The box is wrong. Damaged in transit, the wrong model, or twice what you ordered — either way, it’s going back to the vendor. Now your ERP has to undo a receipt, maybe undo an invoice, get the goods out of inventory at the right cost, and make sure the vendor’s credit actually shows up.
Yesterday we handled the paper side — credit memos. In Round 12 of the Functionality Face-Off, the goods themselves go back on the truck.
How It Works in Dynamics GP: Pick the Right Return Type
GP handles returns through Purchase Order Processing, documented in Microsoft’s POP returns guide:
- Go to Transactions > Purchasing > Returns Transaction Entry.
- First decision: pick the right return type — and there are four. Return (goods came in, invoice hasn’t posted), Return w/Credit (invoice posted, vendor owes you), Inventory (returning from stock, no credit), and Inventory w/Credit. Pick wrong, and the accounting comes out wrong.
- Enter the vendor, then select the receipt or PO lines being returned, with quantities.
- Check the costs GP pulls from the original receipt layers, and enter the vendor’s credit document details if the type includes credit.
- Post. If the vendor charges a restocking fee, note that GP has no field for it — Microsoft’s docs say to make a manual adjustment in Payables Management.
GP’s four-type system is thorough, and seasoned users know exactly which one fits. But that’s the catch: the user carries the decision. New AP staff learn the difference between “Return” and “Inventory w/Credit” the hard way, and a mistyped return type means voiding and re-entering.
How It Works in Business Central: One Return Order Does the Thinking
BC routes every goods-back scenario through one document — the Purchase Return Order (Microsoft Learn):
- Search (Alt+Q) for Purchase Return Orders and choose New, then pick the vendor.
- Choose Get Posted Document Lines to Reverse. BC lists the vendor’s posted receipts and invoices — with a Show Reversible Lines Only toggle so you can only pick quantities that can actually go back.
- Select the lines. Costs come back at exactly what you paid — exact cost reversing applies automatically, so no valuation drift.
- Tag each line with a Return Reason Code (“Damaged,” “Wrong Item”) for clean analytics later.
- Post the shipment when the goods leave — inventory drops, and your warehouse team gets real shipping documents if you use warehouse management.
- Post the return order and BC issues the purchase credit memo automatically, applied to the right entries.
Shipment and credit are separate steps, so goods can leave today and the vendor’s credit memo can post next week when it arrives — and Get Return Shipment Lines can even combine several return shipments into one credit memo, matching how vendors actually send credits.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Dynamics GP | Business Central |
|---|---|---|
| Document | Returns Transaction Entry (POP) | Purchase Return Order |
| First decision | Choose 1 of 4 return types | One document for all cases |
| Pulling original lines | Select receipt/PO lines | Get Posted Document Lines to Reverse |
| Cost accuracy | From receipt layers, user-verified | Exact cost reversing, automatic |
| Ship now, credit later | Type determines credit handling | Separate ship and invoice steps |
| Credit memo | Entered/posted per return type | Issued automatically by the return order |
| Return analytics | Report on return documents | Return Reason Codes on every line |
| Restocking fees | Manual Payables adjustment | Add a charge line on the credit memo |
Why BC Comes Out Ahead
- No return-type quiz. GP makes the user pick the right flavor before anything happens. BC’s single return order covers goods-only, credit-only, and both — the posting steps sort out the accounting.
- Costs reverse themselves. Exact cost reversing pulls the original purchase cost automatically. In GP, the cost layer is there, but verifying it is on you.
- Warehouse-friendly. A BC return order generates real shipment documents, so the dock team works from the system instead of a forwarded email.
- Reasons become data. Return Reason Codes turn “we send a lot back to that vendor” from a hunch into a report — useful ammunition at contract renewal time.
Send It Back Without the Guesswork
If your team keeps a cheat sheet taped to the monitor for GP’s return types, that’s exactly the kind of daily friction a move to BC erases. The Aisling Dynamics team supports both systems every day and can show you the difference on your own data.
Contact us or call (251) 293-0555 — and come back tomorrow for Round 13, where we meet the vendors themselves: vendor setup and maintenance.