Warranty Claims for Faulty Items

What a Warranty Claim Tracks

A warranty claim records a faulty item a customer brings back. It follows two things at once. The first is the customer: what they are given, and whether they have it yet. The second is the faulty unit: whether it is with the shop, with the supplier, back in stock, back with the customer, written off or kept by the supplier. Claims live under Warranty Claims in the menu, below Sales, and each one is numbered like your other documents, for example SHOP-MAIN-WC0001.

• Received: the shop has the unit and a decision to make.
• With supplier: the unit has been sent to the supplier.
• Back from supplier: the supplier answered and something is still to decide.
• Ready to collect: something is waiting at the counter for the customer.
• Closed: the customer is settled and the unit has its final place.
• Cancelled: the claim was opened by mistake.

Opening a Claim

Open Warranty Claims and click New claim. Search for what the customer bought, choose the line, and describe the fault.

1. 1Search by serial number, by a sale, invoice or repair code, or by the customer's phone number or name. Codes and serial numbers must match in full. A phone number needs at least 4 digits.
2. 2Choose the line. Fixmo finds POS sales, invoices and parts fitted in repairs that have been delivered. A line that is already refunded or on an open claim cannot be chosen.
3. 3Pick the serial number, or for an item without serials, how many are faulty.
4. 4Check the warranty line. It shows when the warranty ends, or a red warning if it has already ended.
5. 5Describe what is wrong with it, and add up to 5 photos, such as the fault, the serial label and the box.
6. 6Choose the supplier, or leave it as Decide later. Click Open claim.

Claims Opened by a Refund or an Exchange

When a refund is processed, or an exchange is applied, with a returned line marked Defective, Fixmo opens a claim for each faulty unit on its own. The customer has already been refunded or given another item, so these claims start with the customer settled and only the unit's road back to the supplier left to follow. They are marked From a refund or exchange in the list, and the customer gets no claim messages for them.

Deciding What the Customer Gets

Open the claim and choose one of the options in the customer's panel. Stock levels never force the choice: even when you have a unit on the shelf, the customer can wait for the supplier.

• Replace from stock: another unit of the same item, at no charge. For a serial-tracked item you pick the serial number. It keeps the original warranty end date.
• Store credit: up to what the customer paid for the item, added to their store credit. The claim needs a customer record.
• Money back: a normal refund on the sale the item was paid on, by the way they paid, cash, card or bank transfer.
• Wait for the supplier: the customer gets what the supplier sends back. Not offered for an open market item.
• Hand back as it is: the faulty item goes back to the customer, for example after the supplier turned it down.

Sending the Unit to the Supplier

When the supplier is set, click Send to the supplier. You can add the supplier's return reference and print the supplier slip to send with the item. The slip shows the claim number, the item, the serial number, the fault and the sold date, and never the customer's name or phone number.

• Repaired it: the same unit comes back.
• Sent a new unit: a different unit comes back. Enter its serial number for a serial-tracked item.
• Paid the shop: enter the amount and the account it went into. It shows in Finance against the claim.
• Gave the shop credit: the amount goes on the supplier's credit balance and can pay a later purchase order from them.
• Turned it down: the unit comes back unchanged. Hand it back to the customer, or write it off.

1. 1Click Send to the supplier, add their reference if they gave one, and click Mark as sent.
2. 2When the supplier answers, click Record the supplier's answer and choose what they did.

Handing Over, Writing Off and Cancelling

When something waits for the customer, the claim shows Ready to collect. Click Hand over to the customer when they collect it, and the claim closes.

• Write off: the shop keeps the faulty unit as damaged. A stock serial number is marked Defective.
• Cancel the claim: only while nothing has happened on it yet, with a reason.
• Notes and photos can be added at any step. Every step goes on the claim's timeline with who did it and when.

The Customer's Receipt and Tracking Link

Print the claim receipt for the customer to keep, or send it again by email and WhatsApp from the claim. It shows the claim number, the item, the serial number, the fault and the date they left it. Each claim also has a tracking link that opens with no login and shows where the claim is, step by step.

Messages to the Customer

Fixmo can tell the customer by email and WhatsApp when a claim is received, sent to the supplier, ready to collect and closed. Each step has its own switch, under Settings > Email and Settings > WhatsApp.

• Email: all four are on to start with.
• WhatsApp: Received and Ready are on, Sent and Closed are off, because each WhatsApp message has a cost.
• The Sent message only goes to a customer who is still waiting for something.
• WhatsApp goes only to a customer record with Has WhatsApp ticked.

Who Can Do What

Three permissions in the Refunds module control claims, and each can be changed in Permissions.

• See warranty claims: Admin, Manager and Cashier.
• Open a warranty claim: Admin, Manager and Cashier. A cashier can also hand items over.
• Handle warranty claims: Admin and Manager. Setting the supplier, sending the unit, recording the answer and deciding for the customer.
• Someone whose Refunds scope covers the whole shop sees every claim. Everyone else sees the claims of their own branch.