Credit note
credit memo · avoir · credit
A credit note is an accounting document cancelling all or part of an already issued invoice, in the customer's favour. At a parts counter it records an accepted return, an invoicing error, a commercial gesture or the settlement of a core charge — four very different situations settled by the same document.
Director of publication : Florian Précigout
That is what makes it hard to track: a credit note does not say, by its existence alone, why it was issued. Two workshops with the same outstanding balance may cover, in one case, a legitimate return awaiting inspection and, in the other, a core charge settled a month ago. Without an attached reason, credit balances become unreadable.
Issuing it is also where delay becomes visible to the customer. A part taken back on day one but credited on day twenty leaves the feeling of an unresolved dispute, even though the decision was made immediately. In the distributor-workshop relationship, the speed of the credit note often matters as much as the decision itself.
A credit note is not a refund: it credits a customer account. Turning one into the other is a matter of payment terms, not of the counter.
The trap
Issuing a credit note before ruling on the return. Once the credit is passed, the discussion about the condition of the returned part, or about who caused the error, has lost its leverage.
Frequently asked
Does a credit note mean a refund?
No. It credits the customer account and offsets future invoices. Actual payment depends on the payment terms agreed between the parties.
How long does a credit note take after a return?
There is no universal deadline: it depends on the distributor's terms of sale and on inspection of the returned part. What is constant is that this delay is perceived as the real answer to the dispute.