Memos — Issue, Track, Convert, Return

A memo is a document that tracks items handed to a customer with the understanding that they’ll either buy them or bring them back. The items remain part of your owned inventory, but their status flips from in-stock to on-memo so your true in-stock counts stay accurate.

For items received from a vendor on memo (the inverse — items sitting in your store that you don’t yet own), see Vendor Memos.

Writing a new memo

1. Go to Memos → + New.
2. Pick the customer (use the live search; you can also create a contact inline).
3. Add line items the same way you would on an invoice — from in-stock inventory, from a prior memo, or as a misc line.
4. Set the memo terms (expected return date, terms text).
5. Save.

The customer’s items immediately move from in-stock to on-memo; the in-stock counts on every inventory list reflect the change.

Tracking what’s out

The Memos list shows every memo and the Memo Aging report under Reports surfaces everything still out by age bucket. Use the date and customer filters to find a specific memo.

The memo header status pill

Open any memo detail page and the header carries a single status pill that answers “is this memo still active?” at a glance:

• Empty — no line items yet
• Open — every unit is still out; nothing returned or invoiced
• Partial — some units out, some already returned or invoiced
• Returned — every unit came back, none were sold
• Invoiced — every unit was converted to an invoice
• Closed — nothing still out; a mix of returned + invoiced units

A smaller line beside the pill shows the exact unit counts (e.g. 3 out · 1 returned · 2 invoiced), and the line items table below breaks it down per row.

Converting a memo to an invoice

When the customer decides to buy some or all of the items:

1. Open the memo.
2. Click Convert to Invoice.
3. Pick which line items the customer is keeping. Lines you don’t pick stay on the memo (they’re still out).
4. The items you picked are removed from on-memo and added as invoice line items at the same prices the memo had.
5. Set payment, finalize the invoice as usual.

If the customer takes everything, the memo becomes Converted with no remaining lines. If they take some, the remaining lines stay on the memo until you process a return.

Processing a memo return

When the customer brings items back:

1. From the memo, click Process Return (or go to Memo Returns → + New and pick the memo).
2. Tick the lines being returned. Quantities can be partial for multi-quantity lines.
3. Save. The returned items go back to in-stock immediately.

If the entire memo is returned, the memo’s status becomes Returned.

Reversing a memo by mistake

If you accidentally returned or invoiced the wrong line, see Reversing a Memo Invoice or Memo Return — it explains how to undo without calling support.

Tips

• A memo can be partially converted and partially returned over time. The remaining open lines stay on the memo until everything is resolved one way or the other.
• Items on memo still show in your owned inventory totals (QtyOnMemo + CtWeightOnMemo are tracked alongside QOH); use the Inventory Valuation report and pick the right basis when you need a total.
• A customer can have multiple open memos at once.
• Memo terms / expected return date show on the printed memo and feed the Memo Aging report.