RMAs
Customer return authorizations: receive shipped goods, disposition them, issue credit, and create replacements.
A return merchandise authorization (RMA) records what a customer is allowed to send back. It ties the returned quantity to the original sale when possible, then keeps receiving, material disposition, customer credit, and replacement fulfillment connected without treating them as one event.
What an RMA controls
Confirming an RMA authorizes a return; it does not move inventory or post accounting. The physical movement begins when you choose Receive and the resulting . Credit and replacement actions are separate, so you can receive goods before deciding the final commercial outcome.
Whenever the original delivery is known, add lines from a posted . Carbon shows shipped lines for the selected customer that still have quantity available to return. A source-linked line retains links to its sales order, shipment, and invoice, and confirmation prevents the combined quantity on active RMAs from exceeding what originally shipped.
Use Add manually for a blind return when the original document is unavailable. A manual line is not checked against a source-document return limit, so review its item and quantity before confirmation.
An RMA is the authorization, not the receipt. Inventory, cost, and the received counter change only when the return receipt is posted.
Header fields
RMA sequence when you do not enter one.Line fields
After confirmation, the item, quantity, unit, price, restock fee, and source links are fixed. Reopen the RMA before changing those structural fields. Return reason and disposition remain the operational controls while the RMA is open.
Status
Status is driven only by receiving. Posting receipts increases each line's received quantity; voiding a receipt reverses it. Stop Receiving short-closes an outstanding line, while Resume Receiving makes that remainder expected again. There is no manual Complete action, and issuing credit, setting disposition, creating a replacement, or shipping goods back does not complete the RMA.
Only one Draft receipt can exist for an RMA. Choosing Receive again opens that receipt instead of creating a duplicate, and it includes only quantities that are still outstanding.
Tracked items and disposition
For a - or -tracked item, select the identity that physically arrived on the receipt. The RMA line itself does not reserve an expected identity. Carbon offers consumed identities from posted shipments to the same customer; a blind return can use the normal serial or batch entry flow.
Posting the receipt puts returned tracked stock On Hold. Disposition determines what happens next:
- Use As Is releases held tracked stock to Available.
- Scrap or Rework opens a linked . Closing that issue performs the material disposition; Rework currently releases the tracked stock and does not create a production job.
- Return to Customer makes received quantity eligible for a no-revenue shipment back to the customer.
A fully received RMA becomes Completed immediately. Set the intended disposition while the RMA is still open when possible, especially on a one-line return.
Credit and replacement orders
Issue Credit creates a Draft customer for received quantity that is not already reserved by another non-voided memo. The amount is quantity × unit price, less the restock fee. Creating the memo does not post it, apply it to an invoice, or refund cash; finish those steps in the normal memo and settlement flow.
Create Replacement creates a separate Draft sales order. It copies every authorized RMA line at its full return quantity and resolves current pricing, so review the new order if the replacement should be free or use warranty pricing. Replacement shipment has no effect on RMA completion.