Why corrections work this way
The customer has a copy of the invoice. Quietly changing your version means your records and theirs disagree, and neither of you knows which is right. Worse, an invoice sequence with edited documents in it is precisely what a ZRA audit questions. Adding a correcting document keeps both sides honest: the original stands, the correction is visible, and the net position is clear.Credit notes
Issue one when a customer owes less than you invoiced.Creating one
1
Open the invoice being corrected
Starting from the invoice carries the customer and lines across, which is faster and less
error-prone than starting blank.
2
Choose Create credit note
Or start fresh from Sales → Credit notes if it does not relate to one specific invoice.
3
Adjust the lines
Remove lines that are not being credited. Reduce quantities where only part is being returned.
4
Give the reason
“Two units returned, damaged in transit” is useful in a year’s time. “Adjustment” is not.
5
Check the tax
Tax is credited proportionally. Confirm the tax figure before saving — this is what flows into
your tax summary.
6
Save and send
The customer should receive it. It is their evidence too.
The effect
Debit notes
The purchase-side equivalent: you owe a vendor less than they billed you.Creating one
1
Open the purchase invoice
From Purchases → Purchase invoices.
2
Choose Create debit note
The vendor and lines carry across.
3
Adjust the lines and quantities
To what you are actually claiming.
4
Give the reason
Specific and factual. The vendor will read it.
5
Send it to the vendor
They must agree it before your accounts and theirs will reconcile.
A debit note is a claim, not a settled fact. Until the vendor accepts it, they still believe you
owe the full amount. Follow it up rather than assuming silence means agreement.
Void or credit?
Void makes the invoice disappear from what is owed. A credit note leaves both documents standing
with a net effect. When in doubt, use a credit note — it leaves a clearer trail.
Refunds
A credit note reduces what is owed. It does not move money. If the customer has already paid and is owed money back, you also record the refund as a payment out.1
Issue the credit note
This establishes that the money is owed back.
2
Make the refund
Bank transfer, mobile money, cash — whatever you agreed.
3
Record it as a payment
Against the credit, with the reference. See
Recording payments.
Effect on your reports
Credit notes reduce revenue in the period they are issued, not the period of the original invoice. Your revenue report for a month with heavy returns will show that. That is correct behaviour, not a fault. Tax is adjusted in the same way, which flows through to your turnover tax figures.Practical habits
- Issue promptly. A credit agreed in March and issued in June distorts both months.
- Always give a reason. Someone will ask.
- Link to the original. Create from the invoice rather than from blank.
- Send it. A credit note the customer never received does not resolve their query.
- Watch for patterns. Repeated credits for the same reason point to a problem upstream — in the product, the delivery, or the pricing.
Related: Create and send an invoice for correcting an
invoice before it is sent.