Credit Note
A credit note is a document that reduces or cancels what a client owes on a specific invoice — for an overcharge, a returned item, or work that didn’t happen. It’s the paper trail for money owed back, without editing the original invoice.
What it means
Once an invoice is sent, you shouldn’t just quietly change the number on it — that breaks your own invoice history and looks strange to anyone reconciling their books against yours. A credit note fixes the mistake cleanly instead: it references the original invoice, states the amount being credited, and why.
It can wipe out an amount entirely, offset part of a future invoice, or trigger an actual refund, depending on whether the client’s already paid. Either way, the original invoice stays exactly as it was issued, and the credit note is the record of what changed after the fact.
You invoiced $600 for a job but overcharged $50 for materials you ended up not using. Rather than editing the invoice, you issue a $50 credit note referencing that invoice number — the client can apply it to their next invoice or ask for the $50 back.
Editing the original invoice PDF to a lower number after the fact instead of issuing a credit note — which leaves no record of what the number used to be, or why it changed.
See also
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