# Apply, refund or void a credit note

Use what is left on a credit note against an open invoice, refund it to the customer, or void it, and see what each step posts.

Canonical: https://demo.qixcount.com/help/invoicing/apply-refund-or-void-a-credit-note

Who can do this: Owners, or people with *View invoices* and *Create invoices*; refunds need *Record payments received*

Where: Sales, then **Credit notes**

You'll need: An issued credit note with an amount not yet used; an open invoice for the same customer to apply it to

## Apply credit to an open invoice

1. Open **Sales**, then **Credit notes**.
2. Open a credit note with an amount in **Not yet used**.
3. In **Apply to an invoice**, choose the **Invoice**.
4. Check the **Amount** and **Date**.
5. Select **Apply credit**.

Applying posts nothing, because the credit note already credited Accounts Receivable. The invoice's balance due goes down. An invoice whose balance reaches zero this way shows as Paid.

Only that customer's open invoices are listed: sent, viewed, partial or overdue with a balance due. The amount can't be more than what is left on the credit note or the invoice's balance. The date can't be before the credit note or the invoice, in a closed period, or before the day the credit was last removed from an invoice or had a refund voided. In Nonprofit, a credit note applies only to the invoice it came from.

You can also start from the invoice. When the invoice is open and the customer has credit not yet used, the invoice shows a **Credits** card with **Apply credit**. It uses the oldest open credit note and today's date, or the credit note's date if that is later.

To take a credit back off an invoice, select **Remove** beside it under **Applied to invoices**. The amount returns to the credit note and the invoice's balance goes back up. Nothing posts. The row stays listed as Removed.

## Refund the customer

> [!WARNING]
> Recording a refund posts a journal that takes the money out of the account you choose. It doesn't send money. Pay the customer separately.

1. Open the credit note.
2. Select **Refund the customer**.
3. Enter the **Date** and choose the account in **Paid from**.
4. Check the **Amount**.
5. Enter a check number in **Check or reference** if you have one.
6. Select **Record refund**.

The refund debits Accounts Receivable and credits the bank or cash account you paid from. You can refund up to what is left on the credit note, dated on or after the credit note and not before the day it was last removed from an invoice or had a refund voided. Refunds need *Record payments received*.

To undo a refund, select **Void** beside it, enter **Why** and select **Void refund**. This reverses the refund's journal and needs *Delete payments received*.

## Match the refund to its bank line

When the refund shows up on your bank feed, link the bank line to the refund rather than categorizing the line, which would post the refund a second time. QixCount never links a refund on its own. You confirm it in one of two places:

- In **Bank transactions**, QixCount proposes the refund's entry as a pair when the withdrawal is exactly the refund's amount, comes from the account the refund was paid from and is dated within three days of the refund. Select **Confirm pair with your entry** on the line. Nothing new posts.
- In a reconciliation, select the link icon in the bank row's **Match** column to open [**Suggested Matches**](https://demo.qixcount.com/help/banking/match-a-transaction#accept-a-suggested-match). A withdrawal of exactly the refund's amount, from the account the refund was paid from, lists it as *Refund on credit note* with the credit note number. Select **Accept**.

A refund is matched to one whole bank line. It can't be matched for part of a line or together with other records. Voiding a matched refund releases the match, and the bank line comes back for review.

## Void a credit note

> [!WARNING]
> Voiding reverses the credit note's journal on today's date and puts the tax it took back on the same date. You can't restore a voided credit note.

1. Remove each application and void each refund on the credit note.
2. Select **Void this credit note**.
3. Enter **Why**.
4. Select **Void credit note**.

Voiding needs *Void invoices*. The option appears only when nothing is applied or refunded; until then, a note in its place says what to remove or void first. Voiding doesn't remove the tax the credit note took back from its own period. Instead, sales tax reports get offsetting rows dated the day you void it, so a period already filed keeps its figures. A closed or locked period can block the reversal.

Correct the credit note or refund on this page. Its journal cannot be reversed separately in Journal entries.

An invoice can't be voided while any credit note is applied to it. It also can't be voided while a credit note issued from it is still active, even if that credit note is unused. Its **Void Invoice** option stays hidden until you remove the applied credit and void the credit note issued from the invoice, as described above.

## Credit note statuses

| Status | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| Open | Some of the credit is not yet used. |
| Used | The whole credit has been applied or refunded. |
| Void | The credit note was voided and its journal reversed. |

The **Credit notes** list shows the total **Not yet used**, with a status filter and a search by number or customer. [Accounts receivable aging](https://demo.qixcount.com/help/reports/ar-aging) subtracts applied credit from each invoice. When **Show** is **All Outstanding** and you haven't selected a bucket, it also notes the credit not yet applied below its table.