Knowledgebase
How to enable and manage merchandise returns in PrestaShop 1.5-1.6
In PrestaShop there are options with which you can manage product returns. Customers can submit a request for returning one or more of the products they have ordered. They can do this from their account settings on the frontend of your store. Then you can manage these request from the admin panel. In this article we'll briefly go over the process. For more details and screenshots you can also check out the tutorial on how to manage merchandise returns in PrestaShop.
Note that merchandise returns are disabled by default, so first you have to enable them. We'll start with that.
Enable Merchandise Returns
To enable merchandise returns, go to Orders menu>Merchandise Returns sub-menu in the admin panel. There you'll see a block Merchandise Return (RMA) Options. In that block set the option Enable returns to Yes. In the same block there's an option Time limit of validity. You can use it to set the number of days after the order is delivered that the customer has to send you back the products they want to return. Don't forget to click on the Save button.
Merchandise Return Options on the Frontend
When merchandise returns are enabled customers can submit requests for returning products. They can do this from the Order History section of their account on the frontend of your store. They'll see there the orders they have placed. They have to open the page with the order details by clicking on the Details button for the particular order. On the page that opens they'll see listed the products in the order. They have to mark the checkbox of each product they want to return. On the same page there's a section labeled Merchandise Return. The customer has to type an explanation for the return in the text area that's provided and then click on the button Make an RMA slip. After they do this the request for the merchandise return will be listed in the admin panel, and it's up to you or other employees to allow or deny the return.
In the customer account settings on the frontend of your store there's a section My Merchandise Returns. There the customer can view the current status of the return. After the return is allowed or denied it will be indicated there, and PrestaShop will also automatically send an email to the customer about the change in the status of the merchandise return.
Merchandise Returns in the Admin Panel
To view a list of the merchandise returns and manage the status of each one, go to Orders menu>Merchandise Returns sub-menu. On the page that opens there's a table that lists all merchandise returns. To approve a return or deny it, you have to change the status of that return. Click on the row in the table corresponding to the particular merchandise return. This will display a page with the details for the merchandise return. On the page you'll see the name of the customer who placed the order, and subsequently requested the return, the ID of the order, the products the customer wants to return and the explanation provided by the customer. For each product there's a Delete button with which you can remove the product from the list, and thus deny the return of that particular product.
On the same page there's a drop-down menu labeled Status. You can use it to allow or deny the merchandise return. By default, it's set to Waiting for confirmation. To approve the return, set it to Waiting for package. To deny it, set it to Return denied. In both cases PrestaShop will automatically send an email to the customer, and this change of status will also be indicated in the customer account settings on the frontend. After you change the status don't forget to click on the Save button. If you approve the return, the customer has to send the product(s) back within the specified period; as we mentioned, this period is managed with the setting Time limit of validity that's available when you go to Orders menu>Merchandise Returns sub-menu in the admin panel. After you receive the merchandise return you can change its status to Package received and eventually to Return completed.
After you receive the product(s) you can mark it as returned, and if you're also going to issue a refund, you can mark it as refunded too. Both things can be done from the order details page of the order associated with the returned product.
Mark Products as Returned
To mark a product(s) as returned, go to Orders menu>Orders sub-menu in the admin panel and select the particular order. On the order details page click on the Return products button at the top of the page. This will automatically display the Products block on the same page with all the necessary options activated. Mark the checkbox of each of the returned products, and optionally, if you want to restock the product, generate a credit slip and/or a voucher, mark the respective checkbox at the bottom of the page and click on the Return products button that's under the options.
Refund Products
To mark products as refunded, go to Orders menu>Orders sub-menu in the admin panel, select the order and on the order details page click on the button Partial refund at the top. This will automatically bring you down the same page to the Products block. There you'll see the options for marking the refund. For each product there's a field for specifying the number of units that you want to refund and the refund amount. Below the products there are a couple of checkboxes with which you can restock the product(s) and/or generate a discount voucher (if you decide to issue the refund in the form of a voucher). Then click on the button Partial refund that's below the checkboxes.
For screenshots and some more details you can also read the tutorial on how to manage merchandise returns in PrestaShop.