What Is the Order vs Return Monthly Report?
The Order vs Return (Monthly) report puts order activity and returns side by side, grouped by Order Month. It shows how many orders were placed, how many are recorded as returned, and the value associated with those returns alongside total sales.
Rather than reviewing return totals in isolation, you can compare monthly Return order % and Return Value % with order volume and sales. This helps reveal whether a rise in returns is happening alongside a larger month of orders or represents a more significant change.
Use the report to spot months worth reviewing for potential sizing, quality, or customer-expectation issues. The supplied fields do not identify individual products or explain return reasons; investigate those separately before drawing conclusions.
Report Overview
- Report category
- Sales & Order Reports.
- Reporting view
- Monthly rows based on Order Month for the selected period.
- Data included
- Order Count, Returned orders, Returns Value, Total Sales, Return order %, and Return Value %.
- Best for
- Comparing return volume and value with monthly order and sales activity.
- Delivery
- Save the premade report, then schedule a recurring email if needed; export options include CSV, Excel, TXT and PDF as specified in the source.
What Can You Learn from Monthly Orders and Returns?
1. Which months have unusually high return incidence?
Compare Return order % across months instead of relying only on returned-order counts. This helps distinguish an increase caused by more orders from a change in the proportion returned.
Example: A hypothetical April has fewer orders than March but a higher Return order %.
What you can do: Review what changed in that month’s offers, product mix, or customer communications.
2. When does returned value become more significant?
Return Value % and Returns Value show the financial scale of returns relative to the report’s sales view. A small number of returns can still represent a meaningful amount.
Example: In a hypothetical month, Returns Value rises while Returned orders stays nearly flat.
What you can do: Check whether higher-priced orders contributed to the change using more detailed order data.
3. Are high-order months followed by an elevated return pattern?
Place Order Count beside Returned orders to identify months requiring closer review. The monthly view helps flag a pattern, but does not establish a causal link to any promotion or season.
Example: A hypothetical seasonal sales peak coincides with a rise in returned orders.
What you can do: Compare the trend with your campaign calendar and product-level return records.
4. Is the return picture improving over time?
Read both return percentages across several months. Falling rates alongside stable or growing sales can be an encouraging signal, though changes in product mix can affect the comparison.
Example: A hypothetical three-month period shows declining Return Value % while Total Sales remains steady.
What you can do: Continue monthly checks and validate the trend against detailed return reasons.
What Should You Check First in This Report?
Start with these figures before investigating individual orders:
- Return order %: Find months when the share of returned orders appears to move sharply.
- Return Value %: Check whether the monetary impact differs from the order-based trend.
- Returned orders and Order Count: Read the counts together so a high-volume month is not mistaken for a high-rate month.
- Returns Value and Total Sales: Compare the amounts, keeping in mind the report’s configured definitions.
When Should You Use This Report?
| When to Use It | How It Helps |
|---|---|
| Comparing monthly orders and return rates | Compare monthly order volume and return rates in one saved report. |
| Investigating months with unusual return patterns | Identify months that warrant checking customer expectations and return reasons. |
| Reviewing returns around seasonal sales peaks | Compare sales peaks with returned-order and return-value patterns. |
| Preparing a monthly sales and returns summary | Review returned value next to total sales without treating it as a profit or payout report. |
| Scheduling monthly order and return updates | Share a consistent monthly snapshot with relevant colleagues. |
How to Create This Report in Data Export
The premade Order vs Return (Monthly) report starts with the fields already selected.
- Open Data Export and find the premade “Order vs Return (Monthly)” report.
- Open it and review the Order Month grouping and seven included fields.
- Choose your reporting date range and apply any relevant filters; adjust columns only if your team needs a different view.
- Save the report, then check the first output to confirm the monthly totals and percentages match your intended definitions.
- Optionally set up a daily, weekly, or monthly email schedule or download the report in an available export format.
Make the Most of This Report
Use these four checks to make monthly comparisons more reliable.
01 / PERIOD / Compare comparable periods / Use full months where possible. Partial months can distort both counts and percentages.
02 / DEFINITIONS / Validate the denominator / Check how the premade report calculates each return percentage before communicating a return rate.
03 / CONTEXT / Investigate, do not assume / The monthly table does not identify products or return reasons. Use more detailed records to find the cause.
04 / DELIVERY / Share a consistent view / Save the chosen fields and period, then schedule delivery to colleagues who need the same monthly update.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the report show both the number and value of returns?
Yes. It includes Returned orders and Returns Value, together with percentage measures for each.
Is the report grouped by the return date or order date?
The supplied grouping field is Order Month. The knowledge base does not define how returns are attributed to that month, so confirm the report’s configuration before interpreting late returns.
Can I compare return rates between months?
Yes. Return order % and Return Value % support month-by-month comparison, provided the report settings and calculation definitions remain consistent.
Can I see which products caused a return spike?
Not from the seven default columns. This report shows monthly totals; use a more detailed product or order return report to investigate specific items.
Can I email this report automatically?
The supplied setup instructions support scheduled email delivery on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis after saving the report.
