleting the request, or a supplier rejection all return the stock to your saleable quantity on hand.

You can review everything currently set aside through the Stock List. The quarantined figure for a title also shows on the stock screen, and you can drill from there into the requests holding it.

Step 4: Send the request to the supplier

When the claim is ready, you send it to the supplier through your own channel and then mark it as sent.

• Click Export to produce a CSV file of the included lines. Choose where to save it, then send that file to your supplier the way you normally do, for example by email or through their portal. Export does not change the request status, so you can export as many times as you need.
• Or click Print pick list to print the request.
• Once you have sent it, click Send to supplier and confirm. This marks the request as Sent and records the sent date. It does not create or email a file on its own, so make sure you have exported or printed the claim first.
  
  

Step 5: Record the supplier's response

When the supplier replies, open the request and click Record response to open the Record Supplier Response dialog.

1. Enter the Supplier RA number (required). This is printed on the final returns form.
2. Set the Response date.
3. Optionally enter a Supplier credit ref.
4. For each line, set Qty Auth. (the quantity the supplier authorised) against Qty Req. (what you asked for). The Line result and QOH now columns help you see what changed.
   • A full authorisation is where the authorised quantity matches the requested quantity on every line.
   • A partial authorisation is where the supplier accepts some titles or quantities but not others. Set the authorised quantity lower on those lines, or zero for a line they declined.
   • If every line is authorised at zero, the whole request is treated as rejected.
5. The Resolves to: line shows the resulting status.
6. Click Save response.

The request moves to Authorised, Part Authorised, or Rejected, and the authorised date is recorded.

Once a request is Authorised or Part Authorised it becomes editable again, so you can reconcile it to exactly what the supplier accepted before you push it. If a title's quantity on hand has dropped since you built the claim, Retailer automatically reduces that line to the quantity you actually have and colour-codes the row so you can see the change.

A rejected request can be reopened for editing with Reopen to Draft if you want to rework and resend it.

Step 6: Finalise the return

Finalising pushes the authorised lines into Retailer's stock returns and completes the return. Only an Authorised or Part Authorised request can be finalised.

Click Finalise to open the Finalise Returns Authorisation dialog.

The dialog confirms the returns request number (RRN), the Supplier RA number, the number of Authorised lines, the Total quantity to return, the Expected credit, and the GST. Tick Print the returns form on finalise if you want the returns form printed as part of completing.

This is the deliberate checkpoint. Nothing is moved and nothing is written until you click Finalise & complete return. If you click Cancel, the request stays as it was and nothing changes.

When you confirm:

• The authorised lines are written into Retailer's existing stock returns as completed, so the return is not processed a second time.
• Each title's quantity on hand is reduced once for the returned quantity. Stock you had already quarantined for the return converts to a permanent reduction rather than being taken off twice.
• The returns form is produced, so you do not need to switch to the returns scanning screen.
• The request moves to Completed.

A completed request stays viewable and can be reprinted, but its stock will not be decremented again. You can reprint the form later with View returns form / reprint.

Understanding the statuses

A request moves through these statuses:

• Draft you are still building or editing the request. In the saved list a not-yet-sent request shows as Saved.
• Sent you have marked the request as sent to the supplier.
• Authorised the supplier authorised everything you asked for.
• Part Authorised the supplier authorised some lines or quantities but not all.
• Rejected the supplier declined the whole request.
• Completed you have finalised the return and it has been pushed into stock returns.

Each status has its own colour in the saved list so you can scan the list at a glance. Completed and rejected requests are muted and are hidden unless you tick Show all.

Tips

Seeds to expand during the recording pass:

• Export produces the file to send, Send to supplier only records that you have sent it. Do the export first.
• Print is available at every status, so you can print a copy of the claim at any stage.
• Reopening a draft re-checks live quantity on hand, so the numbers stay honest if stock has sold since you built the claim.
  
  

Common mistakes to watch out for

Seeds confirmed from the software:

• Select the supplier first. You cannot add items until a supplier is chosen.
• Add at least one line. You cannot save or send an empty request.
• Only Authorised or Part Authorised requests can be finalised. If Finalise does nothing, check the status and record the supplier response first.
• Enter the Supplier RA number when recording the response. It is required and it prints on the returns form.
• Quarantine needs a saved request. Save first, or let Retailer save it for you when prompted.
• Check quantities after a response. If stock has sold since the claim was built, lines are auto-reduced to what you have on hand and highlighted. Review the highlighted rows before finalising.
  
  

Related articles

• Return Stock (magazine and newspaper returns)
• Return GST Credit Report