Credit notes and adjustments
Take money off an invoice you have already sent, without rewriting history.
Sometimes the invoice needs to come down: the scope shrank, you gave something back, or you simply got it wrong. Tradescraft records a credit note against the invoice it credits, so what the customer still owes updates itself and the original invoice is never quietly edited underneath them.
Credit the invoice, keep the record
- Raise a credit note against a specific invoice and say why: a genuine price or scope change, or correcting an error.
- Itemise it - each line carries its own quantity, unit price and GST, like the invoice it reduces.
- The invoice is never rewritten. The credit sits against it, so you can always show what was billed and what was credited.
What the customer owes stays right
- The amount outstanding folds the credit in automatically, so there is no spreadsheet keeping score on the side.
- Mark a credit as reimbursed when you have actually paid money back, so a refund reads differently from a discount.
- Walk each one through draft, issued, applied and cancelled.
Send it and sync it
- Email the credit note to the customer as a PDF from the record.
- Credit notes flow to Xero with the rest of your invoicing, so the adjustment lands in the books.
- Deleting one can be put behind an approval, so a credit can never quietly disappear.
Common questions
- What is a credit note?
- A document that reduces what a customer owes on an invoice you have already issued - for a scope reduction, a discount, or to correct a mistake. It leaves the original invoice intact and adjusts the balance instead.
- Should I just edit or delete the invoice instead?
- No. Once an invoice is with the customer, changing it underneath them is how disputes start. Raise a credit note against it: the invoice stays as issued, the credit is recorded against it, and the amount still owing updates on its own.
- Does a credit note mean I paid money back?
- Only if you say so. Mark it reimbursed when you have genuinely refunded the customer, and leave it unmarked when it is simply a reduction to what they owe.
- Does it reach my accountant?
- Yes. Credit notes sync to Xero alongside your invoices and payments, so the adjustment shows up in the books without double entry.