What is it?
WooCommerce supports fully automatic inventory restock. When returned items are confirmed at the warehouse and approved during quality check, Ingrid Returns increments the product variant's stock in WooCommerce via the REST API — with no action in WooCommerce Admin.
How it works
Restock fires only when both conditions are met: the item is approved for restock in quality check, and the item's refund is finalised.
Returned items arrive and are received.
Quality check staff approve or reject each item for restock.
Once the refund is finalised, Ingrid Returns evaluates each item's eligibility.
For approved items, Ingrid calls the WooCommerce REST API to add the returned quantity back to the product variant's stock.
The quantity added is capped at the original order-line quantity, preventing over-restocking.
Per-item precision: a 3-item return can result in 0–3 items restocked, depending on quality check. Rejected (e.g. damaged) items never re-enter available stock.
Configuration
Restock is enabled automatically when the WooCommerce integration is active — there are no restock-specific settings.
WooCommerce credentials —
Returns Back-office → Settings → Ecom Integrations → WooCommerce(Consumer Key, Consumer Secret).Warehouse staff access —
Returns Back-office → Settings → Users(staff need Quality Check permission to submit restock decisions).
To test: run a return, approve an item in quality check, finalise the refund, and confirm the variant's stock increased in WooCommerce.
Examples
Full restock after a standard return
A customer returns a jacket in good condition. Quality check approves it; once the £89 refund is finalised, Ingrid adds 1 unit back to the variant's stock automatically — no manual steps.
Mixed batch — approved and rejected
A t-shirt (good) and jeans (damaged zip) are returned. Quality check approves the t-shirt and rejects the jeans. After refunds finalise, only the t-shirt is restocked — damaged stock never re-enters inventory.
FAQ
An item was approved but stock didn't update.
Usually the refund isn't finalised yet — restock needs both quality check approval and a completed refund. Resolve the refund and the restock follows.
How do I verify a restock was sent?
Check per-item quality check decisions in Returns Back-office → Warehouse Reports.
We report items via the Public API instead of the Quality Check UI — does auto-restock still apply?
Yes. Set approved: true on items in POST /merchant/items/returned; once the refund finalises, approved items restock automatically.
What if the WooCommerce API call fails?
Ingrid retries automatically; if it still fails, the restock moves to an error state in the Back-office for manual reprocessing.
Limitations
Constraint | Detail |
Requires a quality check decision | No item is restocked without a completed quality check — there's no path that bypasses warehouse review. |
Requires a finalised refund | Restock only triggers after the item's refund is finalised; pending or failed refunds hold it until resolved. |
Quantity capped per order line | The restocked quantity can't exceed the original order-line quantity. |
Per-item granularity | Each item has an independent approve/reject decision, so one return can mix restocked and non-restocked items. |