Academy

Issue a credit note

Credit a customer for returned goods or a billing mistake, straight from the posted invoice, then apply the credit to that invoice.

Accounting 8 steps 1:25 video Accounting - User (Own Documents) or Manager
Where to find it AccountingCustomersCredit Notes

Before you start

The invoice you want to credit must be confirmed (status Posted). If the invoice has not been posted yet, change or delete the draft instead - no credit note is needed.

Steps

  1. Open Accounting > Customers > Customer Invoices and open the posted invoice you need to credit.
  2. Open the actions menu (⋯) at the top and choose Credit Note.
  3. SiaOne creates a Draft credit note with the same customer and the same lines. Change a Quantity to credit only part of a line, or click the bin to remove a line you are not crediting. The Totals follow as you edit.
  4. Write the reason in Customer Reference, so you and the customer know what the credit is for.
  5. Click Confirm. The credit note gets its own number (CN-00020, for example) and is Posted. The sales, the VAT and the customer's balance are reduced by the credit amount.
  6. To use the credit, open the actions menu (⋯) on the credit note and choose Apply to Invoice. Scroll the menu if you do not see it.
  7. Pick the invoice from the list - type its number in Search invoice number to find it - check the Amount and click Apply. The credit note now shows Paid: it has been used up.
  8. Open the invoice again. It shows Partially Paid (or Paid, if the credit covered all of it), and Current Due is lower by the amount you applied.

Tip

Credit notes from all customers are listed under Accounting > Customers > Credit Notes.

Note

A credit note is a new document. It does not change the original invoice, so the invoice keeps its own number and amount - applying the credit is what lowers what is still due. You can only apply a credit note to an open invoice of the same customer in the same currency.

Note

If the customer has already paid and you would rather give the money back, do not apply the credit. Use Refund instead - see Refund a customer.

What happens next

The customer owes you less on that invoice. To record money the customer pays you, read Record a customer payment.

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