The quick answer
A return that has been approved and fully received reads Pending Refund. Go to Transactions > Customers > Refund Returns, pick the customer, check Credit/Refund on the return and click Submit. If the return's Return Type is Credit, NetSuite opens a credit memo built from the return, with the received quantity and the authorized price. Check the lines, click Save, and the return moves to Refunded. The Refund button on the return itself gets you to the same credit memo for a single return.
The screenshots show sample data. Person and operating-company names are fictional. Use your own records and values when following the steps.
Before you start
In this example, Pinecrest Landscaping sent back 2 SP-30 Backpack Sprayers at 84.50 each because a spray wand cracked in transit. Return authorization 1042 for 169.00 was approved and both units were received, so the return now sits in Pending Refund. Accounts receivable needs to give the customer the credit. There's no tax, discount, or shipping on the return.
Receiving the goods back doesn't settle anything with the customer. Until a credit memo or cash refund exists, they're still carrying a charge for sprayers they no longer have.
A few things depend on your account:
- With Advanced Receiving on, a return normally has to be received before it can be credited, and the credit covers only the quantity received. Refund in Advance of Return (Setup > Accounting > Accounting Preferences) lets eligible returns be credited first.
- The return authorization's form decides whether you get a credit memo or a cash refund. A cash-type return opens a Cash Refund and can't be turned into a credit memo later.
- Your role needs access to return authorizations and credit memos (and cash refunds, for cash-type returns), and the credit memo's posting period has to be open.
01. Find the return that's ready to credit
Go to Transactions > Customers > Issue Return Authorizations > List. In the Status column, return 1042 for Pinecrest Landscaping reads Pending Refund: received and waiting on a credit. Click View on that row.
The return shows the Pending Refund badge, the Memo Spray wand cracked on arrival, and a Summary with Subtotal 169.00 and Total 169.00. The Refund button here would credit this one return directly. This guide uses the Refund Returns queue instead, since it shows every return waiting on accounts receivable.
02. Open the Refund Returns queue
Go to Transactions > Customers > Refund Returns. The page is titled Refund Return Authorization. With Customer set to - All -, it lists two returns:
- 1039 for Holloway Nursery, Return Total 412.80, Return Type Cash
- 1042 for Pinecrest Landscaping, Return Total 169.00, Return Type Credit
Return Type tells you what Submit will create: a credit memo for Credit, a cash refund for Cash. If your account shows nothing until a customer is chosen, go straight to the customer filter.
In Customer, select Pinecrest Landscaping. The list narrows to return 1042.
03. Select the return and submit it
Check Credit/Refund on return 1042 and click Submit. Because its Return Type is Credit, NetSuite opens a new Credit Memo. A Cash return would open a Cash Refund instead.
You can check several returns at once. Each one gets its own credit memo or cash refund, so check each of them before saving.
04. Review the credit memo
The credit memo is filled in from the return. Customer is Pinecrest Landscaping and Memo is Spray wand cracked on arrival. Credit # reads To Be Generated until you save.
Further down, on this form Created From sits under Sales Information and shows Return Authorization #1042. That link is what ties the credit to the return. Location under Classification came over from the return too: Main Warehouse. Field placement can differ on other forms, so look for the same fields wherever your form puts them.
On the Items subtab, the line shows SP-30 Backpack Sprayer, Quantity 2, Rate 84.50, Amount 169.00. The quantity should match what was received. If only part of the return arrived, credit only that part and leave the rest for a later receipt and credit.
On this form, Applied 0.00 and Unapplied 169.00 sit at the top of the Items subtab. Nothing is applied to an invoice yet, so the whole credit stays available. Use the Apply tab only if you want to apply it right away. The Summary shows Subtotal 169.00 and Total 169.00; tax, discounts, or shipping on a return would make the total differ from quantity times rate.
05. Save and confirm the return is Refunded
Click Save. The credit memo is saved as CM-2207 with status Open and Total 169.00.
Under Sales Information, Created From still links to Return Authorization #1042. Click it.
Return 1042 now reads Refunded. The Refund and Close buttons are gone, since there's nothing left to credit.
On its Items subtab, the line reads Returned 2 and Refunded 2. After a partial receipt and credit, those numbers would differ and the return would stay in an intermediate status until the rest is received and credited.
Back on Refund Returns with Customer set to Pinecrest Landscaping, return 1042 is gone and the list says No records to show.
The 169.00 is now an unapplied credit on Pinecrest Landscaping's account. It lowers their net balance but doesn't touch any particular invoice. Apply it to an open invoice or pay it out with a customer refund as a separate step.
Common questions
Why did my return create a cash refund instead of a credit memo?
The return authorization uses a cash-type form, so its Return Type is Cash and Submit opens a Cash Refund. A credit memo comes from a Credit-type return. Changing the payment method on the refund doesn't convert it, so if the customer should get a credit instead, the return needs a credit-type form.
Do I have to receive the return before crediting it?
With Advanced Receiving on, yes. The credit memo carries only the quantity recorded as received, which is why both sprayers had to be received before the 169.00 credit. The Refund in Advance of Return preference lets eligible returns be credited before the goods arrive.
Why doesn't my return appear on Refund Returns?
Only returns waiting on a credit or refund show up there. Check that the return is approved, received if your account requires it, in Pending Refund, and not already credited. If the list is empty with Customer set to - All -, pick the customer, or type the number in Select Return Number.
Can I credit several returns at once?
Yes. Check Credit/Refund on each eligible return and click Submit. Each return still gets its own credit memo or cash refund, so open each one and check the customer, quantities, and amounts.
What happens to the customer's balance?
Saving the credit memo creates an open customer credit. Here CM-2207 is Open with 169.00 unapplied, which lowers Pinecrest Landscaping's net balance without paying down any specific invoice. Applying it to an invoice or refunding it to the customer is a separate step.
Why is my return still not Refunded after I issued a credit memo?
The return reaches Refunded only when everything authorized has been received and credited. If one of two units arrived and you credited that one, the other is still outstanding, so the return stays in an intermediate status until it's received and credited too. A return whose lines are all closed shows Closed instead.