Credit Note and Refund Memo PDF Generator

Things go wrong after an invoice is sent. A customer returns some of the goods, an item arrives damaged, hours are billed twice, a price is agreed down. You cannot unsend the invoice, and you should not quietly alter it. The usual remedy is a credit note: a document, numbered like an invoice, that reduces the amount owed and says why. This page makes a credit note as a PDF, with the same clean layout as the other documents on the site.

What the credit note says

It names who issues it and who receives the credit, and it carries its own number and date. In its details it gives the original invoice number and a reason, such as “Goods returned” or “Hours billed twice”. It then lists what is being credited, line by line, with the tax, and ends with the credit total. A short note explains that the credit reduces the amount due on the invoice or is refunded as agreed.

How the figures work

Each line is the quantity times the rate, and the subtotal is the sum. Tax is charged on the subtotal at the rate you enter, because a credit generally reverses the tax that was charged on the original sale. Shipping, if any, is added at the end. The result is shown as a positive amount labelled “Credit total”, and the document makes clear that it is a credit, so the amounts do not need to be negative.

A worked example

Press Sample for a design studio crediting a customer. The first line is six hours of design that were billed twice, at 65, which is 390.00. The second is a courier charge of 18.00 that is being refunded. The subtotal is 408.00, VAT at 20% is 81.60, and the credit total is 489.60. The original invoice is INV-0042 and the reason is “Hours billed twice”. The credit date is today, and after the PDF is downloaded the next number is CN-0002.

When to use one

Use a credit note when the amount is smaller than the original invoice or when only part of it is wrong. If the whole invoice was wrong, many businesses issue a credit note for the full amount and then a new invoice, so the record shows both the cancellation and the replacement. If goods are returned, a credit note lets you reverse the sale, and often a stock record too. If you have not sent the invoice yet, correct it instead.

Taxes

If the original invoice charged sales tax or VAT, the credit usually reverses the tax in the same proportion, so the books and the tax return agree. The rules about when and how to adjust tax differ by country and by tax scheme, and the page cannot know them. Put the rate that applied to the original lines, or leave it at zero if the sale was untaxed.

Edge cases

A credit can be for any amount, including more than one invoice’s value, but the page does not link them, so state the invoice numbers in the reason if several are involved. Lines that have not been filled in are left out of the PDF. A discount applies to the credit as it would to an invoice, which is rarely wanted, so leave it at zero. The business details and the next number are remembered in this browser.

Limits

The page does not check the credit against the original invoice or keep a ledger of credits. It cannot tell whether a credit is within the time limit for corrections in your country. Send the credit note to the customer, file a copy with the invoice, and record both in your accounts.

Related tools

• Invoice Generator creates the document that the credit note adjusts.
• Proforma Invoice Generator deals with the stage before an invoice exists.
• Receipt Generator records a refund that you pay in cash or by transfer.
• Quote Generator restates a price if you are re-quoting rather than crediting.