Credit notes
Crediting a customer — drafting, approving, allocating to invoices, emailing and voiding.
Accounts → Credit Notes (/operations/credit-notes). A credit note reduces what a customer owes. You raise it against the customer, approve it, then allocate it to one or more of that customer’s open invoices.
The lifecycle
Section titled “The lifecycle”| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Draft | Saved, not yet in force. The only status that can be edited. |
| Approved | In force, nothing allocated yet. Can be emailed, allocated or voided. |
| Allocated | Part of its value has been applied to invoices. |
| Fully allocated | All of its value has been applied. |
| Void | Withdrawn. Only possible while nothing is allocated — remove the allocations first. |
A credit note with a zero total cannot be approved.
Creating one
Section titled “Creating one”Create Credit Note, then fill in:
| Field | |
|---|---|
| Customer | Who is being credited. Only active customers are listed. |
| Reason (shown on PDF) | The customer reads this. |
| Internal Notes (not on PDF) | For your own record. |
| Line Items | Description, Qty, Unit Price and Tax % (defaults to 10). Add Line for more. |
The totals box shows Subtotal, GST and Total Credit as you type.
- Save Draft — keeps it editable.
- Save & Approve — puts it in force straight away.
The number is the credit_notes prefix from Company System Settings, then a six-digit counter — for example CN-000042.
Allocating to invoices
Section titled “Allocating to invoices”Two ways in, same rules:
- From the credit note: Manage Allocation → Allocate to an Invoice. Pick the Invoice, enter the Amount ($), click Allocate.
- From the invoice: Manage Payments → Apply Credit Note. See Payments.
The rules:
- Same customer only. The picker lists that customer’s outstanding invoices — pending, sent, partially paid or overdue.
- The credit note must be approved (or already part-allocated).
- The amount cannot exceed what is left on the credit note, nor the invoice’s balance.
- A cancelled invoice cannot take a credit.
An allocation reduces the invoice’s Outstanding. If payments plus credits now cover the total, the invoice becomes Paid and its PDF is regenerated with the PAID watermark.
To undo one, use the × beside it. The amount returns to the credit note.
Sending
Section titled “Sending”Send Credit Note — Recipient Email, Subject and Message. The PDF is attached automatically. Only an approved or allocated credit note can be emailed.
The list
Section titled “The list”The tiles across the top total Credit Notes, Total Value, Allocated and Unallocated. Filter by status, then use the CSV or PDF icons beside Create Credit Note to export what is on screen.
Row actions follow the status: View always; Edit and Approve while draft; PDF once approved; Void while approved and unallocated.
The detail page also has Notes (internal) and a History of every change.
Accounting
Section titled “Accounting”When an accounting system is connected, an Accounting column shows whether each credit note — and each allocation — has reached it. See Accounting integration.