I don't have an outgoing shipment in Sendcloud - how can I create a return using the return portal?

Topic: Learn how you can use the return portal to create return labels and track your incoming returns, even if the original order wasn't shipped via Sendcloud.

Make sure you have the Premium plan, as the return portal is only available to Premium users. If you don't have a Premium subscription, you can still use the manual return form to process your return shipments.

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You can allow your customers to create returns via the return portal for orders which were not originally shipped with Sendcloud. This is particularly handy in situations where you don't process your orders via the Sendcloud panel, due to reasons such as:

• You use a fulfilment party or 3rd party software to ship orders
• You fulfil orders through dropshipping 
• An order was purchased in-store 
• You only partially ship orders via Sendcloud
• You handle multiple shops or Sendcloud accounts to manage outbound and inbound shipments separately 

How does it work?

The return portal can use order data to start the return process. Your customers can locate an order in the return portal via the order number and postcode. They can then select the items they wish to return. Your sender address and the customer's address details are used to create the return label. 

If this is your first time using Sendcloud, you'll need to sign up for an account and complete basic account setup. See: Getting started with Sendcloud.

Step 1: Import your orders into Sendcloud 

To fetch the required information to Sendcloud, import your orders via:

1. Integrating your webshop or system with Sendcloud through one of our plug-and-play integrations (Settings > Integrations)
   
2. Through our Shipping API*

*See: Create a parcel (Method 1)

Once your orders are imported, it's not necessary for you to continue to process them from the incoming order overview. The order data only needs to be present in your Sendcloud account so that it can be located via the return portal. No extra costs are incurred by importing orders. You'll only be invoiced for the costs associated with any return labels created. 

Step 2: Enable the Return portal for standalone returns

1. Go to Returns > Return portal
2. Enable the option Allow returns without a Sendcloud outbound shipment
3. Click Save

For help setting up your return portal for the first time, see: How do I set up my return portal?

Important note about using multiple brands

If you have created more than one brand in your Sendcloud account, you'll need to create a shipping rule which will automatically assign the correct brand/sender address to orders you import. Brands are linked to your sender addresses, therefore you need to create a rule such as the example below: 

1. Go to Shipping > Shipping rules
2. Create a new rule with the following conditions:
   
   If integration is [select integration from drop-down menu], then Ship with address [select the sender address assigned to the desired brand from the drop-down menu]. 

ℹ Tip: Creating and assigning brands 

• You can create a brand, and use it to customize your return portals and print your logo on shipping labels, via Settings > Brands. 
• To assign an already existing brand to one of your sender addresses, go to Settings > Addresses and 🖊 Edit sender. From the Miscellaneous section, select the brand you want to associate with this address from the dropdown Brand menu. 

You can find more information about creating brands and using them to customize your return portal, tracking page and tracking notifications on our Help Center.