Documents · 3 min read
By Murtaza Aziz
How to Issue a Credit Note Instead of Editing the Original Invoice
When an invoice is wrong, issue a credit note that cites the original number. Do not silently replace INV-1044.pdf. Same customer and lines, opposite sign, a new document number.
The tempting fix is to open INV-1044, change the amount, and email it again. That breaks anyone who already entered the original in their accounts, and it breaks you if the tax office asks which file was the tax invoice. A credit note is a new document that says "this amount of that invoice no longer applies."
You still keep INV-1044. You send CN-201 (or whatever your prefix is) that points at it. If the customer now owes a different total, send a new invoice for the corrected supply, or let the credit and the original net in their ledger.
When a credit note is the right file
Returned goods. A line billed twice. A discount agreed after the invoice went out. A tax rate that was wrong. In each case the original invoice described something that is no longer the whole story.
A credit note is the wrong file if the invoice never should have existed and was not sent. Then you void it internally and do not invent paperwork. Once it has been issued to the customer, credit rather than rewrite.
Fields on the credit note
Your name. Customer name. A unique credit note number. Date. A reference to the original invoice number. The lines being credited (description, qty, amounts). Tax if the original charged tax. The total credit. A short reason ("returned 2× filter, our ref RMA-18").
The PDF credit note template starter is an adjustment layout: credited lines and a total credit, with a status block for the credit amount. Bind creditNoteNumber, originalInvoiceNumber, items, creditTotal. Do not reuse the invoice number as the credit number.
Numbers and the original invoice
Leave INV-1044 as issued. The credit cites it. If you need to bill the correct amount, create INV-1045 rather than mutating 1044. Your books then show 1044, CN-201, 1045, which is ugly and auditable. A single shapeshifting PDF is pretty and not auditable.
In Australia, GST credits follow the same "do not silently edit a tax invoice" idea; use the ATO's wording for adjustment notes if you are GST-registered. Other countries have their own names (credit memo, adjustment note). The PDF still needs a number, a date, and a link to the original.
Generate it from the same customer data
The customer block and many line fields are identical to the invoice. Copy Example data, flip the title, set originalInvoiceNumber, reduce or negate the amounts your template expects. For a full reversal, the lines match the invoice and the credit total equals the invoice total.
Batch credits are rare; one-off download is the usual case. If a returns system already exists, POST the return JSON at the credit-note template the same way you generate invoices. Free includes a Credit Note starter in the 18 bundled templates.
Email the credit note to the same accounts-payable address as the invoice, and put CN-201 / INV-1044 in the subject. If you use statements, the next monthly statement should list the credit as a negative line so the customer can see why the closing balance dropped. Do not delete INV-1044 from your generated-files list; the original remains the tax invoice.