A shelf of parts waiting to go back
Every bodyshop has one: the corner of the stores with parts that are wrong, damaged or not needed after all. A creased wing from the dealer, a bumper for the pre-facelift model, a pair of mouldings from a supplementary that was declined. Some have a returns note taped to them. Some are waiting for the dealer's driver to collect. One has been there since spring.
Each of those parts is on a supplier invoice. Each should come back as a credit. At month end, the invoices are paid in full because nobody has time to tie the credits to the returns.
Returns are a side task with no owner
Ordering is someone's job and fitting is someone's job, but returns are whatever happens when the parts person has a spare moment. The supplier's driver takes the part, a copy of the returns note may or may not be kept, and the credit arrives weeks later on a statement with a reference that means nothing on its own.
- Returns are agreed by phone and the returns number is written on the box.
- Collection by the supplier's driver is not recorded.
- Credit notes arrive separately from invoices, often grouped, and are hard to match.
- Some suppliers charge a restocking fee or refuse returns after a time, which nobody notices until too late.
Where the money quietly goes
Parts that are never credited are a straight cost on the job, and they add up across a year of repairs. Parts that were ordered for a job and not fitted can end up invoiced to the work provider when they should not be, which causes invoice queries and credibility problems. The shelf of returns also takes space and gets knocked about.
The other cost is time. When an accounts person finally sits down to reconcile a supplier statement, they are matching months of returns from memory.
How we build a parts returns log
- When a part is found wrong, damaged or not needed, the parts person logs it on a tablet: job, part number, reason, photos of the part and packaging, and the supplier's returns reference.
- The log links the return to the original order and the supplier invoice line, so the expected credit value is known.
- Collection is recorded when the driver takes it, with a photo of the signed returns note.
- Credit notes arriving by email or on statements are read and matched to open returns where the reference allows. Anything unclear goes to a person.
- Open returns without a credit are listed by supplier and age, ready for the accounts team to raise when paying.
- Parts on the returns shelf for too long, or near a supplier's return deadline, are flagged.
| Return status | Who acts | What the log shows |
|---|---|---|
| Logged | Parts person | Reason, photos, job |
| Returns number received | Parts person | Supplier reference |
| Collected | Goods in | Signed note, date |
| Credited | Accounts | Credit note matched |
| Overdue | Accounts | Supplier, value, age |
Where you use Xero or another accounting package that allows it, matched credits can be marked there too, so the supplier balance agrees.
What the stores and accounts see afterwards
The returns shelf empties, because every item on it has a status and someone is prompted to move it. When a supplier statement arrives, accounts can see which credits are owed and hold back payment on the right lines if that is your policy.
Wrong parts also become visible as a pattern: one supplier sending the wrong variant, or orders going wrong because the estimate did not carry the build date. That is worth knowing.
Signs your credits are slipping
- There is a shelf of parts waiting to go back.
- Supplier statements are paid without checking for outstanding credits.
- Returns references are written on boxes rather than recorded.
- You have been refused a return because it was too late.
- Nobody can say what value of returns is currently owed to you.