Close a return, mark it problematic, and set its Customer Service status

An open return has three final-action buttons: Process return, Reject, and Delete return. Other actions are in the header chips: the warehouse-status and Customer Service chips open status lists; Mark as problematic toggles the flag, and Link to order appears only on a problematic return. Change order is in the order-details card on the right.

The header also shows facts about the order behind the return: the red Undelivered parcel chip (a parcel we sent was not collected and came back — Return scanning — find or create a return), Cash on delivery, and Paid or Unpaid. Paid means the order was marked paid or a COD payment was collected by the courier at delivery. A refused, uncollected, or still-in-transit COD order is Unpaid. Only applicable chips appear; a return without an order has no Paid / Unpaid chip.

Step by step — close a return

1. Assess the items — Return details — item grading and the readiness gate. The readiness gate by the buttons must be complete: Reason is always required; when grading is enabled, Condition and Decision are required too.
2. Complete any required process steps configured by the company (for example, put-away). Otherwise, closing is refused with a list of missing steps.
3. Click Process return. There is no confirmation dialog; one click closes the return.
4. Check the Return completed message. Action buttons, the scan field, and item editing disappear; the return becomes read-only.
5. Wait a moment. The system returns to the return scanner so you can take the next parcel. A return from a ZRS carton or AboutYou parcel instead returns to its parcel.

The readiness gate does not prevent clicking Process return. The server can still refuse the request and says how many items are missing which information.

Process return

Every item needs a reason; when grading is enabled, it also needs a class and decision — Return details — item grading and the readiness gate. If grading is disabled, reasons alone are enough. Any required process steps must also be complete.

When closing, the system:

• sends items with the “to stock” decision to the put-away list;
• freezes the record of which items go there;
• flags a manual decision for items not in the order;
• marks the return problematic if it includes an excess item, an item not in the order, or a possible duplicate. Automation rules do not move it onward while this flag is set (Flags on return items);
• records the timestamp used to determine refund eligibility. It is recorded once and never overwritten.

Shortly after closure, an automation rule marks items returning to a shelf as No credit note, if the company tracks goods without credit notes and has configured the rule (as we do). The warehouse counts the goods as soon as they are put away; the ERP gets them only with a sales credit note (Goods without an ERP credit note — returned items on shelves before the ERP is updated).

Reject

Closes the return without adding the goods to stock. The item is kept for information only: picking and inventory do not see it, so it cannot be picked to fulfil an order.

Note: rejecting closes the return through the same path as processing. Any item you already gave a “to stock” decision will still appear on the put-away list. Before rejecting, make sure no item has a decision that puts it into stock.

To reject:

1. Click Reject.
2. In Reject return, enter Rejection reason. It is optional and the confirmation button works when blank, but without a reason no one will know later why the goods were discarded.
3. Confirm with the red Reject button.
4. The return closes just as it does when processed: Return rejected appears, the screen becomes read-only, and after a moment you return to the scanner.

Delete return

Deletes the return from the database, including its notes, photos, and history.

1. On an open return, click Delete return. The button is not available on a closed return.
2. Read the warning in Delete return?: Are you sure you want to delete this return? and This action is IRREVERSIBLE — all return notes, photos, and history will be lost.
3. Optionally enter a Deletion reason.
4. Click Yes, delete. The cursor defaults to Cancel to prevent an accidental click.

Use this to undo a mistake, such as opening a return against the wrong order.

A return whose goods are on a shelf marked No credit note cannot be deleted, even if someone reopens it. The system responds: Goods from this return are on a shelf and do not yet have a sales credit note in the ERP — the return cannot be cancelled or deleted. The ERP credit note must arrive first (Goods without an ERP credit note — returned items on shelves before the ERP is updated).

Mark as problematic

This sends the case to Customer Service. The dialog lets you select a status straight away. Typical cases include goods we do not sell, a parcel with no information that can link it to a customer, or a complaint requiring a decision.

1. Click Mark as problematic in the return header.
2. Read The return will be marked as problematic. Optionally choose a status: and, if needed, select one in Status (optional).
3. Confirm with Mark as problematic.
4. The chip changes to Problematic. Clicking it removes the flag immediately, without asking.

The system can also set the flag automatically; see the list under “When closing, the system” above. Automation does not act on a flagged return. Removing the flag alone does not restart it; change its status to move it forward.

A problematic return does not need every field completed to be passed on. That makes two things especially important: a note listing every code read and an assigned location where the goods can be found physically.

Closed return

Warehouse-status changes are blocked. The message says the return is in a final group; its Customer Service status remains editable. The workaround is a bulk operation with Force (closed groups) selected — Returns list — tiles, filters, and bulk actions.

Closing does not remove two capabilities, since both are allowed after closure: adding a note and entering a warehouse location. Goods are put on a shelf after the return is closed, so the location field is then available — Return details — item grading and the readiness gate. Changing an existing location depends on the status group’s Editable switch; deleting it is never possible.

Warehouse staff cannot reopen a closed return. To add something after closing, create a new return for the same order.

Customer Service status

This is an independent second status track. Customer Service uses it after warehouse work is complete.

To set it:

1. Click the Customer Service chip in the return header. A return without one says Customer Service: none.
2. Choose a status from the expanded list. It saves immediately, with no confirmation.
3. To remove it, open the same list and choose Remove Customer Service status.

The chip shows Customer Service: name. If the status name already starts with “Customer Service” (for example, Customer Service — Needs decision), the chip does not repeat the prefix. The history entry for a change behaves the same way.

• You can change it at any time, including on a closed return.
• Only statuses from the group marked as the Customer Service group are accepted.
• The company assigns this group once and cannot replace it later: The customer service status group is already assigned. Thousands of returns may already use statuses from that group.

An ERP credit note removes the “No credit note” marker. For us, this happens when the return reaches KFS_Confirmed. That includes returns whose credit note was automatically confirmed and returns Customer Service closed manually after reconciling the credit note in Subiekt. The marker disappears from all shelves at once, and ERP credit note appears in the return history. A return in KFS_Error keeps the marker until Customer Service settles it (Goods without an ERP credit note — returned items on shelves before the ERP is updated).

ERP credit note — header chip

Whether the header displays a credit note and where the information comes from is set under Settings → Returns → General, in ERP credit-note verification, Credit note source (Return statuses, groups, and transitions):

A rule in Automation with the Check ERP credit note action does the checking (Return statuses, groups, and transitions); the credit-note and KFS chips only show the result. The WAPRO chip shows what the rule found most recently — viewing the return does not query the ERP. The tooltip says when the system checked. Clicking the chip checks the ERP again for preview only: a found credit note appears on the chip with its number, but nothing is saved and no status changes; the rule will write the number to the return and history and change the status on its next run.

Waiting for credit note appears when the return is in a status checked by an active rule with this action — the status in the event field (Trigger on status (pre-filter), or Return status for a cyclic rule) and the Return status condition; when both are set, it must be their shared status. The return must have entered that status within the last 60 days (older returns are no longer checked). A return from a wholesaler parcel never waits for a credit note. The chip also appears for a return where the rule found a credit note — even if it has since moved to another status — and one where the rule marked a missing credit note during the current stay in the status. A return outside the watched status with no credit-note number or marked absence has no chip.

The Subiekt KFS chip is blue, with a clock and the text KFS: waiting for credit note, on a closed return that would otherwise have a red chip while the rule is still deciding: it is in a status checked by an active rule, entered the status within the last 60 days, has no credit-note number, has not been marked as missing during this stay, and is not from a wholesaler parcel. The chip’s dialog, with the same clock, says No ERP credit note — the rule will check again until the configured deadline. In this case, a return closed by Customer Service shows KFS: closed by Customer Service — document not found.

If the ERP cannot be queried, the tooltip explains why, for example, The company has no active connection to this ERP or The ERP connection is disabled. That is a settings issue, not a return issue. Click again only for ERP did not respond. If The ERP check failed — contact an administrator if this keeps happening appears, the check itself failed; clicking does not create an issue in Problems.

Return history shows what the checking rule found (for Subiekt GT, a note “KFS credit note: …” also appears next to the entry):

Change order

This links the return to a different order. The screen explains: The return will be linked to another order. Physical put-away and bulk-parcel links are kept; classification of items not in the order and refunds are recalculated. Refunds already sent remain linked to the old order.

To relink it:

1. In the order-details card on the right, click Change order. The button is hidden if you lack permission or if the return is not already linked to an order.
2. Enter a number in Internal order ID. This is the internal order ID, not the store’s order number.
3. Explain the change in Reason for changing order. The confirmation button stays disabled until you do.
4. Click Relink return.

• You must enter a reason and have a separate permission.
• The new order must belong to the same company, but it may be from a different marketplace. This is common when a warehouse links a parcel to an order from the wrong channel.
• If money may already have been refunded for the return, relinking suspends all other items under “Errors / decisions”—whether you changed the marketplace or only the order. Any evidence counts: a sent item, marketplace rejection, unknown result, refund entered manually on the return, marketplace report that the line is already settled, or a ZRS parcel relinked away from Zalando. Items already sent stay sent. Their history is needed to resolve the issue with the marketplace and a customer who received an incorrect payment.
• A return with no such evidence relinks normally and stays in the queue so the end customer can still receive the money due. A routine block such as “return not closed” does not suspend anything.
• Relinking is blocked while a refund is being sent: Cannot relink: refunds for these items are currently being sent. Wait for the refund batch to settle or cancel it.