If a member has been overcharged or billed incorrectly, issuing a Credit Note allows you to fix the mistake without canceling the original invoice. Credit Notes reduce the total amount due, and you can allocate them directly to the correct invoice for proper reporting and transparency.
This article covers creating Credit Notes manually, from invoices, or from fees, and allocating them appropriately. After following these instructions, you'll be able to manage invoice corrections confidently.
What are Credit Notes?
A Credit Note is a financial document used to reduce the amount owed on an invoice. In OfficeRnD Flex, you can create Credit Notes in three ways:
Manually, with complete control over content and values.
Directly from an invoice, with details pre-filled.
From a one-off fee, to reverse or reduce a specific charge.
When you create a Credit Note, you must allocate it to an invoice to take effect.
You can only allocate Credit Notes to unpaid invoices. If an invoice has already been paid, you'll need to credit it directly from its page.
Who can use Credit Notes?
Community Managers: You may need to correct overcharges when resolving billing questions with members or remove fees during promotions.
Finance Teams: If you're handling month-end reconciliations or refunds, Credit Notes help you document corrections properly and apply them to the correct invoices.
Admins: You can maintain accurate financial records across locations and memberships by controlling how and where Credit Notes are applied.
What can you do with Credit Notes?
Use Credit Notes when you want to:
Correct overcharged invoice amounts after billing errors.
Refund part or all of a fee that was mistakenly invoiced.
Adjust previously issued invoices without deleting them.
Track and apply invoice corrections across different locations (if enabled).
Maintain a transparent financial audit trail.
Create a Credit Note
There are three ways to create a Credit Note. Each can be useful, depending on the case.
Create a Credit Note Manually
To manually create a Credit Note:
Go to Billing > Invoices.
Click Add Credit Note.
Fill out the Credit Note details and click Add.
Note that manually added Credit Notes will not have any details filled out by default. You must select a Company or Member for whom you are raising credit. The Credit Note will also not have any line items. They must be added manually, automatically putting them under the default One-off fees account.
Create a Credit Note from an Invoice
To create a Credit Note from an invoice:
Go to Billing > Invoices or a Member/Company's Profile and open the invoice you want to credit.
Find and use the Credit Note option in the top right corner.
All details should be filled out by default, but you can make changes if needed.
Click Add.
Create a Credit Note from a Fee
Go to Operations > Fees or open a member or team profile and find the Fees section.
Find the fee you'd like to credit and click on the cogwheel to the right of its name.
Select the Credit Note option.
All details should be filled out by default; however, you can make changes, such as the credited amount, if necessary.
Click Add.
Allocate a Credit Note
For a CR to take effect, you must allocate it to an existing Invoice.
There are two ways you can do that:
Open an invoice and create the Credit Note from its page.
Create a Credit Note, go to an Invoice, and allocate it manually
Note: The QuickBooks integration doesn't support recording refunds for credit notes. Please read below to see what to do in such cases.
Allocate a CR to an Invoice Upon Creation
Open an existing invoice and click the yellow Credit Note button on the top right.
A dialog will appear with all items already present in the invoice.
This way, you can select which items you want to allocate credit for. You can check/uncheck items you would like to include or exclude. Click Add, and it will be automatically allocated to the invoice.
You can only issue one credit note per invoice. If you attempt to issue more than one credit note per invoice, the system will display the following error: "Some of the fees are either not paid or not invoiced."
Allocate a Credit Note Manually
This type of allocation only works for unpaid invoices. If an invoice has been paid, credit the note directly by following the steps described above.
Go to Billing > Invoices and click the blue Add credit note button in the top corner.
A dialog similar to the invoice dialog will pop up. Here, you can select a team/individual, issue date, and add items and amounts to be deducted from the invoice to which the CR will be allocated.
When you click Add/Add & Send, you will have a record similar to the following in the invoices list:
You have now successfully created a credit note. For it to take effect, you must allocate it to an invoice.
Open the newly created credit note.
Under Allocations click the Allocate credit button.
In the dialog, select an invoice to which this credit should be allocated.
4. Click Add to allocate the credit and charge the customer with the appropriate decreased amount.
Enable allocating Credit Notes to invoices different from their home location
By default, you cannot allocate a Credit Note created in one location to an invoice in another location. However, if you turn on Credit notes can be allocated to invoices from other locations setting (found in Settings > Billing > Billing Rules), the system will allow you to allocate a credit note created in location A to an invoice in location B.
FAQ: Credit Notes in OfficeRnD Flex
What is a Credit Note?
What is a Credit Note?
A Credit Note reduces the amount of a previously issued invoice, usually to correct an error or apply a discount not included initially.
Is there a limit on how many Credit Notes I can issue per invoice?
Is there a limit on how many Credit Notes I can issue per invoice?
Yes. You can only issue one Credit Note per invoice. Attempting to issue multiple notes will result in an error message.
How do I allocate a Credit Note upon creation?
How do I allocate a Credit Note upon creation?
To create a Credit Note directly from an invoice, click Credit Note on the invoice page, select the items to credit, and click Add.
How do I create a Credit Note from an existing invoice?
How do I create a Credit Note from an existing invoice?
Go to the invoice you wish to credit, click Credit Note, review the pre-filled details, adjust if necessary, and click Add.
How can I issue a Credit Note from a specific fee?
How can I issue a Credit Note from a specific fee?
Go to Operations > Fees or a member profile, find the relevant fee, click the cogwheel next to it, select Credit Note, review the details, and click Add.
Can I manually allocate a Credit Note?
Can I manually allocate a Credit Note?
Yes. After creating a Credit Note, open it from your invoice list, click Allocate credit, select the invoice you want to adjust, and click Add.
Can I allocate Credit Notes to invoices from different locations?
Can I allocate Credit Notes to invoices from different locations?
By default, you cannot allocate Credit Notes to invoices from different locations. To enable this, you must go to Settings > Billing > Billing Rules and turn on Credit notes can be allocated to invoices from other locations.
Does QuickBooks integration support refunds for Credit Notes?
Does QuickBooks integration support refunds for Credit Notes?
No, the QuickBooks integration doesn't support recording refunds for Credit Notes. You must handle refunds separately within QuickBooks.