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Return, Replacement & Suspension

  • Published on Apr 30, 2026
  • 13 minute(s) read
  • AF
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Feature Overview

The Return, Replacement, and Suspension features handle what happens to a rental after it has been shipped — covering all the scenarios where items need to come back, be swapped out, or be temporarily paused in the billing calculation.

Return (also called termination) closes the rental for a specific line. When a rental is terminated, the system creates a new sales line to invoice the return and posts the inbound transfer to bring the item back to the home location. The return can be a full return (the entire rented quantity comes back), a partial return (only some units are returned, with the rest of the rental continuing), or a "return as lost/damaged" — where the item is marked as returned but no physical inbound transfer is posted because the item cannot be recovered.

Replacement covers the scenario where one rented item needs to be swapped for another during an active rental. The consultant selects which item ledger entries (specific serialised units or lot-tracked quantities) are being returned, and which replacement items will be sent out. The system handles the logistics: it updates the transfer orders, creates the necessary sales lines for the replacement, and adjusts the rental relation lines accordingly.

Suspension is a softer tool — it allows you to record that a portion of the rented quantity is temporarily unavailable (e.g. undergoing maintenance), reducing the chargeable quantity for the period. Suspense entries carry a suspension date-time and a quantity, and they are picked up when the invoicing plan calculates the chargeable time for the affected period. Once the item returns from suspension, the suspense entry is resolved.

All three operations are accessible from the rental sales line and work directly against the underlying transfer orders and rental relation lines. The availability of warehouse-related operations can be configured: a setting in Rental Setup allows partial termination without requiring the inbound transfer to be posted immediately, and another setting suppresses automatic transfer posting entirely — useful when warehouse management is in use and warehouse receipts/shipments need to be handled independently.

Key Facts

Topic Details
Access point Sales Order → rental line actions (Return/Replace, Suspend)
Return types Full return, partial return, return as lost/damaged
Replacement Swap a rented item for a different physical unit mid-rental
Suspension Record a temporary quantity reduction for billing purposes
Tracking support Serial number and lot number tracking supported in return and replacement flows
Warehouse support Configurable — can suppress automatic transfer posting for WMS locations
Partial termination without return Supported via Rental Setup option (allows financial posting without transfer posting)
Rental relation lines Updated at every step — shipped qty, received qty, closing date-time, and pending return flag
Replace Rental Item page Used for selecting return and replacement item ledger entries

Getting Started

Follow these steps to handle a return for the first time:

  1. Verify the rental has been shipped. A return can only be processed for a rental line where the outbound transfer has been posted. Check the Rental Relation Line to confirm Item Qty. Shipped is greater than zero.

  2. Open the Return/Replace page. On the Sales Order, select the rental line and use the Return/Replace Rental Item action.

  3. Choose the type of operation. The page shows item ledger entries for the rented items. Indicate whether this is a return or a replacement.

  4. Select which units to return. For serialised or lot-tracked items, select the specific item ledger entries that are being returned. For non-tracked items, enter the quantity.

  5. For replacements, specify the replacement items. Enter the item number, quantity, variant, and location of the replacement items that will go out.

  6. Set the return date-time. The system defaults to the current date-time. Adjust if the physical return happened at a different time.

  7. Post (or defer) the transfer. If Rental Setup allows it, the system can post the inbound (and outbound for replacement) transfer automatically. If your setup suppresses automatic posting, the transfer order is updated and you handle the warehouse steps separately.

  8. Verify the rental relation line. After the operation, check the rental relation line — Item Qty. Received should reflect the returned quantity, and if the line is fully returned, Closed will be set to true.

Related Features

Returns and replacements depend directly on the Core Rental Flow — the rental relation line created at shipment time is the record that drives return, replacement, and suspension operations. The Rental Invoicing Plan is affected by suspensions — when a suspense entry is recorded, the invoicing plan recalculates to reduce the chargeable quantity for the suspended period, which lowers the invoice amount for that period. Rental Calendars can be updated retroactively to handle maintenance pauses that affect billing, while suspense entries handle the same scenario at the quantity level. The Document Customizer integration (controlled by the Group Rental Lines in Document Customizer setting in Rental Setup) groups return/replacement-related resource lines on the sales invoice by rental number, unit price, and return date — producing a cleaner invoice layout when multiple lines relate to the same rental.

User Stories

US-01: Return a fully rented item at end of rental

As a Sales Order Processor
I want to process a full return for a rental line when the customer returns all items
So that the rental is closed, the item comes back to stock, and the final invoice reflects the actual rental period

Setup:

  1. Open the Sales Order and select the fully shipped rental line.
  2. Use the Return/Replace Rental Item action.
  3. On the Replace Rental Item page, all available item ledger entries (or quantity for non-tracked items) are shown.
  4. Select all items being returned.
  5. Set the Return Date-Time to the actual return date.
  6. Confirm the return. The system creates a new sales line for the rental termination and posts the inbound transfer.
  7. After posting, the rental relation line shows Closed = true and Item Qty. Received = full quantity.
US-02: Process a partial return while the rental continues

As a Sales Order Processor
I want to return only some of the rented units while the remaining quantity continues to be rented
So that the customer is billed correctly for the returned units and the ongoing rental continues for the rest

Setup:

  1. Open the Sales Order and select the rental line.
  2. Use the Return/Replace Rental Item action.
  3. On the Replace Rental Item page, select only the specific units (or enter a partial quantity) being returned.
  4. Set the Return Date-Time.
  5. Confirm. The system splits the rental relation line: the returned quantity is closed, and a new rental relation line is created for the remaining quantity, which continues as an active rental.

Note: The original sales line reflects the continuing rental; new lines are added for the returned portion.

US-03: Record a return for a lost or damaged item

As a Sales Order Processor
I want to mark an item as returned as lost or damaged without posting an inbound transfer
So that the rental is financially closed even though the physical item cannot be returned to stock

Setup:

  1. Open the Sales Order and select the rental line.
  2. Use the Return/Replace Rental Item action.
  3. On the Replace Rental Item page, select the items and choose the Return as Lost/Damaged option.
  4. Set the return date-time.
  5. Confirm. The system closes the rental relation line without posting an inbound transfer. The item remains at the rental location in inventory terms until a separate write-off or adjustment is made.
US-04: Replace a rented item with a different physical unit mid-rental

As a Sales Order Processor
I want to swap one serialised rental unit for another during an active rental
So that the customer receives a working replacement and the rental continues uninterrupted

Setup:

  1. Open the Sales Order and select the rental line.
  2. Use the Return/Replace Rental Item action.
  3. On the Replace Rental Item page, select the unit(s) being returned.
  4. In the replacement section, specify the Item No., Variant Code, Location, and Quantity for the replacement unit(s).
  5. Set the Replacement Date-Time.
  6. Confirm. The system: returns the original unit (inbound transfer), ships the replacement unit (outbound transfer), and creates a new rental relation line for the replacement item.
US-05: Replace a rented item with a different item number

As a Sales Order Processor
I want to replace the rented item with an item that has a different item number
So that the customer gets an upgraded or different model when the original is unavailable

Setup:

  1. Open the Sales Order and select the rental line.
  2. Use the Return/Replace Rental Item action.
  3. Select the items to return.
  4. In the replacement section, enter a different Item No. from the original rental line.
  5. Set the replacement date-time and confirm.
  6. The system handles the transfer orders and creates new rental relation lines for the replacement item. The original rental line's relation is closed.
US-06: Handle a return when warehouse management is active

As a Sales Order Processor
I want to initiate a return even though our return location uses warehouse management
So that the financial rental termination is posted independently from the warehouse receipt handling

Setup:

  1. Go to Rental Setup and enable Allow Partial Termination Without Return (note: this setting is not available if the rental location is an in-transit location).
  2. On the Sales Order, process the return via the Return/Replace Rental Item action as normal.
  3. The system posts the financial side of the return (creates the sales line, updates the rental relation line) without posting the inbound transfer.
  4. The warehouse team handles the transfer receipt through the standard warehouse receipt flow independently.

Note: Alternatively, enable No Transfer Posting in Return/Replacement to suppress all automatic transfer posting — applicable when all locations use warehouse management.

US-07: Suppress all automatic transfer posting in returns and replacements

As a Business Manager
I want to configure the system to never automatically post transfers during returns or replacements
So that our warehouse team always handles receipts and shipments through warehouse management without interference from the rental app

Setup:

  1. Go to Rental Setup and enable No Transfer Posting in Return/Replacement.
  2. With this enabled, the system will not post any transfer order lines automatically during return or replacement operations.
  3. Warehouse management receipt and shipment flows must be completed separately by the warehouse team.
US-08: Suspend a portion of a rented quantity temporarily

As a Sales Order Processor
I want to record that part of the rented quantity is temporarily suspended (e.g. under maintenance)
So that the invoicing plan reduces the billed amount for the suspension period

Setup:

  1. Open the Sales Order and select the rental line.
  2. Use the Rental Suspense Entries action (visible on lines where Rental Invoicing Start Date is filled in).
  3. Create a new suspense entry:
    • Item Quantity: The quantity being suspended.
    • Suspend Date-Time: When the suspension begins.
    • Description: Reason for the suspension.
  4. Save the entry. The system will account for this suspended quantity when calculating chargeable time in the invoicing plan.

Note: The suspended quantity cannot exceed the rental line quantity. The suspension date-time must be on or after the Rental Invoiced to Date-Time (you cannot retroactively suspend already-invoiced periods).

US-09: View all active suspensions on a rental line

As a Sales Order Processor
I want to see all open suspense entries for a rental line
So that I can track which items are currently suspended and when the suspensions were recorded

Setup:

  1. Open the Sales Order and navigate to the rental line.
  2. The Rental Item Qty. Suspended field (FlowField) shows the total currently suspended quantity.
  3. The Rental Suspended Date field shows the earliest open suspension date-time.
  4. Use the Rental Suspense Entries action to open the full list of suspense entries for this line with their dates, quantities, and descriptions.
US-10: Post a suspension as part of invoice processing

As a Accountant
I want to confirm that the suspended quantity is reflected correctly when I post the next invoice
So that the customer is billed only for the non-suspended quantity during the suspension period

Setup:

  1. Verify that the suspense entry exists on the relevant rental line (use Rental Suspense Entries to check).
  2. Open the Rental Invoicing Plan on the sales order to confirm the plan shows reduced chargeable time for the suspension period.
  3. Post the invoice as normal. The system automatically uses the adjusted invoicing plan amounts.
  4. After posting, the suspense entry's Posted flag is set to true — it cannot be deleted but it is no longer active.

Note: A suspense entry can only be deleted before it has been included in a posted invoice.

US-11: Initiate a return from a mobile or external flow

As a Outbound Technician – Customer Service
I want to trigger a rental return or "return as lost/damaged" programmatically
So that returns can be initiated from a mobile application or external integration without opening the BC sales order directly

Setup:

  1. The Rental Relation Line has an Invoke Action field and an Action Parameter String field used for programmatic invocation.
  2. Setting Invoke Action to Return Item and providing the required parameters triggers the return flow.
  3. Setting it to Return as Lost/Damaged triggers the lost/damaged return.
  4. Setting it to Rent Item creates a new rental from the external flow.
  5. The Action Result field receives a return code indicating success or failure.

Note: This flow is designed for integration scenarios (e.g. a mobile Power App or external API). The parameters are passed as a comma-separated integer list in Action Parameter String. Consult the integration documentation for the exact parameter format.

US-12: Group rental return lines on the posted invoice

As a Accountant
I want to group related rental lines together on the posted sales invoice
So that the customer receives a cleaner invoice where all lines related to the same rental are visually grouped

Setup:

  1. Go to Rental Setup and enable Group Rental Lines in Document Customizer (only visible when Document Customizer is active).
  2. With this enabled, the system fills in the Grouping field on sales invoice lines for rental lines — grouping by Rental No., Rental Unit Price, and Rental Return Date.
  3. Document Customizer then uses the Grouping field to visually group these lines on the printed or emailed invoice.

Note: This setting requires the Document Customizer app to be installed and active.

Field Reference

Field Where to find it What it does Default
Allow Partial Termination Without Return Rental Setup Allows financial termination of a rental without posting the inbound transfer (for WMS locations). Disabled
No Transfer Posting in Return/Replacement Rental Setup Suppresses all automatic transfer posting during return and replacement operations. Disabled
Group Rental Lines in Document Customizer Rental Setup Populates the Grouping field on invoice lines for use with Document Customizer. Only visible when Document Customizer is active. Disabled
Closed Rental Relation Line Indicates the rental is fully returned and the relation line is no longer active. False
Fully Posted Rental Relation Line Indicates all financial posting for this rental line is complete. False
Item Qty. Shipped Rental Relation Line The item quantity that has been shipped outbound for this rental. 0
Item Qty. Received Rental Relation Line The item quantity that has been received inbound (returned) for this rental. 0
Pending Return Rental Relation Line Indicates that the item quantity still needs to be received on the inbound transfer. False
Rental Invoiced to Date-Time Rental Relation Line The date-time up to which the rental has been invoiced. Blank
Closing Date-Time Rental Relation Line The date-time when the rental was terminated (return processed). Blank
Item Quantity Rental Suspense Entry The quantity of rented items being suspended. —
Suspend Date-Time Rental Suspense Entry When the suspension begins. Must be on or after the last invoiced date-time. —
Description Rental Suspense Entry Reason or note for the suspension. Blank
Posted Rental Suspense Entry Whether this suspense entry has been included in a posted invoice. Cannot be deleted once posted. False
Rental Item Qty. Suspended Sales Line Total quantity currently suspended (FlowField). Calculated
Rental Suspended Date Sales Line Earliest open suspension date-time for this line (FlowField). Calculated
Invoke Action Rental Relation Line Used for programmatic invocation of return/replace/rent actions from external integrations. Blank
Action Parameter String Rental Relation Line Parameter string passed with the Invoke Action (comma-separated integers). Blank
Action Result Rental Relation Line Return code from the invoked action indicating success or failure code. 0
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