Guides · Counter billing
Returns and exchange at the counter
Returns and exchanges are the reverse of a counter sale, and they have to be recorded as deliberately as the sale itself. Done cleanly, the stock, the takings, and the ledger stay accurate.
A return is a reversal, not a deletion
When a customer returns goods, the original sale is not erased — the return is recorded against it, so both the sale and its reversal are visible. Where a registered business is involved, a credit note documents the reduction.
Recording the return properly keeps the audit trail intact and puts the returned item back into stock rather than losing track of it.
Exchanges are a return plus a sale
An exchange is best treated as two events: the original item comes back, and a new item goes out, with any difference in value settled. Treating it as one blurred transaction is where records go wrong.
Splitting the exchange keeps the stock movement and the money both correct, even when the customer experiences it as a single swap.
How Lekha helps
Lekha records sales and the notes that adjust them in one ledger, so a return or exchange keeps the books and the stock in step.
Lekha records what your documents say and tracks the money on both sides — what you owe and what you are owed. It records and tracks; it does not replace your accountant.
Questions
- How do I record a return at the counter?
- Record the return against the original sale rather than deleting the sale, so both are visible. For a registered business, a credit note documents the reduction.
- How should an exchange be recorded?
- As two events — the original item returned and a new item sold, with any value difference settled — so the stock movement and the money are both correct.
- Why not just delete the original sale?
- Deleting it breaks the audit trail and can lose track of the returned stock. Recording the reversal keeps both the records and the inventory accurate.