Process sales returns and credit notes

1. Overview & Business Value#

This comprehensive operational guide details the architecture, business workflows, configuration parameters, and execution steps for Process sales returns and credit notes within SmartERP.

This guide explains how to manage customer product returns and issue statutory credit notes.

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2. Prerequisites & Security Access Groups#

• Required Modules: sale_management, crm, point_of_sale, smarterp_payment_telebirr
• Security Groups:
  • Sales User (Technical ID: sales_team.group_sale_salesman)
  • Sales Administrator (Technical ID: sales_team.group_sale_manager)
  • POS User / Cashier (Technical ID: point_of_sale.group_pos_user)
• Master Data Dependencies: Customer partner registry, selling pricelists, product inventory balances, payment providers (Telebirr/CBE Birr), and POS terminal sessions.

3. Step-by-Step Configuration & Execution#

Step 1: Navigating to the Module Interface#

1. Log into your SmartERP instance at https://smarterp.et/odoo.
2. Open the main App Switcher (grid icon in the top-left corner).
3. Select the Sales app icon.
4. From the top navigation bar, open Sales → Orders → Quotations / Orders; Point of Sale → Dashboard.

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Step 2: Creating and Parameterizing Records#

1. Click the New button in the top-left control panel.
2. Complete the mandatory fields in the record form:
   • Customer Name (Mandatory): Registered partner record with complete invoicing and delivery addresses
   • Product Lines (Mandatory): Saleable items with approved commercial pricelist rates and VAT classification
   • Payment Terms (Mandatory): Immediate settlement, milestone advance, or agreed commercial credit terms
   • Salesperson (Mandatory): Account executive responsible for the customer commercial relationship
3. Configure optional operational parameters and localized tags as required:
   • Analytic Account (Optional): Revenue center or project allocation for commercial tracking
   • Customer PO Reference (Optional): External purchase order number issued by the client
   • Shipping Policy (Optional): Deliver all products at once or allow partial dispatches
4. Click the Save icon in the control bar to commit the record.

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Step 3: Validating and Processing Transactions#

• State Transitions: Execute operational state progression (Quotation → Sent → Confirmed Sales Order → Delivery Done → Invoiced → Paid).
• Ledger & System Impact: Generates customer tax invoice, posts accounts receivable debit and sales revenue credit, and updates inventory valuation upon delivery.
• Audit Verification: Automated recording of author ID, timestamp, and immutable revision history.

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Return Procedure#

1. Open the original confirmed Sales Order and click the Delivery smart button.
2. Open the validated delivery picking and click Return.
3. In the return wizard:
   • Specify returned quantity for each line item.
   • Select destination location: WH/Stock (for restockable items) or WH/Scrap (for damaged items).
4. Click Return. A new return picking is created.
5. Warehouse staff inspects items and clicks Validate. Stock on hand is incremented.

Issuing Credit Note#

1. Return to the original Customer Invoice and click Add Credit Note.
2. Select credit note method:
   • Full Refund: Cancels entire invoice.
   • Partial Refund: Adjusts specific returned quantities.
3. Enter legal reason for return (e.g. customer ordered incorrect size, product defect).
4. Click Reverse.
5. SmartERP posts the credit note, reversing Accounts Receivable and reducing the 15% VAT output liability on the MOR tax declaration.

4. Advanced Configuration Points#

• Automated Actions & Scheduled Tasks (Crons):
  • CRM: Lead auto-assignment (crm.ir_cron_lead_assign): Runs hourly to allocate unassigned leads across sales teams
  • Sales: Expire overdue quotations (sale.ir_cron_expire_quotes): Runs nightly to mark stale quotes as cancelled
  • POS: Close abandoned register sessions (point_of_sale.ir_cron_session_cleanup): Runs nightly to alert managers of open cashier terminals
• Custom Print Templates & Reports:
  • Customer Sales Quotation / Pro-forma Invoice
  • Commercial Tax Invoice (Model 85 Compliant)
  • POS Cash Register Receipt with QR Validation
  • Customer Credit Limit & Receivables Aging Statement
• Multi-Company Rules: Record-level security isolation under Company 1 (Ashewa Technology Solutions S.C.), preventing cross-company ledger leakage across parent and subsidiary legal entities.

5. Comprehensive Troubleshooting Matrix#

Next#

• Retail POS: Open and fund point of sale session.