A mug comes back chipped

At two in the afternoon, a customer comes back to the counter of the sample gift shop in this tour with one of the two stoneware mugs she bought last Saturday. It has a chip on the rim. She wants her money back, and the owner wants two things: to refund the right amount, and to make sure the chipped mug never goes back on the shelf where someone else could buy it. This tour shows the whole return on one screen in four stops.

Each stop is expanded below into what you do, what you see and why it matters. Then come a worked example of the refund, tips, common mistakes and where to go next.

What does the return screen look like?

New return lays out three steps on one screen: find the sale, say what came back, and decide what happens to the money. You work from top to bottom and finish with one button, Refund and finish.

Step by step

1. Start a new return and scan the receipt. The customer has last Saturday's receipt. The box asks you to scan or type the order number; the owner scans it and the sale comes up: ORD-2418, Saturday 26 September at 11:42, with three lines on it.
2. Read what can still come back. Each line shows how many were sold and how many are left to return. The mugs: 2 sold, 2 left. The cotton tea towel set: 1 sold, 1 left. The greeting card: 1 sold, 1 left. If part of this sale had already been returned, the "left" number would be lower.
3. Set the quantity coming back. One mug. The other two lines stay at zero. You cannot set more than what is left, so the same mug cannot be refunded twice.
4. Choose the condition. For each item coming back, pick Good to sell again or Damaged, don't sell. The mug is chipped, so Damaged. It will be refunded but will not go back into stock you can sell.
5. Decide what happens to the money. Two choices: Give the money back now, which is limited to what the customer actually paid, or Keep it as credit on their account, which comes off what they owe you. A walk-in customer with no account gets the money back.
6. Check the refund amount. It is what the customer paid for one mug, £9.50, VAT included. That is the figure on her receipt, so there is nothing to argue about.
7. Press Refund and finish. One button completes the return and puts it on record against the original sale. Pay the customer by the method you agreed, and put the mug aside for the supplier or the bin.

How does the refund work out?

The VAT inside the refund is one sixth of £9.50 at the standard 20% rate. Because the sale included VAT, the refund gives it back too, and the VAT on your records for the period goes down by the same £1.58. Our VAT guide for small businesses explains how refunds and credit notes affect what you owe.

After the return, the shop's records show one fewer mug sold, one mug written off as damaged rather than back in stock, and £9.50 out of the till or onto the customer's account.

Why does the condition matter so much?

Because the alternative is a chipped mug quietly going back on the shelf. If every return were simply added back to stock, the system would believe you had a sellable mug, Running low would not warn you when you were really short, and sooner or later another customer would buy it and bring it back.

Marking it Damaged, don't sell keeps the stock figure true. It also gives you a record of what comes back damaged, which matters when you talk to a supplier. If the same mugs keep arriving chipped, you have the returns to show for it. Our guide to stock control explains why damaged and sellable stock must be kept apart.

Tips for smoother returns

• Ask for the receipt first. Scanning it is the fastest and most accurate way to find the sale.
• Look at the item before choosing the condition. A box with a scuff is often still good to sell; a chipped rim is not.
• Offer credit to account customers. It keeps the money in the business and is often what regulars prefer.
• Keep damaged returns in one place. A box marked for the supplier stops them drifting back onto shelves.
• Count refunds into the cash-up. A cash refund leaves the drawer. Make sure it shows in your end-of-day count; the cash-up guide covers how.

Common mistakes

• Refunding by hand at the till. Taking money out of the drawer without a return leaves stock and sales wrong. Always go through Returns.
• Marking everything as good to sell. It is quicker but it puts faulty items back on the shelf and spoils your stock figures.
• Refunding more than was paid. If the item was bought on offer, the refund is the offer price, not the shelf price. Give the money back now is capped at what they paid for that reason.
• Returning the whole sale when only part came back. Set each line's quantity; leave the rest at zero.

What should you do next?

The sale returned here is like the one in the Saturday till tour, where options and offers are applied. At closing, cash up before locking the door shows how the day's cash should reconcile, refunds included. If damaged returns from one supplier keep piling up, order what is low is a good moment to raise it as you place the next order.

How EasyTaskr helps

EasyTaskr's Returns find the original sale, let you take back only what is left to return, keep damaged items out of sellable stock, and refund what the customer paid or put it on their account as credit. Customers with accounts carry balances you can see at any time. The shop and figures in this tour are sample data.