Collection and Handover
Tell customers their repair is ready, hand the item back with the right checks, and follow up items nobody collects.
A repair is finished when the item is back with its owner. The handover page walks you through the checks that are easy to get wrong at a busy counter, records who took the item, and closes the job.
When a job is ready for collection
A job reaches Ready for collection in one of two ways:
- It passed QA and you chose QA passed — ready for collection.
- It is going back without a repair, with an outcome such as No fault found or Declined by customer.
At that moment ReturnMate emails the customer that their item is ready. The email includes:
- Where to collect it, with the location's address, opening hours and instructions.
- The amount due, with a payment link when a Shopify invoice is open.
- The date to collect it by.
- A link to the repair on the returns portal.
Customers without an email address on the RMA are not emailed.
Reminders
If the item is still waiting, ReturnMate sends a reminder 3 days after the job became ready, and a final reminder at 10 days. Reminders go out on weekday mornings and stop as soon as the item is collected.
Opening the handover page
On the job page, the action card reads Hand the device back (or item, instrument or piece). It shows how long the job has been ready and whether anything is outstanding.
Choose Hand over to open the handover page. The top of the page shows whether QA passed and whether the job is paid or has an amount outstanding.
The page warns you if the job has already been handed over, is not ready yet, or is on safety hold.
The handover checks
Work down Give it back correctly. These are physical checks first.
Choose the collection method
Pick Counter (in person), Shipped or On site under Collection method.
Right device
Scan the item tag or paste its id, or tick Right device after checking the serial against the tag and the RMA. A tag from a different job is rejected with "The scanned tag belongs to a different job."
Right person
Confirm the Recipient name, Who is collecting (Customer, Authorised agent or Courier) and the Evidence you checked (Receipt presented, ID checked, One-time code verified or None).
All accessories returned
Tick each accessory as you hand it back. If something recorded at intake is not there, a warning lists it. Tick The unticked accessories are missing and the customer has been told to continue. The collection record shows which accessories went back and which did not.
Original parts handed over
When the owner asked for removed parts back, tick Original parts handed over as you give them the bag. Once the parts have been bagged, the handover cannot complete without this tick. If the owner chose another option, the page shows it, such as retained by the shop.
Condition matches intake
Compare the item with the intake photos and tick Condition matches intake, plus the repair.
Device left clean
If passwords or PINs are stored on the job, the page shows how many will be wiped when you record the handover.
Add any Notes for the record.
What we tell them we did
Under What we tell them we did, write a short summary for the customer, not for the file. Choose Save summary, or it is saved when you complete the handover. The summary is included in the completion email.
The card also shows the job's Outcome and Coverage.
Money reconciles
The Money reconciles card compares the estimate with the ledger: Quoted, Charged, Paid and Outstanding.
If nothing is outstanding, you can hand over.
If there is a balance, take payment first. Choose Open the quote and use Collect in the ledger, for example Open in POS or Record manual payment. See Repair Estimates and Payment.
A store owner or admin can release the item without full payment. Enter a Release-exception reason. The exception is logged against them in the audit log and shown on the job's collection record. Other staff cannot hand over an item with a balance outstanding.
Shipping it back instead
Choose Shipped when the item goes back by courier.
- Create the outbound shipment for the RMA first.
- Enter its Shipment id. A shipment from a different return is rejected.
The identity and accessory checks are skipped for shipped items. An item on safety hold cannot be shipped. Clear the hold first, or hand it over in person.
Completing the handover
Complete handover stays disabled until the checks that matter are done:
- The job is ready for collection and not already handed over
- The item's identity is confirmed (or it is being shipped)
- Every accessory is ticked, or the missing ones are acknowledged
- Bagged original parts are ticked as handed over
- Nothing is outstanding, or an owner or admin has entered a release-exception reason
- Shipped items have a shipment id
When you choose Complete handover, ReturnMate:
- Creates the collection record and marks the returned accessories.
- Moves the job to Completed and sets custody to returned to customer.
- Wipes every stored device password or PIN on the job.
- Generates the collection record PDF and opens it in a new tab.
- Emails the customer that the repair is complete, with the completion report attached.
If the customer is not collecting after all, choose Not collecting today to go back to the job.
The collection record
The collection record is the proof of who took what. Once the handover is done, the job page shows a Collection record card with when it was collected, by which staff member, the method and the recipient. It also shows any missing accessories and any release-exception reason.
The repair job card on the RMA record adds the evidence checked, whether the item's identity was checked, the disposition (such as Repaired (QA passed) or Returned unrepaired) and any amount outstanding at handover.
The printed collection record lists the outcome and each accessory with whether it was returned. It has signature boxes for the person collecting and the staff member releasing the item. Print it and have the customer sign it.
Open the PDF again later from the completed job with Open collection record, or from the Documents tab.
The Prints on handover card lists the latest completion report and collection record, so you can open either before you finish.
When the customer rejects the repair
If the customer is not happy at the counter, do not hand it over. On the job page choose Customer rejected it — back to repair. The job returns to Repairing.
Uncollected items
Set how long to wait under Uncollected review after (days) in the module settings. The default is 30 days.
Once a ready job passes that date, it appears in the Uncollected review tab of the Repairs workspace. The job page shows Uncollected item — review required, with how long it has been ready and how many reminders were sent.
Contact the customer, then record a Decision with a note:
| Decision | What it does |
|---|---|
| Reminder sent | Emails the customer a final reminder |
| Customer contacted | Records that you reached the customer |
| Hold for another 30 days | Pushes the review date out 30 days |
| Dispose via offline write-off | Records the decision only |
A note is required for every decision. Each one is written to the job history and the audit log.
ReturnMate never disposes of an uncollected item. Recording Dispose via offline write-off only records the decision. Record the write-off itself through the offline repair workflow with the write-off disposition.