Refund a customer

When money must go back to a customer, record a refund on the day it leaves your bank. A refund pays back either the Remaining credit of an issued credit note or the Unapplied money on a receipt.

Before you start

You need Invoice Edit, and for a credit note also Credit Note Edit. With Own records only, that covers credit notes whose Salesperson you are and receipts you recorded.

The credit note must be issued with Remaining above zero, or the receipt must have money Unapplied.

Steps

From a credit note:

1. Open the issued credit note: select its number under Payments and credits on the invoice, or on the Credit notes list.
2. In its Credit section, select Refund.

From a receipt:

1. Open the receipt from the account’s Receipts tab, or select its RCT- number under Payments and credits on an invoice.
2. In the ··· menu, select Refund unapplied, or Refund security deposit for a deposit.

Then, in the Refund from … dialog:

3. Check Refundable; Amount refunded starts at it. Lower it for a part refund.
4. Enter the Refund date, Method, Reference and any Remark. In a foreign currency, also enter what left your bank in your base currency, such as Amount in SGD.
5. Read any warning, then select Record refund.

To void a refund recorded in error, open the credit note or receipt it was paid from, select Void beside it under Refunds, enter a Reason and select Void refund.

What happens next

The refund takes its own number, such as RF-10000004, with the status Completed. The credit note’s Remaining, or the receipt’s Unapplied, shrinks by the amount. A refund has no PDF.

It is listed under Refunds on its credit note or receipt and on the account’s Receipts tab, with its source (From CN-…) and status.

Caution

Voiding cannot be undone. The refund keeps its number, is marked Voided with your reason, and its amount returns to the credit note or receipt.

Rules to know

• The amount cannot exceed Refundable, and the date cannot be later than today.
• Credit and unapplied money are applied or refunded, never both.
• Refunds out of an invoice’s credit notes cannot exceed what that invoice received. Credit on an unpaid invoice can only be applied.
• A refund is allowed while the customer owes on other invoices. With Invoice View at All records, the dialog warns you first.
• In a foreign currency, the base-currency amount starts at today’s automatic rate and cannot be blank. Its exchange gain or loss is recorded with it.
• A refunded credit note cannot be cancelled, nor a refunded receipt voided, until the refund is voided.
• Void only a refund recorded in error. Money that came back is a new receipt.
• A receipt with no refund option carries no unapplied money: refund through a credit note on its invoice instead.

Why it works this way

A refund is cash, so it is recorded when the cash moves. A credit note says the sale was smaller; a refund says money left your bank. They often happen on different days, so they are separate records: a credit confirmed today and paid next week shows as Remaining until then, and your books never show a payment you have not made.

The same money cannot go out twice. A credit of SGD 218.00 can reduce an invoice by SGD 218.00 or come back as SGD 218.00 cash, or any split of the two, but never both in full. That is why a refund lowers Remaining, and why refunds cannot exceed what the invoice actually received.

A void is for mistakes, not for money that came back. Voiding says the refund never happened, so the credit returns. If the transfer really went out and the customer sends it back, that is new money in, and a new receipt keeps your bank reconciliation true.

Its number never disappears. A voided refund keeps its RF- number and reason on the list, so your accountant can account for every number in the series.

Work faster

• Apply the credit instead when the customer still owes. Apply to invoices on the credit note settles their open invoices with no money moving. See Issue a credit note.
• Use the credit in the next payment. When you record the customer’s next payment, tick the credit under Available credits. See Record a payment.
• Find credits waiting to be paid out. On the Credit notes list, filter Remaining credit to Has remaining credit. See Credit notes.
• See a customer’s refunds in one place. The account’s Receipts tab lists every refund under its receipts. See Payments.
• Refund overpayments the same way. Money a customer overpaid stays Unapplied on the receipt until you allocate or refund it. See Use unapplied money.

Examples

A credit note on a paid invoice. Harbour Café paid INV-10000072 in full: SGD 1,500.00 plus GST SGD 135.00, SGD 1,635.00 in all. Two pendant lights come back, so Mei Tan issues CN-10000064 for SGD 200.00 plus GST SGD 18.00, SGD 218.00 in all. The invoice owed nothing, so the whole SGD 218.00 is Remaining.

The café has no other open invoices. Mei selects Refund; Refundable and Amount refunded read SGD 218.00. She enters the date of the bank transfer and its reference, and selects Record refund. RF-10000004 appears under Refunds, and the Credit section reads:

Credit note total	Applied	Refunded	Remaining
218.00	0.00	218.00	0.00

A refund while the customer still owes. Orchid Dental paid SGD 5,000.00 on receipt RCT-10000020 against INV-10000080 for SGD 4,905.00 (SGD 4,500.00 plus GST SGD 405.00), so SGD 95.00 is Unapplied. Daniel Lim selects Refund unapplied, and the dialog warns that the clinic still owes SGD 763.00 on one open invoice. He cancels and allocates the SGD 95.00 to that invoice instead, which then owes SGD 763.00 − SGD 95.00 = SGD 668.00.

Voiding a refund made in error. Mei records RF-10000005 for SGD 150.00 out of a receipt, then learns the customer wants to keep it as credit and no transfer was sent. She selects Void beside RF-10000005, enters Transfer not sent; customer keeps the credit and selects Void refund. The SGD 150.00 is Unapplied on the receipt again, and RF-10000005 stays on the list, Voided.

Common questions

• How do I refund a customer who paid too much? Open the receipt and select Refund unapplied in its ··· menu. See Use unapplied money.
• Can I record a refund as a negative payment? No. Record payment takes only amounts above zero. Record the refund from the credit note or receipt it pays back.
• Can I refund more than the customer paid? No. A refund cannot exceed the credit note’s Remaining or the receipt’s Unapplied, and refunds out of an invoice’s credit notes cannot exceed what that invoice received.
• Can I refund a customer who still owes on other invoices? Yes. If your role sees all invoices, easySales warns you first, but the choice is yours.
• Can I delete a refund? No. Void it with a reason; it keeps its RF- number and shows as Voided.
• The refund came back from the bank. Should I void it? No. Money that left and came back is a new receipt. Void only a refund that was recorded in error.
• Is there a refund PDF to send the customer? No. A refund has no PDF; its number and reference identify the payment.
• Why can’t I cancel a credit note that has been refunded? The money has left your bank, so the credit cannot be taken back. Void the refund first if it was recorded in error. See Cancel a credit note.

Related

• Fixing mistakes
• Credit notes
• Use unapplied money
• Exchange differences