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Dispensary Product Return Credits

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Credit Recovery

At a Glance

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  • A dispensary product return credit is generated when a customer returns a vendor's product at your registers
  • Returns come from your POS customer-returns report and are matched to original purchase records
  • The platform creates the credit memo with line-item detail and sends it to the vendor
  • Approved return credits are deducted from the vendor's next payment or settlement

How Dispensary Product Return Credits Work

A dispensary product return credit is the amount a vendor owes you when a customer returns their product. Return credits are generated only for defensible reasons — a defective product, improper hardware, or a customer who was unsatisfied. The platform captures the customer-return event from your POS and generates a formal credit memo tied to the original purchase price.

Our credit recovery engine watches your POS for customer-return events. When a customer brings a vendor's product back, the platform matches it to the original delivery, pulls the cost per unit, and calculates the credit amount down to the penny.

POS Customer-Return Tracking

Every customer return is recorded at your point of sale. The platform reads the customer-returns report you export from your POS to verify that the product was actually returned. This gives the credit memo an auditable trail that vendors cannot dispute on procedural grounds.

The return reason, product detail, and return date are all attached to the credit memo as supporting documentation. If a vendor questions a return credit, the POS return data is right there in the memo.

What the software does: The platform detects the customer-return event from your POS, matches it to the original purchase price, and builds the credit memo with line-item detail. ShelfiQ then delivers it, answers the vendor's questions with the underlying data, and executes their decision — approve, approve a set amount, or decline. The vendor gets 10 calendar days from the day the email is delivered, with reminders before the deadline; if a documented return goes unanswered, the credit moves forward — applied automatically for vendors you've set to auto-approve on silence, or staged as Ready for Approval for your one-click sign-off otherwise — and the vendor keeps 60 days to dispute it.

From Return to Credit Application

Here is what happens after a return is recorded:

  1. The platform detects the customer return through your POS customer-returns report
  2. The platform matches the returned product to its original purchase order and cost
  3. A credit memo is created in Draft status with line-item detail
  4. The memo is sent and the vendor is notified via email and their portal
  5. The vendor approves, approves a specific amount, or declines within 10 calendar days of delivery; a documented return left unanswered moves forward — applied automatically for vendors set to auto-approve, or staged as Ready for Approval for your one-click sign-off otherwise — with a 60-day dispute window after it's applied
  6. Once approved, the credit is applied to the vendor's next outgoing payment

For consignment vendors, return credits are deducted from the vendor's next settlement. For wholesale vendors, credits offset the next AP check. Either way, every deduction shows up on the payment stub. See the full credit memo approval process for details on each status.

Common Return Scenarios

Return credits flow into your QuickBooks integration as part of the payment sync, keeping your books accurate without manual journal entries.

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