A box of faulty parts in the back of the van
A customer calls because a gearbox your engineer fitted a month ago has failed. The engineer goes back, fits another at no charge and puts the faulty one in a box in the van, with a note that says "return". The box also holds a cylinder with a stiff cam, a handle with a broken spring and something nobody can identify.
Some of these are eventually taken to the wholesaler's counter. The counter staff take them and say the credit will come through. It might. Nobody at your end checks, because nobody wrote down what was returned, when, or against which original invoice. At the end of the year the box is still half full.
Returns fall between the job and the accounts
A faulty part return involves the engineer, the original job, the new job, the wholesaler and the accounts. None of them owns the process from start to finish.
- The original purchase invoice for the part is not linked to the job it was fitted on.
- The engineer records the free return visit, if at all, as a job with no charge.
- Faulty parts are not labelled with job, date or fault.
- Returns to the wholesaler have no reference your office can track.
- Credit notes arrive in the accounts without anyone matching them to a return.
Paying twice for the same part
Each unreturned or uncredited part means your business has paid for two parts and been paid for one, plus the free return visit. Individually small, these add up over a year, and nobody sees the total because it is scattered. You also lose useful information: which products or suppliers keep failing.
A returns log that closes the loop
We build a simple returns process linked to your job records and accounting software.
- When an engineer attends a failed part, they mark the job as a warranty return visit and pick the faulty part and the original job from the property's history.
- The system looks up the original purchase from your supplier invoices where they are linked, or asks the office to confirm it.
- A returns label is generated with a reference, the part, the fault description, the original job and invoice, to go with the part.
- When the part is handed to the supplier, the return is marked as sent, with the supplier's own reference if they give one.
- Credit notes from the supplier are matched to open returns in your accounting software, automatically where the reference matches and by the office where it does not.
- Returns with no credit after a set time appear on a chase list, and a report shows failures by product and supplier.
| Stage | Today | With the returns log |
|---|---|---|
| Part fails | Free visit, part in a box | Warranty return job linked to original |
| Part labelled | Handwritten note, if any | Label with reference and fault |
| Returned to supplier | At the counter, no record | Marked sent with supplier reference |
| Credit arrives | Not matched | Matched to the return |
| No credit | Never noticed | Chase list |
Whether a supplier accepts a return is between you and them under their terms. The log makes sure you ask, and notice when the answer never comes.
Credits arrive and the box empties
Faulty parts go back promptly with the information the supplier needs. Credits are matched rather than hoped for. The office can see what is outstanding with each supplier. And after a few months, the failure report shows which products cause the most callbacks, which feeds straight into what you stock.
Engineers stop carrying a mystery box around. The part goes back with its label within the week, the office sees it on the open returns list, and when the credit note lands in Xero or QuickBooks it is matched without anyone hunting for the original invoice. If a credit never comes, the chase list says so while the return is still fresh enough to argue about.
Is this happening in your vans?
- Faulty parts sit in vans waiting to be returned.
- Nobody checks whether supplier credits arrive.
- Free return visits are not linked to the original job.
- You do not know which products fail most often.
- Returns are handed over at the counter with no reference.