Problem guide
Vendor returns and cores never get credited
Returns and cores go uncredited because the return leaves the building with nobody tracking it, and the credit arrives, or does not, weeks later with nothing to match it to. Record every return when it leaves, keep one list of credits owed, and check each vendor statement against it.
What it usually looks like
A technician replaces a starter and brings the old one back as a core. It goes on the floor by the shop door with a dozen others. A wrong part from last month sits in a box next to them, waiting for someone to drive it to the counter. Eventually a driver takes both back on a slow Friday. The counter gives him a slip that ends up in his truck. Weeks later the vendor statement shows one credit, not two, and nobody in the office knew either return had gone back at all.
Signs you have this problem
- Cores sit in the corner of the shop long after the deadline to send them back
- Parts go back to the counter and no credit ever shows up on a statement
- Credits appear on a vendor statement that nobody can match to a return
- Accounts payable pays full invoices because nobody told them a credit was coming
What usually causes it
- Returns go back through technicians and drivers with no record that they left, so nobody knows a credit is owedThe invisible queue
- The return is handled in the field and the credit lands in the office, with nothing tying them togetherThe field-to-office split
- Every vendor has its own rules and paperwork for returns and cores, and each one is handled as a one offThe exception swamp
What to try this week
- Walk the shop for waiting returnsFind every part and core waiting to go back. Note the vendor, the date it came off the job, and whether anyone knows the return deadline.
- Check three months of statementsTake a few main vendors and compare the returns you remember to the credits on their statements. Every return without a credit is money you can still ask for.
- Record returns when they leaveSet a temporary rule: nothing goes back to a vendor without a line on a shared list with the part, the vendor, the date and the return slip.
- Tell payables what is owedGive accounts payable the list of credits owed each week, so they can hold a payment or ask the vendor before paying in full.
- Name one owner for creditsOne person closes each line on the list by matching it to a credit. Anything open past the vendor's window gets a call.
Where do-it-yourself stops
These steps find credits you are owed and stop new ones from disappearing, as long as someone keeps the list by hand. They do not connect the return in the field to the credit in accounting, which is where the loss happens. A lasting fix needs a tool built around your own vendors, jobs and accounting system, so a return creates a credit owed that stays open until it is matched. That is what a Workflow Spec designs.
Questions people ask
Why do vendor returns never get credited?
Because the return and the credit happen in different places at different times, and nothing ties them together, so a missing credit goes unnoticed.
Can we still claim old credits?
Often, if you have the return slip or other proof. Ask the vendor. Some have time limits, so start with the most recent.
What about core charges?
Treat each core like a return with a deadline. Record it when the new part is installed, not when someone gets around to sending it back.
Should technicians handle returns?
They can carry them, but the record should not depend on them remembering. The line on the list gets written when the part leaves.
How big is this for us?
Add up the returns without credits from your statement check. That number, not a guess, is the size of your problem.
Next step
How we fix this
This guide is how to find it and work around it. If it keeps coming back, the fix is usually a tool built around how your crew already works.
Fox & Santiago, Genesee, Idaho. Home territory: the Inland Northwest, where we respond fastest. We fly anywhere in the United States for paid engagements.