Your First 7 Days
Day-by-day guide to getting operationally ready — from setup to your first insights.
Your first day with ReturnMate should get you from install to operational. Here's what to do — in order.
Hour 1: Core Setup
Complete the Setup Wizard
Run through all 9 steps: Welcome, Profile, Return Address, Carrier, Reasons, Branding, Email Templates, Warranty, Review.
Focus on getting your return address and at least one carrier configured. You can refine branding and email templates later.
Connect Your Primary Carrier
You need at least one carrier for label generation. Start with whichever you use most — AusPost, StarTrack, TNT, or TGE.
If you ship dangerous goods, start with StarTrack or TNT (AusPost doesn't carry DG).
Hour 2: Process Your First RMA
Create a Test Return
Go to Create RMA and search for a real or test order. Select an item, choose a reason, and submit. This creates your first RMA.
Walk Through the Workflow
Approve the RMA, generate a label, mark as received, inspect, and process the refund. Touch every status so your team understands the flow.
Try the Customer Portal
Open your portal URL and submit a return as a customer would. See the email verification, item selection, photo upload, and address confirmation.
Hour 3: Set Up Warranty Operations
Configure Fault Codes
Go to Settings > Faults / Diagnostics and set up your product families, fault categories, and subcategories. This is the foundation for supplier accountability.
Create a Warranty Policy
Go to Settings > Warranty Settings and create at least one warranty policy. Link it to your warranty return reason and set the warranty period.
Process a Test Warranty Claim
Create a warranty RMA, receive it, assign fault codes in the diagnostics section, and create a warranty resolution. See how fault data flows.
Hour 4: Dangerous Goods (If Applicable)
Configure DG Products
Go to Settings > Product Catalog and add your DG-classified products with UN numbers, proper shipping names, and DG classes.
Generate a DG Return Label
Create an RMA for a DG product. When you generate the label, confirm that AusPost is blocked and the DG transport document is auto-generated.
Hour 5: First Insights
Now that you have data flowing, look at:
- Analytics > Shipping Costs — See what carrier costs look like
- Analytics > Products — Check return rates by SKU (you'll need more data for this to be meaningful)
- RMA List > Queue Views — Set up saved filters for your team's workflow
Day 2: Build Your Team Structure
Why this matters: Post-sale operations fail when nobody owns the queue. Today you set up ownership so nothing falls through the cracks.
- Invite your team members (Settings > Users)
- Assign roles — who approves, who inspects, who manages warranty?
- Create saved filter views per role: "My RMAs", "Pending Review", "Received — Needs Inspection"
- Walk your team through the Workflow Guide
Day 3: Configure Accountability
Why this matters: Without SLA targets and restocking fees, your team works reactively and you absorb costs you shouldn't.
- Set SLA targets (Settings > SLA Settings) — e.g. 5 days for standard, 10 for warranty
- Enable breach notifications so overdue items surface automatically
- Configure restocking fees (Settings > Restocking Fees) for each condition grade
- Review return reasons — which ones should offer free shipping vs customer-paid?
Day 4: Process Real Returns
Why this matters: Theory is different from practice. Your team needs to handle real RMAs before the portal goes live.
- Process 3-5 real returns end-to-end (not test data)
- Have each team member process at least one RMA themselves
- Test the scenarios you'll hit most: refund, exchange, rejection
- Note any questions or confusion — these are training gaps
Day 5: Go Live and Review
Why this matters: Your portal needs to be live before you can see real data. But launch with eyes open, not blind.
- Enable the customer portal (Going Live Checklist)
- Monitor incoming RMAs throughout the day
- Check queue health at end of day — anything stuck?
- Review the Common Mistakes article as a team
Day 7: First Operational Review
Why this matters: This is where you shift from "setting up a tool" to "running an operation." The weekly review is the most important habit you'll build.
Spend 30 minutes reviewing:
- Queue health — anything unactioned for more than 24 hours?
- SLA performance — any breaches? Why?
- Resolution mix — are you refunding everything or using the full toolkit?
- Team questions — what's confusing? What needs more training?
- Process gaps — anything the system doesn't handle that you expected?
Read What Good Looks Like to understand the target state.
What Comes Next
| Timeframe | Focus |
|---|---|
| Week 2 | Refine queue views, start tracking fault codes on warranty returns |
| Week 3 | First shipping cost review in Analytics |
| Month 1 | First supplier conversation with fault data |
| Ongoing | Weekly 30-min operational review |