Returns to supplier

A return to supplier sends stock back to the distributor: expired or near-expiry medicines, a carton that arrived broken, a wrong product or a recalled batch. This guide covers returning expired medicines to the distributor. You choose the exact batch, agree a claim price, and MediPOS takes the stock out and reduces what you owe the supplier. If the distributor credits less than you paid, the difference is recorded as a loss, so your stock and your books stay honest.

If Returns to supplier is not in your menu, your plan does not include it. The owner can see what each plan includes under Plan & billing.

How to start a return from the Expiry page

This is the quickest way for near-expiry stock.

1. Go to Inventory → Expiry and find the batch.
2. Click Return on its row. The button only appears for batches that came in on a purchase bill, because MediPOS needs to know which supplier sold it.
3. MediPOS creates a draft for that supplier. It fills in the whole quantity of the batch in its smallest unit, with the reason set to Expired or Near expiry.
4. Check the quantity and the claim price, then post it.

If the batch came in as opening stock, its supplier is unknown and you create the return by hand.

How to create a return by hand

1. Go to Purchasing → Returns to supplier and click New return.
2. Choose the Supplier, the Reason (Expired, Near expiry, Damaged, Wrong product, Excess stock, Recall or Other) and the Date.
3. In Take stock from, choose where the goods are now. This can be your main store or Quarantine, if you moved the stock there to keep it off the counter.
4. Search for the Product. The Batch list shows each batch at that location with its expiry and the quantity in stock. Pick the batch the distributor is taking back.
5. Choose the Unit and enter the Qty.
6. Enter the Claim / unit (Rs.) the distributor agreed to, per the unit you chose. Leave it empty to claim at your own cost.
7. Add more lines with Add item if you are returning several items to the same supplier.
8. Click Save draft, or Save & post to finish now.

How to link the return to a bill

Once the supplier is known, an Against bill (optional) list appears. It shows when the return was started from the Expiry page, or when you open a saved draft with Edit. Pick the bill the goods came on, and the claim first reduces that bill's unpaid amount.

If you do not link a bill, the supplier's balance still goes down by the claim. But the open bills keep their unpaid amounts, and the credit shows in the Opening / other column of the payables aging report.

What happens when you post

Posting asks you to confirm: "Stock leaves and the supplier's balance is reduced." Then MediPOS:

• takes the quantity out of that exact batch at that location, at the batch's cost;
• reduces what you owe the supplier by the total claim. It works like a credit note from the distributor. If you owed them nothing, the credit becomes an advance with them;
• books the difference between the claim and your cost.

Say you return 12 bottles of Hydryllin syrup that expire in six weeks. Your cost is Rs 150 a bottle, and the distributor agrees to take them back at Rs 120.

That Rs 360 appears as an expense in your profit and loss. If a supplier ever credits more than your cost, the extra goes to Other income. The return's page shows Claim from supplier, Stock cost and the loss or gain.

MediPOS does not record cash handed back by the distributor as a separate refund. The return is always a credit on the supplier's account. It is used when you next pay them or settle their bills.

Rules and tips

• All of this needs the Return to supplier permission. The built-in Manager and Purchase manager roles have it. The Stock cost figure is only shown to people allowed to See purchase cost.
• You cannot return more than the batch has at that location. If some has been sold since you saved the draft, posting is refused.
• A posted return cannot be edited, voided or deleted. Drafts can be changed with Edit or thrown away with Discard. Check quantities before you post.
• The return date cannot be in the future. The return list shows the returns of the branch you are working in.
• Returns show on the supplier's statement and in the Returned column of the Purchases by supplier report.
• Start returns early. Many distributors only take near-expiry stock back up to their own cut-off date. Check the Expiry page every week, so batches reach the distributor in time.

Common questions

The distributor will only give 70% for my near-expiry Augmentin. How do I enter that?

Work out 70% of your cost per pack and type it in Claim / unit (Rs.). The 30% you lose is booked as a stock loss when you post.

A carton of Brufen syrup arrived broken. Is that a return or an adjustment?

If the distributor agrees to replace or credit it, make a return with the reason Damaged and claim at cost. If they refuse, write it off with a stock adjustment instead.

The Return button is missing on the Expiry page. Why?

Either that batch has no known supplier (it came in as opening stock), or your role lacks Return to supplier. Create the return from Returns to supplier instead.

I posted a return with the wrong quantity. Can I undo it?

No. A posted return cannot be reversed or edited. If you returned too little, post a second return for the rest. If you entered too much, contact support before you pay that supplier, because their balance will be too low.

Related guides

• Expiry management
• Suppliers, payments and statements
• Stock adjustments
• Batches and FEFO (first expiry, first out)