# ReturnMate — Complete Reference

> ReturnMate is a post-sale operations engine for Shopify merchants shipping complex, repair-heavy, or regulated products. It centralises RMAs, warranty workflows, dangerous goods compliance, and supplier fault tracking.

## Problem

Returns software was built for customer experience — not for operations, not for margin, not for accountability. Merchants shipping regulated goods (lithium batteries, electronics, appliances) need operational control over every return, warranty claim, and repair. They need compliant documentation, supplier fault data, and shipping cost visibility. ReturnMate provides this.

## 12 Workflow Types

1. **Standard Return**: Customer portal submission → approval → label generation → receiving → inspection → refund/exchange/credit
2. **Damaged / Wrong Item**: Two-step decision tree (customer keeps or returns) → full refund, partial refund, or replacement. No restocking fees.
3. **Warranty Claim**: Full lifecycle with diagnostics, fault codes, serial verification, and repair/replace/refund resolution
4. **Counter Swap**: Instant in-store replacement. Gift card credit, replacement order, and faulty item enters offline repair pipeline
5. **Third-Party Repair**: Accept repairs for items purchased from other retailers. TPR-prefixed RMAs with receipt-based resolution options
6. **Offline Repair**: Internal diagnostics and repair pipeline. Technician assignment, fault codes, disposition (restock/write-off/return to supplier)
7. **Remote Resolve**: Resolve without a return shipment. Phone fix or send replacement parts
8. **Replace in Transit**: Send replacement while return is still shipping back
9. **Multi-Store Transfer**: Transfer items between locations for specialist repair, DG handling, or supplier returns
10. **Customer Pickup**: Customer collects from store location instead of shipping
11. **Dispute Management**: Flag disputes, pause SLA, block closure until manager resolves with documented notes
12. **Repair Quotes**: Paid repair quotes via Shopify checkout with quote sent/paid/declined/expired tracking

## Dangerous Goods Compliance

- Transport documents prepared in accordance with the Australian Dangerous Goods Code, Edition 7.9 (mandatory since 1 October 2025): UN number, proper shipping name, class with subsidiary hazard, packing group, net quantity, Limited Quantity / SP188 statements, 24-hour emergency contact
- Auto-detection by SKU matching against DG product catalogue
- Auto-generated Dangerous Goods Transport Documents
- Carrier restrictions enforced (Australia Post blocked for DG items)
- DG surcharges applied automatically
- Supports all DG classes: Class 2.1 (flammable gases), 2.2 (non-flammable gases), 3 (flammable liquids), 4 (flammable solids), 5 (oxidisers), 6 (toxic), 8 (corrosives), 9 (miscellaneous including lithium batteries)
- UN numbers supported: UN3480, UN3481, UN3090, UN3091 for lithium batteries, plus any custom UN classification

## Carrier Integrations

- Live (AU/NZ): Australia Post, StarTrack (DG capable), TNT / FedEx AU (pickup scheduling, DG capable), Team Global Express, Mainfreight, NZ Post
- Beta (global): FedEx, UPS, USPS, Canada Post, Purolator, Canpar, DHL Express, Aramex, Royal Mail, DPD (UK), InPost, GLS, PostNL, DHL Parcel (Germany), Aramex AU (Fastway), CouriersPlease
- Label generation, tracking, pickup scheduling (self-serve pickup day/time), and rate comparison
- Carrier surcharges: SKU-based, destination-based, bulky item, and DG surcharges

## Warranty & Fault Tracking

- Three-level fault code classification: Product Family → Category → Subcategory
- Serial number capture and verification at portal and receiving
- Configurable warranty policies by product, SKU, tag, or collection
- Repair quote workflow with Shopify checkout payment
- Technician assignment and labour time tracking
- Failure analysis thresholds (amber/red) for product quality monitoring
- Supplier accountability through exportable fault data

## Analytics

- Return rates by SKU with failure analysis
- Carrier cost breakdown and shipping recovery insights
- Fault diagnostics by category and severity
- SLA performance tracking
- Staff performance views
- Inventory disposition analytics (restock vs write-off value)

## Pricing (USD, billed every 30 days through Shopify; last updated 8 October 2026)

- Free: $0/month. 5 RMAs/month included, then $2 per additional RMA up to a maximum of 30 RMAs/month. Customer returns portal, standard returns and basic warranty claims, fault-code logging, dangerous goods compliance, carrier labels, overview dashboard. 1 location, 2 staff users. No add-ons.
- Returns: $29/month, 30-day free trial. 200 returns included, then $2 per additional return capped at $200/month (max 300). Returns workflow only: customer portal, returns and exchanges, carrier labels, notifications, returns report. No warranty claims or repair workflows (upgrade to Starter for those). 1 location, 2 staff users.
- Starter: $49/month, 30-day free trial. 50 RMAs included, then $2 per additional RMA capped at $200/month (max 150 RMAs). Full returns and warranty workflows, Gorgias and Zendesk helpdesk sync, third-party repairs, serial number tracking, core analytics (returns, warranty and repairs, warehouse mistakes, inventory, product reports). 1 location, 3 staff users.
- Growth: $299/month. 250 RMAs/month. SLA tracking and monitoring, enhanced repair workflows, supplier and fault tracking, process and inspection analytics. 2 locations, 5 staff users. Advanced Analytics add-on available.
- Ops: $599/month. 500 RMAs/month. Full RMA, warranty and repair workflows, restocking-fee management, team queue views with SLA monitoring. 2 locations, 20 staff users. Advanced Analytics add-on available.
- Scale: $1,349/month. 1,000 RMAs/month. Advanced analytics included (failure analytics, shipping costs, staff performance, cost recovery), REST API and webhooks, MCP connector for AI assistants, bulk data access. 10 locations, unlimited staff.
- Enterprise: $2,500/month (contact sales). Unlimited RMAs, multi-brand and multi-store consolidation, dedicated onboarding with named contact, priority support queue, quarterly business review, custom integration budget.
- Add-ons (billed as Shopify usage, added instantly, removable any time): additional staff user $8/user/month (Starter, Growth, Ops), additional return location $49/month (Starter and above), Advanced Analytics $249/month (Growth and Ops; included in Scale and Enterprise).
- Returns and Starter include a 30-day free trial: the first charge lands 30 days after the merchant approves the plan in Shopify, and cancelling before then costs nothing. One trial per store. The Free plan has no time limit. Customer portal submissions are never blocked by plan limits; over the cap they are accepted and held until the plan is upgraded. Annual pricing for Ops and Scale on request.

## Integrations

- Shopify (native — orders, customers, inventory, refunds)
- Gorgias (two-way sync, sidebar widget, ticket creation) — Starter plan and above
- Zendesk (sidebar app, ticket linking, OAuth) — Starter plan and above
- Webhooks (real-time event notifications) — Scale plan and above
- REST API for custom integrations — Scale plan and above
- MCP connector for Claude and other AI assistants (read-only) — Scale plan and above
- TradeMate (B2B trade returns)

## Company

- Product: ReturnMate
- Location: Sydney, Australia
- Support: support@matehq.com.au
- Website: https://returnmate.io
- Help Centre: https://help.returnmate.io
- Target market: Shopify merchants shipping complex, repair-heavy, or regulated products in Australia