Return scanning — find or create a return

The Return scanning screen is the main way to handle an individual parcel. Its subtitle says: Scan a shipping label or product EAN, or search for a customer.

At the top, the daily counters show Your returns today and Product units.

Step by step

1. Open Scan with Alt+1 in the quick-action bar. The cursor is already in Scan a code or type..., so there is no need to click the field.
2. Leave the mode on Auto and scan the label code. The scanner submits it automatically. If you type it manually, press Enter; short codes are not submitted automatically.
3. One unambiguous match — one order with no earlier return: the system creates a return and opens its details immediately. No click is needed; continue at step 8. Exception: a label for a parcel we sent but the courier failed to deliver does not open a return by itself before the system creates an expected return for it. Instead, the order card appears with the Undelivered parcel chip.
4. One order card — a parcel label or return number matching an order with an earlier return (or the undelivered-parcel exception above) shows that order’s card. Its heading is Order for this parcel found (or, for a return number, Order with this return number found). It is the same card shown after a search and is expanded already. Handle it as described in step 5.
5. Several suggestions — first click an order card to expand it; its buttons are inside. You can use Order #… to open the order in a new tab, Return #… to open an existing return (an open return can be completed; a closed one can only be viewed), or Open new return, followed by the confirmation Are you sure you want to open a new return? → Yes.
6. No match — the heading says Not found or Possible matches. Switch to EAN mode; only then does Search filters (optional) appear. Enter details from the parcel: First/Last name, City, Postal code, Days back, Phone number, Email, Country, Order ID (internal), Allegro waybill, and External ID, then scan again. If you do not have an EAN, switch to Customer, enter the name, phone, or email printed on the parcel and press Enter.
7. If the parcel has several products, enable Scan multiple EANs in the same section, enter the codes one by one, and click Search (N EANs). This field replaces the regular scan field.
8. Assess the items in the return details and close the return. The system returns to the scanner automatically so you can handle the next parcel.

You cannot open filters or multiple EAN search in Auto mode. Switching the mode to EAN is the only way to reach this section.

Scan modes

• Auto — the system determines what kind of code it is.
• EAN — treats the code as a product EAN. If a barcode is unreadable, enter the product SKU; the system checks it if no EAN matches. Case, spaces, and leading zeroes do not matter. If the SKU belongs to several active products, the system will not suggest one; enter the exact SKU or scan its EAN.
• Customer — find an order without an EAN using the customer’s first and last name (including an abbreviation such as JaKo for Jan Kowalski), phone, or email from the last 90 days. The field does not submit as you type; press Enter. Results are always cards for you to check; filters from EAN mode do not apply here.
• Ramp — receive a batch from a courier. This appears only when dock receipt or bulk scanning is enabled. Details: Ramp — return baskets and batch scan on receipt.

Codes the system recognizes

Courier codes are recognized by their patterns, including Allegro, InPost, DPD, and DHL, along with EANs, order numbers, and marketplace return numbers. The system can strip additions inserted by labels, such as GS1 prefixes and suffixes added by some carriers, and cope with similar-looking characters being confused.

It also recognizes a marketplace-issued return number (for example, the return number on an Allegro return label) if that return arrived as an advance notice. A waybill number takes precedence: a code recognized as a parcel number is always treated as a parcel. The same return number can occur on two marketplace accounts; in that case you get a list of orders to choose from and no return opens automatically. If the number matches one order, the system behaves as it does for a parcel label: it shows that order’s card, or opens a new return immediately if the order has no return yet. Opening a return from the order card links it to the advance notice whose number you scanned.

Zalando and Modivo return numbers are long strings of letters and digits separated by hyphens, for example 5c0f7a2e-8b1d-4e6a-9f3c-2d7b8e1a4c60. The system searches for this code only as a whole; part of the number will not match.

After a scan

An order match shows a card with order and customer details and its list of items. Expand it to open the order, open an existing return (an open one can be completed; a closed one can only be viewed), or Open new return, which is always available.

An order with an expected return is marked Expected return.

The card also shows order notes: Customer note, Internal note (where Customer Service records agreements with the customer), Additional 1, and Additional 2. Empty fields are hidden, and each field is visible only to people with permission to read it on the order. You can hide these notes with Settings → Returns → General → Show order notes (on by default).

An unambiguous scan—a code matching exactly one order that has no return yet—creates and opens a return immediately, without asking. There is no order card in that case; order notes are visible in the return details. Searches in EAN and Customer modes never create a return automatically. Nor does a label for an undelivered parcel before the system creates an advance notice for it: in that case, you see the order card with an Undelivered parcel chip. In every other case, the system shows suggestions and waits for you.

No match shows “Not found” or “Order not found”.

Undelivered parcel

If a scan matches a parcel we sent but the customer did not collect, the order card shows a red Undelivered parcel chip—even in a list of several orders, such as search results by EAN or customer. Open a return from the card using Open new return. The label does not create the return automatically until the system has created an advance notice (a scheduled job creates it after a delay once the courier reports a failed delivery). Once the notice exists, scanning the label opens a new return immediately, like any unambiguous match. The return header then shows the same chip, plus Cash on delivery (if the order was COD) and Paid or Unpaid. The order counts as paid if it was marked paid or if the courier collected the COD payment at delivery (Close a return, mark it problematic, and set its Customer Service status). A COD parcel the customer did not collect is unpaid.

The company decides what happens next with an automation rule, for example: Return created + Undelivered parcel + Order from return: paid → Set customer service status (Workflow conditions — every listed condition must be met). Once the return receives a customer-service status, follow your company’s process for returns awaiting a service decision (usually: assess the goods, put the parcel on the Customer Service shelf, and do not close the return).

When tracking does not help

Under Search filters (optional) you can enter First/Last name, City, Postal code, Days back, Phone number, Country, and Order ID. The name hint says: enter a fragment shown on the parcel (for example, JaKo = Jan Kowalski).

Without an EAN, use Customer mode and enter the name, phone, or email from the parcel, then press Enter.

You can also use Scan multiple EANs to search by several codes from the parcel contents.

A new return

A new return receives the status from the initial group. If it is linked to an order, it can move on immediately under the configured transition for the order-linking trigger.

If the company has not configured an initial group, it cannot create a return; the system refuses with initial_status_not_configured.

Manual return

Create parcels without tracking or order details from the returns list, not from the scanner:

1. Open List (Alt+2).
2. Click the plus button above the table; its tooltip is Add manual return.
3. In New manual return, fill in Search customer (name, email, or phone; at least two characters), Scan code / identifier (parcel number or tracking code), Status (a list of problematic statuses), and Note.
4. Click Create.

A return created this way is marked problematic. Use this route for parcels that cannot be matched to anything; it is not a shortcut for everyday work.

After a return is complete, the system goes back to the scanner so you can handle the next parcel.