Cores and warranties

What this does

A core charge is the deposit a vendor holds until the old part comes back. A warranty claim is a failed part going back for credit or replacement. Both are records on the parts side, so nothing slips between "we sent it" and "did we get the money."

Before you start

parts_orders.edit. The page has no menu entry yet; open /parts-orders/cores-warranties under your shop's address.

Cores

Where cores come from. Entering a Core Charge on a parts order line creates a core record automatically: vendor, part, amount, the linked job, status Pending, due 30 days after the order's expected date when there is one. There's no way to add a core by hand; it has to be on an order.

Return Core with an optional Tracking Number marks it Returned. Record Credit with the Credit Amount marks it Credited; enter what the vendor actually credited, which may be less than the charge. Write Off, on a pending core, marks it Written off — for the core you are never going to get back or get paid for. It drops out of the Outstanding total at the top, which is the point: that number should be money you still expect.

Overdue at the top counts pending cores past their due date.

Warranties

New claim. Select Part from recent parts order lines, Claim Type (Defective, Damaged, Wrong part), and Failure Description. The claim starts Initiated.

Claims advance one step at a time with the button on the row: Initiated → RMA Issued → Shipped Back → Credit Pending → Credited.

RMA # is editable in place — click the dash (or the existing number) in that column, type, and press Enter or click away. Save it as soon as the vendor gives it to you; it is the number you will be asked for on every call after that.

At Credit Pending the advance button is replaced by Record Credit, which asks for the amount and defaults to the part's original cost. That is deliberate: a claim marked credited with no amount tells you nothing, and the amount the vendor allows is often less than what you paid.

Deny is on every claim that hasn't reached Credited or Denied. Use it when the vendor refuses — otherwise the row sits in the middle of the workflow forever, looking like something still owed to you.

What happens in the books

Nothing, on either. A core charge on an order is part of the vendor's bill when you enter it; the credit back is a vendor credit you record in Accounts Payable when the vendor issues it. Marking a core or claim Credited here is the parts-side note that it happened; it doesn't create the credit.

Common problems

Core never showed up. The charge wasn't entered on the order line. Add it to a new order or track it on the bill only.

Two systems disagree on the credit. The parts page is a reminder; Accounts Payable is the truth. Reconcile to the vendor statement.

Wrote off a core that later got credited. There's no undo on the status. Record the credit against the vendor in Accounts Payable, where the money actually lives, and leave the core written off.