Returns and Repairs Log for Handmade Goods

Who this is for

A line for every item that comes back. It records the order, the reason, whether you refunded, exchanged, repaired or altered it, and what the work and materials cost you, while the tally at the foot shows which faults keep turning up.

Makers selling handmade goods online, at markets or through stockists who handle their own returns, repairs and alterations.

What this helps you track

• Every return or repair, linked to the original order
• The reason given and the action you took
• Repair work done and materials used
• When the item went back to the customer, and the cost to you
• Recurring faults that point to a design or materials change

How to use it

1. Write your business name and the period the log covers at the top.
2. When an item comes back, add a line with the date, order number, customer and item, and the reason in the customer's words or your own.
3. Choose the action taken, and for a repair or alteration note the work done and any materials used.
4. Record the date the item went back to the customer and what the return cost you, including postage and materials.
5. At the end of each month or season, count the reasons into the tally and look for the same fault on the same product.
6. Keep the log printed by the packing table or fill it in online, where it saves in your own browser.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The online version keeps what you enter in your own browser and builds the completed PDF on your device.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

Does this sheet tell me when I have to give a refund?

No. What a buyer is entitled to depends on where you and they are, how the item was sold and whether it was made to order. Check the rules where you are and your own returns policy.

What should go in the cost to business column?

Whatever the return cost you: refunded postage, return postage you paid, materials for the repair and anything else. Include your time only if you price it in your own records.

Why tally the reasons?

One return is bad luck. The same clasp failing on three necklaces, or the same size coming back, is a pattern you can fix at the making or listing stage.

Should repairs I do as a favour go on the log?

Yes. Free repairs still take time and materials, and they are often the first sign of a weak point in a design.