The first page of the document DocMake makes from the sample values on this page.
Operations
Return Authorization
An RMA is permission to send something back. It exists so the returns bay can tell an expected parcel from a mystery one: the number goes on the outside of the box, and anything that arrives without it sits on a shelf unidentified while a support ticket quietly ages.
The header settles the commercial terms before the unit moves. Who is returning it, against which order and invoice, the date the authorization expires, who pays the return freight, the address and bay the parcel should reach, and whether a restocking fee applies. The rows then carry part number, item, serial number, quantity, the fault as the customer described it and the agreed outcome, which usually comes down to replacement, repair, credit, refund or disposal on site.
Support agents raise these from a ticket, so the template is worth wiring to the helpdesk rather than filling in by hand. One payload can render both copies: the customer's, with the packing and shipping instructions, and the internal one the returns bay uses to book units in and record what the inspection actually found.
Blanks to fill
| authorization_number | Authorization number |
| issue_date | Issued |
| valid_until | Valid until |
| customer_name | Customer |
| customer_contact | Contact |
| customer_email | Contact email |
| original_order | Original order |
| invoice_reference | Invoice reference |
| support_ticket | Support ticket |
| return_reason | Why it is coming back |
| return_address | Return address |
| freight_paid_by | Return freight paid by |
| restocking_fee | Restocking fee |
| packing_instructions | Packing instructions |
| authorized_by | Authorized by |
| company_name | Company |
| returned_units[] | One per item, so a row is added for every item in the list |
The data behind the preview
This is the exact JSON that produced the document above. Change the values, POST them to the API, and you get your version back as DOCX or PDF. Lists grow and shrink with your data; the layout adapts.
- 01 Sign up free and duplicate this template into your workspace.
- 02 Adjust the wording and branding in the visual editor.
- 03 Fill it in the app, share it as a form link, or call the API.
{
"company_name": "Marlowe Instruments",
"authorization_number": "RA-2026-0663",
"issue_date": "2 September 2026",
"valid_until": "30 September 2026",
"customer_name": "Pendlebury Water Services",
"customer_contact": "Aoife Rennick, Maintenance Lead",
"customer_email": "aoife.rennick@pendleburywater.example",
"original_order": "ORD-2026-5518",
"invoice_reference": "INV-2026-7742",
"support_ticket": "TK-88104",
"returned_units": [
{
"part_number": "MI-4420",
"item": "Flow meter",
"serial_number": "A17734",
"quantity": "1",
"fault_reported": "Reads zero on flow",
"agreed_outcome": "Repair in warranty"
},
{
"part_number": "MI-4420",
"item": "Flow meter",
"serial_number": "A17802",
"quantity": "1",
"fault_reported": "Display resets",
"agreed_outcome": "Repair in warranty"
},
{
"part_number": "MI-2210",
"item": "Pressure transmitter",
"serial_number": "C4471",
"quantity": "1",
"fault_reported": "Drifts 0.4 bar warm",
"agreed_outcome": "Quote before repair"
},
{
"part_number": "MI-4425",
"item": "Flow sensor",
"serial_number": "A18110",
"quantity": "1",
"fault_reported": "Cable cut on site",
"agreed_outcome": "Repair, chargeable"
},
{
"part_number": "MI-9005",
"item": "Sensor cable, 10 m",
"serial_number": "Not serialised",
"quantity": "4",
"fault_reported": "Ordered in error",
"agreed_outcome": "Credit less the fee"
}
],
"return_reason": "Two flow meters failed on the same site within six weeks of being fitted, and the pressure transmitter drifts once the plant room warms up. The four sensor cables were ordered in error and have not been opened.",
"return_address": "Marlowe Instruments, Returns, Unit 12 Sandon Way, Stoke on Trent ST4 7RR, United Kingdom",
"freight_paid_by": "Marlowe Instruments for the items in warranty, the customer for the rest",
"restocking_fee": "15 per cent on the unopened cables, nothing on the faulty units",
"packing_instructions": "Send each meter in its own box with the original foam. Do not send the mounting brackets or the mains leads. Write the authorization number on the outside of every box and put a copy of this sheet inside the first one.",
"authorized_by": "Gareth Tolhurst, Service Manager"
}Generate this document via the API
One template plus changing data is the whole point. The list of blanks above is the contract, and every new set of values comes back in the same layout: fill it in the app, hand someone a form link, or POST the JSON and get the file straight back.
The request below carries this page's own values, so it runs as soon as the template exists in your workspace. Swap the values for yours and the response is your document.
curl -X POST https://app.docmake.io/api/v1/render \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $DOCMAKE_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-H "Accept: application/json" \
--output return-merchandise-authorization.pdf \
--data-binary @- <<'JSON'
{
"template_id": "tmpl_your_template_id",
"format": "pdf",
"data": {
"company_name": "Marlowe Instruments",
"authorization_number": "RA-2026-0663",
"issue_date": "2 September 2026",
"valid_until": "30 September 2026",
"customer_name": "Pendlebury Water Services",
"customer_contact": "Aoife Rennick, Maintenance Lead",
"customer_email": "aoife.rennick@pendleburywater.example",
"original_order": "ORD-2026-5518",
"invoice_reference": "INV-2026-7742",
"support_ticket": "TK-88104",
"returned_units": [
{
"part_number": "MI-4420",
"item": "Flow meter",
"serial_number": "A17734",
"quantity": "1",
"fault_reported": "Reads zero on flow",
"agreed_outcome": "Repair in warranty"
},
{
"part_number": "MI-4420",
"item": "Flow meter",
"serial_number": "A17802",
"quantity": "1",
"fault_reported": "Display resets",
"agreed_outcome": "Repair in warranty"
},
{
"part_number": "MI-2210",
"item": "Pressure transmitter",
"serial_number": "C4471",
"quantity": "1",
"fault_reported": "Drifts 0.4 bar warm",
"agreed_outcome": "Quote before repair"
},
{
"part_number": "MI-4425",
"item": "Flow sensor",
"serial_number": "A18110",
"quantity": "1",
"fault_reported": "Cable cut on site",
"agreed_outcome": "Repair, chargeable"
},
{
"part_number": "MI-9005",
"item": "Sensor cable, 10 m",
"serial_number": "Not serialised",
"quantity": "4",
"fault_reported": "Ordered in error",
"agreed_outcome": "Credit less the fee"
}
],
"return_reason": "Two flow meters failed on the same site within six weeks of being fitted, and the pressure transmitter drifts once the plant room warms up. The four sensor cables were ordered in error and have not been opened.",
"return_address": "Marlowe Instruments, Returns, Unit 12 Sandon Way, Stoke on Trent ST4 7RR, United Kingdom",
"freight_paid_by": "Marlowe Instruments for the items in warranty, the customer for the rest",
"restocking_fee": "15 per cent on the unopened cables, nothing on the faulty units",
"packing_instructions": "Send each meter in its own box with the original foam. Do not send the mounting brackets or the mains leads. Write the authorization number on the outside of every box and put a copy of this sheet inside the first one.",
"authorized_by": "Gareth Tolhurst, Service Manager"
}
}
JSON tmpl_your_template_id is
a stand-in: build this template in the visual editor and copy the id it shows, or create one with POST /api/v1/templates. Keys, formats, strict mode and batches are in the API reference.
Or let an AI assistant do it
The DocMake MCP server lets Claude and other assistants make this document the same way. Install it once:
claude mcp add docmake \
--env DOCMAKE_API_KEY=dm_your_api_key \
-- npx -y @docmake/mcp@latestThen ask for the document in plain words:
Make a PDF from my Return Authorization template with authorization number "RA-2026-0663" and issued "2 September 2026".
More operations templates
Change Order
The instructed change, where it came from, what it costs line by line, what it does to the programme, and the contract sum it leaves behind.
View template →Daily Site Report
The day on site in one sheet: weather, crew, plant, work done, deliveries and what held the job up.
View template →Field Service Report
One engineer visit written down: the fault, the time on site, the parts fitted, the tests that proved it and the customer signature.
View template →