In this video, we will talk about how to enter an RMA Return in the Order Entry screen of Prophet 21.
RMA stands for Return Material Authorization. Through P21, we use RMA Entry to accept material back into our warehouse. Often, you will use RMAs to accept customer returns.
Before we go through the steps to entering an RMA Return, here are a couple of settings under order processing RMA in the system settings that are important to know.
- The most important setting here is Require RMA line link to original order line. Most people do a return based on an original invoice. This setting allows you to prompt or require users to link to the original order. I recommend at least prompting this action if you decide not to make it required.
- You also have the option to Allow RMA quantity greater than invoiced quantity. This setting is helpful, for example, if you only bought five items on this order but have ten you are returning from past purchases. With this enabled, you can allow users to return more than was on the original invoice.
- The other important setting is Default RMA expiration days. When you create an RMA, by default, it will have a year (or 365 days) listed. So if the return is not used within that year, then it will expire.
How to enter an RMA (Return) in Prophet 21:
- Open the RMA Entry screen.
- Enter the Customer ID.
- Enter the Credit Location ID that you are trying to return the inventory back to.
- Enter the Ship To ID.
If you try to link to an invoice without a Ship To ID (or with an incorrect ID), the system will give you an error code. It is always good practice to have the Ship To ID easily accessible when you enter an RMA in Prophet 21.
- Enter the Item ID of the return in the lower portion of the screen.
- Immediately, you will see a pop-up asking if you want to link an invoice line to the item you entered.
This feature tripped me up for a while when I first started using Prophet 21. I would select yes, expecting something like a wizard to pop up with a selection. However, the system takes you to the sales history instead. It does not have a checkbox or anything to show your next step.
- When it takes you to Sales History, find the correct Order Number, and right-click on it. Choose link to this RMA line from the popup.
- P21 automatically brings over the pricing that you had on that invoice so it matches directly.
- Finally, you can go to the Front Counter tab and print or email this RMA acknowledgment to your customer for their records. This is the same process as printing a pick ticket or a sales order acknowledgment from within Sales Order Entry.
By default, this screen does not generally require you to enter anything else. However, depending on your environment, you may have some different options set up and more steps to follow.
There are more required actions to complete when you receive an RMA (which we will review in a second video).
If you want to see different videos or have questions on other Prophet 21 topics, please put a comment down below.
Continue Learning: In this video, we talk about lost sales codes, how to create them, and where you assign them to different parts of Prophet 21.
