Send it back, on paper that balances

Damaged stock from a supplier written off as an adjustment loses the money twice — the goods and the claim. A purchase return does it right: raised from the original bill, it takes the stock off your shelf and creates a debit against the supplier, so what you owe them drops by exactly the value of what went back.

The register shows every return with its supplier, the bill it was raised against, and the credit value — your claims file, always current.

Returns are always raised from the original purchase, which is what keeps quantities and costs true: you cannot return more than is still returnable, at a cost that was never billed, or twice. The bill tracks its own return history and enforces the cap.

Goods leave from the location they were received into. If they have since been transferred elsewhere, transfer them back first — the movement history stays complete, and the counts at both ends stay right.

The supplier credit lands on their account and in Payables immediately, netting the balance you would otherwise pay. Before settling any bill from a supplier you have sent goods back to, Payables shows the net position — so you never pay an invoice the credit already covered.

In the ledger, the return posts against inventory and the payable — the books stay right without a journal entry from anyone.