# Issue a credit note

Take money off a sent invoice, or give a General customer credit to use later, and see what issuing posts.

Canonical: https://demo.qixcount.com/help/invoicing/issue-a-credit-note

Who can do this: Owners, or people with *View invoices* and *Create invoices*

Where: Sales, then **Credit notes**

You'll need: A sent invoice to credit, or in General a customer to credit; amounts in your business currency

## Issue a credit note from an invoice

Use this when a customer returns something, a price changes or an invoice was wrong.

> [!WARNING]
> Issuing posts to your books right away. There is no draft and no approval step. To undo a credit note, void it.

1. Open **Sales**, then **Invoices**.
2. Open the sent invoice.
3. Open its additional-actions menu and select **Issue credit note**.
4. Enter the **Date** and choose a **Reason**.
5. Review the lines. Each starts with what is left to credit on that invoice line. Set a line to 0 to leave it out.
6. Enter a **Memo** if you want one on the credit note.
7. Select **Issue credit note**.

The credit note opens. If the invoice is still open, the credit is applied to it, up to its balance due. Anything left stays on the credit note to [apply to another invoice or refund](https://demo.qixcount.com/help/invoicing/apply-refund-or-void-a-credit-note).

**Issue credit note** appears on invoices that have posted and aren't void. The date can't be before the invoice date. The reasons are **Returned goods or canceled service**, **Price adjustment**, **Billing error**, **Bad debt write-off** and **Other**.

Tax is taken back in the same share as each invoice line. Sales tax reports list the tax taken back on the credit note's date, the same date its journal posts, under the original invoice. This guide explains how QixCount works. It isn't tax, legal or accounting advice.

## Give credit without an invoice

This is available in General only.

1. Open **Sales**, then **Credit notes**.
2. Select **New credit note**.
3. Search for the **Customer** and select it, then choose the **Date** and **Reason**. People with *Create customers* can select **New customer** to [add a customer from a sales form](https://demo.qixcount.com/help/invoicing/create-an-invoice#add-a-customer-from-a-sales-form).
4. For each line, enter a **Description**, choose an **Account** and enter an **Amount**.
5. Select **Issue credit note**.

Lines can use any active income or expense account. No tax is calculated on them. The credit stays open until you apply or refund it.

In Nonprofit, a credit note must come from the invoice it corrects, uses only that invoice's lines and keeps each line's fund coding. A grant invoice is corrected from its grant's page instead.

## What issuing posts

The journal is dated on the credit note's date. It debits each line's account, debits Sales Tax Payable for any tax taken back and credits Accounts Receivable. For a 100.00 credit on a line taxed at 8.00, with example account names:

| Account | Debit | Credit |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Sales Revenue | 100.00 | |
| Sales Tax Payable | 8.00 | |
| Accounts Receivable | | 108.00 |

**Bad debt write-off** is offered only to people who also have *Void invoices*, because writing off gives up the revenue as a void does. In General, it sends lines copied from the invoice to Bad Debt Expense instead of income. QixCount adds that expense account if you don't have one. A line you add yourself uses the account you choose. In Nonprofit, every reason debits the invoice line's own account.

A credit note uses your business currency only. A closed or locked period blocks its date.

## When credit notes need approval

Your business can add an approval step for credit notes in [approvals setup](https://demo.qixcount.com/help/setup/approvals-setup). It is off until a workflow is set up for **Credit Notes**.

With it on, the button reads **Save credit note**. A credit note in the workflow's amount range is saved as a request and opens with **Awaiting approval**. Nothing posts, the invoice's balance doesn't change and the request has no credit note number yet. Requests are listed above the credit notes under **Waiting for approval or sent back**.

| What happens | Result |
| --- | --- |
| Someone else approves it | The credit note is issued, posted and applied to its invoice, as if it had just been saved. |
| It is sent back | The request shows the reason. The person who made it, or an owner, can select **Change and send again** to open the form with what was entered. Saving it closes the request that was sent back. |
| You select **Withdraw request** | The request is canceled. Only the person who made it, or an owner, can withdraw it. |

The person who made a request can't approve it, unless they are an owner. Every approver of a bad debt write-off needs *Void invoices*, at each step of the workflow. Credit note requests are approved on the web, not in the mobile app. If the person who made the request is no longer active in the business, it can't be approved: reject it, and an owner can send it again. If the credit note can no longer be posted when it is approved, or would come to a different total, for example because its invoice was voided or the period was closed, the approval stops with the reason and the request keeps waiting.

## Send or download it

On the credit note, select **PDF** to download it, or **Email** to send it to the customer's saved email address. Emailing needs *Send invoices*. A voided credit note can't be emailed, and **Email** is unavailable while credit note emails are turned off or the customer has no email address.

After you select **Email**, the credit note shows where the email stands: queued, accepted by the mail server, or not sent. Accepted means the mail server took it, not that the customer read it. If QixCount can't tell whether the last email went out, it won't send another copy; download the PDF and email it yourself.

The subject and opening message come from **Credit note** in [your customer emails](https://demo.qixcount.com/help/setup/customer-emails), where you can also turn the email or its PDF off. Below your message the email always lists the credit note number, total, date, any invoice it was applied to, any amount refunded and what is not yet used. The PDF uses a fixed layout on letter paper rather than your [document design](https://demo.qixcount.com/help/setup/invoice-design-and-content).

Next, [apply, refund or void a credit note](https://demo.qixcount.com/help/invoicing/apply-refund-or-void-a-credit-note).