Feature Overview
When goods are returned between two intercompany trading companies, the return is processed manually today: the consultant creates the corresponding return document (purchase return order, receipt, or credit) in the partner company by hand, the same way they would set up any other document for that company.
There is no automatic creation of a matching return document on the partner's side — unlike a normal intercompany sales/purchase order, a return does not currently mirror itself across companies. Each side's return is entered and posted independently.
Because there is no automated link between the two sides, tracing a return back to its original intercompany transaction (the shipment, invoice, or credit memo it relates to) is also a manual lookup rather than something the system does for you.
| Pages involved | Sales Return Order, Purchase Return Order |
| Entity types supported | Sales Return Order (originating company), Purchase Return Order (partner company) — handled independently |
| Key configuration fields | None — no return-specific intercompany setup |
| Integrates with | Automatic Order Creation Between Companies (returns are the one document type in the intercompany flow that this automation does not cover) |
Getting Started
- Create and post the Sales Return Order in the originating company as you normally would.
- Separately, create the matching Purchase Return Order in the partner company by hand, referencing the original intercompany transaction.
- Post the purchase return order (receive, and invoice/credit if applicable) according to your own process.
Related Features
Returns are the exception to Automatic Order Creation Between Companies — every other document type in that flow mirrors automatically, but returns must be created on both sides manually today. A partner must still be configured via Setting Up a Partner Company before any intercompany trading, including manually-handled returns, can take place.
User Stories
Processing a customer return without partner automation
As a sales consultant processing a customer return
I want to create and post a sales return order against my intercompany customer
So that the return is recorded correctly on my side, understanding that the partner company is not updated automatically
Setup:
- Create a Sales Return Order for the intercompany customer.
- Process and post it as you would any other sales return.
Note: No purchase return order is created automatically for the partner. The partner side must be handled separately.
Creating the matching return manually on the partner side
As a supply-side consultant
I want to create a purchase return order that corresponds to a return posted by my intercompany partner
So that stock and financials on my side reflect the return
Setup:
- Open Purchase Return Order in the supply-side company.
- Create a new purchase return order referencing the intercompany partner and the relevant items/quantities.
- Receive and, if applicable, credit it according to your own process.
Note: This is a fully manual step today — there is no automatic creation or pre-fill from the partner's sales return order.
Tracing a manually-created return back to the original transaction
As a consultant investigating an intercompany return
I want to find the original shipment, invoice, or credit memo that a manually-created return relates to
So that I can confirm the two sides agree on what was returned
Setup:
- Use the original sales/purchase order or invoice number as the reference point.
- Cross-check quantities and item numbers manually against the partner's posted return, since there is no system-tracked link between the two documents.
Note: Unlike normal intercompany orders, returns are not linked in the document-relation tracking used elsewhere in the app.
Field Reference
No return-specific configuration fields exist — returns use the standard Sales Return Order / Purchase Return Order setup already in place for regular trading.