Accounts Receivable | Credit Note Management
The only way to correct an invoice. So it had better be right.
Sales returns, discounts and corrections run through credit notes rather than by editing the original, because an invoice the customer has already booked is not yours to change. Each credit note references the original, goes out the same way it did, and adjusts the output tax you already accounted so the return and your customer's claim move together.
What the system does
Capability, input, output.
| Capability | Input | Output |
|---|---|---|
| Credit note triggers | Sales return / discount / rate revision | Credit note draft with original invoice reference |
| Delivery | Credit note and the customer contact | Sent and tracked against the original invoice |
| Output tax adjustment | Credit notes for the period | Output tax on the return reduced, with the workings kept |
| Exemption interaction | A credit against a taxed sale | The sales tax reversed with it, so the return and the invoice agree |
| Partial credits | Credit against part of an invoice | Balance stays open, allocation tracked to the line |
| Audit trail | Every credit and its reason | Who raised it, why, and against what |
-
Credit note triggers
- Input
- Sales return / discount / rate revision
- Output
- Credit note draft with original invoice reference
-
Delivery
- Input
- Credit note and the customer contact
- Output
- Sent and tracked against the original invoice
-
Output tax adjustment
- Input
- Credit notes for the period
- Output
- Output tax on the return reduced, with the workings kept
-
Exemption interaction
- Input
- A credit against a taxed sale
- Output
- The sales tax reversed with it, so the return and the invoice agree
-
Partial credits
- Input
- Credit against part of an invoice
- Output
- Balance stays open, allocation tracked to the line
-
Audit trail
- Input
- Every credit and its reason
- Output
- Who raised it, why, and against what
Compliance + integrations
The correction is the record.
There is no cancellation flow to fall back on, so the credit note is the whole audit story of what went wrong and how it was fixed. That makes the reason field worth taking seriously: a run of unexplained credits against one customer is the pattern a reviewer looks for, and it is also the pattern a sales team creates when discounts are being agreed off-system.
Regulations we work within
-
Period treatment
Where the credit relates to a sale in an already-filed period, the treatment is surfaced rather than silently netted, since states differ on whether that is a current-period adjustment or an amendment.
-
Audit trail
The credit, the invoice it reverses and the reason are kept together, which is what a state auditor asks for on a sampled sale.
Connects to
- Email delivery Credit notes sent and tracked
- Xero Credit note sync
- QuickBooks Credit note sync
- Customer portal Credit visible to the customer on issue
Credit Note Management FAQ
What buyers ask.
We sent an invoice with the wrong amount. Can we just edit it?
You should not, and the system will not let you quietly. Once the invoice is on the network it has been delivered, and the correction is a credit note against it, optionally followed by a fresh invoice for the right amount. It is a better trail than a cancellation, since the original error stays visible instead of disappearing.
Which period does the adjustment fall in?
The period the credit note is issued in, not the period of the original invoice. That means a credit raised after you have filed does not reopen a filed return, which is the outcome you want. It also means a credit sitting in someone's drafts is output tax you are still carrying.
Does the customer have to do anything?
They book the credit against the original invoice, which is why it goes to them as a document rather than as an email saying you have credited them. It is delivered and tracked against the original invoice, so there is nothing to key in and nothing to argue about later.
Post-supply discount. Is that a credit note?
Yes, where the discount is agreed after the supply has been made. The system handles both the linked case, where the original invoice is referenced, and a general scheme applied across a customer's invoices for a period. The linked case is easier to defend, so it is the default.
More in Accounts Receivable
Related features
Taxability and Sourcing
What is taxable and which state the sale belongs to, decided at the invoice.
See Taxability and SourcingCustomer 360
Quotes, SOs, invoices, receipts, credit limits, contacts and documents on one customer record.
See Customer 360Export Invoicing
Multi-currency invoicing for overseas customers, with the sales tax treatment decided at the invoice.
See Export Invoicing
Raise your next credit note the way the network expects.
Connect one entity, free. Trigger a sales return on a recent invoice. The credit note drafts against the original, goes out over the network, and the output tax on your return comes down with it.