> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.bumara.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Credit and debit notes
> Correcting invoices after they have been sent — refunds, returns, adjustments and vendor claims.
Once an invoice is sent it cannot be edited. Corrections happen by adding a document, not by
changing the original. A **credit note** reduces what a customer owes you. A **debit note** reduces
what you owe a vendor.
## 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.
| Situation | Credit note for |
| -------------------------------- | ------------------------------- |
| Goods returned | The value of the returned items |
| Service not delivered as agreed | The portion not delivered |
| Overcharged in error | The difference |
| Discount agreed after invoicing | The discount amount |
| Damaged or faulty goods | The affected value |
| Invoice raised entirely in error | The full amount |
### Creating one
Starting from the invoice carries the customer and lines across, which is faster and less
error-prone than starting blank.
Or start fresh from Sales → Credit notes if it does not relate to one specific invoice.
Remove lines that are not being credited. Reduce quantities where only part is being returned.
"Two units returned, damaged in transit" is useful in a year's time. "Adjustment" is not.
Tax is credited proportionally. Confirm the tax figure before saving — this is what flows into
your tax summary.
The customer should receive it. It is their evidence too.
### The effect
| Situation | Result |
| --------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------ |
| Credit is less than the outstanding balance | The balance reduces |
| Credit equals the outstanding balance | The invoice becomes settled |
| Credit exceeds the balance, or the invoice was paid | A credit sits on the customer's account |
| Customer has a credit balance | Apply it to a future invoice, or refund it |
If the original invoice was transmitted to ZRA Smart Invoice, the credit note must also be
transmitted. An untransmitted credit note leaves ZRA holding a sale you have since reversed.
See [Smart Invoice](/invoicing/smart-invoice).
## Debit notes
The purchase-side equivalent: you owe a vendor less than they billed you.
| Situation | Debit note for |
| ----------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------- |
| Goods returned to the vendor | The returned value |
| Short delivery — billed for ten, received eight | The two not received |
| Damaged goods | The affected value |
| Overcharged against the agreed price | The difference |
| Duplicate bill received | The full amount of the duplicate |
### Creating one
From Purchases → Purchase invoices.
The vendor and lines carry across.
To what you are actually claiming.
Specific and factual. The vendor will read it.
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?
| Use | When |
| --------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Void** | The invoice should never have existed — a duplicate, or the wrong customer entirely |
| **Credit note** | The invoice was legitimate but the amount needs reducing |
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.
This establishes that the money is owed back.
Bank transfer, mobile money, cash — whatever you agreed.
Against the credit, with the reference. See
[Recording payments](/invoicing/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](/regulators/zra/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](/invoicing/create-and-send-an-invoice) for correcting an
invoice before it is sent.