Customer Credit Notes
Customer Credit Notes
A customer credit note records credit you owe to a customer — when they return goods, when you correct an overcharge, or when you issue a goodwill adjustment. Posting one increases the customer's credit balance in CifraHQ, which they can use against any open or future invoice instead of receiving a cash refund.
CifraHQ has two types of customer credit documents, matched to different situations:
| Type | Use when | Has product lines? |
|---|---|---|
| Customer Credit Note | Returning specific goods from a customer invoice | Yes — itemized lines from the original invoice |
| Customer Credit Memo | Issuing a flat credit or allowance (no itemized return) | No — enter a single amount |
Customer Credit Notes list, credits issued back to your Customers.
Customer Credit Note (itemized)
How to create a Customer Credit Note
From an Invoice (recommended):
- Open a posted Invoice.
- Click Credit — CifraHQ creates a credit note with all invoice lines pre-filled.
- Adjust quantities to match what the customer is actually returning.
- Post the credit note.
Manually:
- Go to Returns > Sales > Credit Notes.
- Click the + Data Entry button and select New.
- Select the Customer and set the Posting Date.
- Add lines manually or click Add Invoice Line to pull from an existing invoice.
- Post the credit note.
Field reference
- Customer — locked after creation.
- Base (Invoice line) — each line references the original invoice line it came from, maintaining a clear Audit Trail back to the original sale.
- Quantity / Price — the amount the customer is returning; can be less than the original invoice line quantity if they're only returning part of the order.
- Electronic Submission Number — populated automatically when submitted to the Panama electronic invoicing system (ETAX), if enabled for your account.
Document lifecycle
| State | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Draft | Editable; no financial impact yet |
| Posted | Customer credit balance increased; Accounting entry created |
| Partially Paid | Credit partially applied to an invoice |
| Archived | Closed and read-only |
Customer Credit Memo (flat amount)
How to create a Customer Credit Memo
- Go to Returns > Sales > Credit Memos.
- Click the + Data Entry button and select New.
- Select the Customer, set the Posting Date, and enter the credit Amount.
- Post the credit memo — the customer's credit balance is increased by that amount.
Field reference
- Amount — the flat credit value; editable only before posting. Use this for price adjustments, freight credits, or promotional allowances where you're not returning specific Inventory items.
- Reference Number — optional; enter a reference for your records or the customer's credit authorization number.
- Customer Balance / Credit — shown read-only on the detail page so you can see the customer's current position before posting.
What happens next (both types)
The credit sits on the customer's balance in CifraHQ until they use it. To apply it against an open invoice:
- Open the Invoice.
- Click Pay → Apply Credit — CifraHQ creates a credit payment using the available credit balance. No bank transaction is required.
Tips
- You can only generate a Credit Note from an invoice when the invoice is in Posted, Partially Paid, Paid, or Archived state — draft Invoices cannot be credited.
- If an invoice already has an open (unposted) credit note against it, post or delete that credit note before creating another. CifraHQ enforces one open credit at a time per invoice.
- For pack-size Products, enter the returned quantity as number of packs — the same unit the customer originally ordered in.
Related: Invoices · Invoice Payments · Customers · Customer Returns · Audit Trail · Account Priming
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