Point of Sale · Daily operations · 7 min read

Return goods and void a bill

Give back part or all of a sale from its receipt, and know when a void is the right tool.

Before you begin

• You have an open session and pos.sell.
• To look up the original bill you need pos.return.
• To void a bill you need pos.void and a manager as approver.
• You have the receipt number (or can read it from the customer's receipt).

Return from the original receipt

1. On the sell screen press Return (F8).
2. Type the Receipt number, for example POS01-20261002-000007.
3. Press Find. The table shows each line: Item, Sold, Returned, Left.
4. Press Return these. Every remaining line goes back into the cart as a return.
5. Press PAYMENT and refund the customer. Press Complete sale.

If nothing is found the till says 'No bill <number>'. If there is nothing left, it says 'Nothing left to return'.

What happens next

• The return is a bill of its own with a negative total and is linked to the original, line by line.
• The refund uses the original price and discount. A promotion that has since ended is not applied again.
• Stock goes back at the original cost.
• A cash refund reduces the expected cash in the drawer by the same amount.
• Coupon value and loyalty points come back in proportion (see below).

Worked example

The customer bought Milk x 3 for 31.50 in cash and returns one.

• Return 1: -10.50 (net 10.00, VAT 0.50). Cash out of the drawer 10.50.
• Return 2 more: allowed. Nothing remains.
• Return 1 more: refused with 'Return quantity exceeds what remains on the original sale.'

Another example: Rice 20.00 x 2 with a 4.00 line discount (36.00). Returning 1 unit refunds 18.00 (net 17.14, VAT 0.86).

Coupons and loyalty

A bill with a 12.00 coupon discount on 120.00: returning half of the lines returns coupon value in proportion (6.00). A bill that earned 200 points: a return of 25 % of the bill reverses 50 points. If points were redeemed on the bill, the same share is restored with the original expiry.

Good to know

• A linked return must name lines from the original sale: 'Choose a line from the original sale.' The original must exist: 'Original sale was not found.'
• A return with no original bill is accepted as a blind return; the system does not check quantity or price. Control this by permission and supervision.
• Coupons cannot be used on a return: 'Coupons can only be redeemed on a sale.' Loyalty cannot be redeemed on one either.

Void a bill

A void cancels a bill after the sale. The bill is kept (state voided), stock is reversed and expected cash falls by the cash taken. In a session already posted to Finance, a reversing journal is posted.

A void is not available on the till screen yet. Your administrator does it through the system's integration interface with:

• A written reason: otherwise 'A void needs a reason.'
• A manager's user id as approver: otherwise 'A void after the sale needs a manager's approval.'

The system stores the id you give as approver; it does not check what that person is allowed to do. Use a real manager and keep the record honest.

Refusals:

Voided and cancelled bills are listed under Point of Sale > Transactions > Voids and Cancelled bills. Voids appear in Exception transactions.

Returns are listed under Point of Sale > Operations > Returns and Transactions > POS returns.