ShipStation return labels in Luminous
What changed
When ShipStation syncs a return label back to Luminous, Luminous records it on the order but doesn't treat it as an outbound shipment.
| Action | Return label | Outbound shipment |
|---|---|---|
| Shipment record saved | Yes | Yes |
| Inventory deducted | No | Yes |
| Sales order marked Shipped | No | Yes |
| Counts toward quantity shipped | No | Yes |
| Customer invoice auto-generated | No | Yes (if configured) |
| Tracking pushed back to the sales channel | No | Yes |
| EDI 856 sent | No | Yes (if configured) |
Current behaviour (after fix)
| Action | Return label | Normal outbound shipment |
|---|---|---|
| Shipment record saved in Luminous | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Inventory deducted | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| Sales order marked Shipped | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| Customer invoice auto-generated | ❌ No | ✅ Yes (if configured) |
| Counts toward "quantity shipped" on the order line | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
The return label is still visible in the shipment history for the order — it is recorded and associated, just not treated as an outbound fulfilment event.
Return labels synced before [month year]
If a return label that synced before this fix incorrectly deducted inventory or generated an invoice, those records will not be automatically reversed. Review:
- Inventory — check the affected SKU's on-hand quantity. If a deduction was logged against a return label, a manual inventory adjustment may be needed to restore the correct count.
- Order status — if the order was incorrectly moved to Shipped, review the order timeline and adjust the status if required.
- Invoices — if a customer invoice was created in error, void or credit-memo it through the Invoices module.
Contact support if you need help identifying which orders were affected.
How return labels are identified
Luminous reads the return-label indicator directly from the ShipStation shipments API. No configuration is required — the behaviour is automatic for all ShipStation-connected accounts.