Credit notes and refunds¶

A credit/debit note, or credit/debit memo, is a document sent to a customer to inform them that they have been credited/debited a certain amount.

Several use cases can lead to a credit note, such as:

a mistake in the invoice

a return of the goods, or a rejection of the services

the goods delivered are damaged

Debit notes are less common but are most frequently used to track debts owed by customers or to vendors because of modifications to confirmed customer invoices or vendor bills.

Note

Issuing a credit/debit note is the only legal method for canceling, refunding, or modifying a validated invoice. Make sure to register the payment afterward if money is being refunded to the customer and/or validate the return if a storable product is being returned.

Issue a customer credit note¶

In most cases, credit notes are created directly from the corresponding invoices. To do so, go to Accounting ‣ Customers ‣ Invoices, open the relevant Invoice, and click Credit Note.

In the Credit Note window, fill in the Reason displayed on Credit Note and update the Journal and Reversal date if needed. There are two options:

Click Reverse to open a draft credit note prefilled with the exact details from the original invoice. Update the Product and Quantity and click Confirm. This option allows for a partial refund or modifications to the credit note.
Click Reverse and Create Invoice to create a credit note, validate it automatically, reconcile it with the related invoice, and open a new draft invoice prefilled with the exact details from the original invoice.

To create a credit note from scratch, go to Accounting ‣ Customers ‣ Credit Notes, and click New. Filling out a credit note follows the same process as completing an invoice.

Note

A credit note sequence starts with R and is followed by the related document number (e.g., RINV/2025/0004 is associated with the invoice INV/2025/0004).

Issue a customer debit note¶

To create a debit note, go to Accounting ‣ Customers ‣ Invoices and follow these steps:

Select the desired invoice(s), click Actions and select Create Debit Note.
In the Create Debit Note window, fill in the Reason and update the Use Specific Journal and Debit Note Date fields if needed.
Enable the Copy Lines option to copy the invoice lines and click Create Debit Note.
In the debit note, update the Product and Quantity and click Confirm.

Note

Debit notes require the Debit Notes (account_debit_note) module.

Tip

To create a debit note from the invoice form view, click the (gear) icon and select Debit Note.

Record a vendor refund¶

Vendor refunds or vendor credit notes are recorded the same way as credit notes:

To record a vendor refund or a vendor credit note directly from the corresponding vendor bill, go to Accounting ‣ Vendors ‣ Bills, open the relevant vendor bill, and click Credit Note.

To record it from scratch, go to Accounting ‣ Vendors ‣ Refunds, and click on New.

Record a vendor debit note¶

Debit notes from vendors are recorded the same way debit notes are issued to customers.

To record a debit note, go to Accounting ‣ Vendors ‣ Bills and select the desired bill(s). Click Actions and select Create Debit Note.

Tip

To create a debit note from the vendor bill form view, click the (gear) icon and select Debit Note.

Journal entries¶

Creating a credit/debit note from an invoice/bill generates a reverse entry that cancels out the journal items from the original invoice.

Example

The journal entry of an invoice:

screenshot: accounting-credit-notes-invoice-entry

menu: Accounting ‣ Customers ‣ Invoices ‣ (open the invoice) ‣ Journal Items tab
shows: Journal items of the original invoice: receivable debit, income and tax credits.
highlight: The debit and credit columns (red frame).
data: Invoice of 1,000 + 27%.
module: account
notes: English UI, light theme, 1440px width.

The credit note’s journal entry generated to reverse the original invoice above:

screenshot: accounting-credit-notes-credit-note-entry

menu: Accounting ‣ Customers ‣ Credit Notes ‣ (open the credit note) ‣ Journal Items tab
shows: Journal items of the credit note reversing the invoice: receivable credit, income and tax debits.
highlight: The debit and credit columns (red frame).
data: Credit note of the invoice above.
module: account
notes: English UI, light theme, 1440px width.

Signed amounts in exports¶

With the eYssen Account (eyssen_account) module, invoice lines have signed amount fields that are negative for credit notes and refunds: Quantity (signed), Subtotal (signed), VAT total (signed), and Total (signed). Use these fields when exporting invoice lines (e.g., from Accounting ‣ Accounting ‣ Journal Items) to distinguish credit note lines from invoice lines and to get correct totals in mixed exports.