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Add or Apply Credit Memos

Updated
The Goal: Create a credit memo for a contact and/or apply an existing credit memo against open invoices to reduce the amount owed.

Before You Begin:

  • You may add a credit memo from the Finance rail, Billing section, All Credit Memos, or directly from a contact's Billing tab.
  • To auto-apply credits, see the Auto-apply Credit Memos section below.

Create a Credit Memo

  1. In a contact's record, click the Billing tab.
  2. Click the arrow adjacent to Enter Check/Payment and choose Add Credit Memo.
  3. On the Add Credit screen, configure the following:
    • Issued To Contact: The contact name will be populated automatically.
    • Issue Date: Defaults to the current date. You may change this if needed.
    • Credit Template: Optional. Choose a template for the credit memo. If no selection is made, the default defined in your Finance Settings will be used.
    • Notes (Visible to Recipient): Enter notes describing the credit. These are visible to the recipient in the Info Hub. Best Practice: if using for event registration credits, include the full event name in the notes — this allows filtering in the Credit Memo Report.
    • Items / Fee Item: Click to choose the fee items to include on this credit memo. You may click the + button to add additional items. Best practice is to use the fee item that prompted the credit memo. Cost, quantity, and tax will automatically populate based on the fee item configuration and can be changed as needed.
  4. Click Done.

The Credit Memo Report may be used to track all of your credit memos.

Apply a Credit Memo

Available credits are visible on the contact's Billing tab in the Summary section.

  1. On the contact's record, click the Billing tab.
  2. Click the actions icon for the credit you wish to apply.
  3. On the Apply Credit screen:
    • Applied Date: Defaults to the current date. You can change this as needed; however, a credit cannot be applied prior to its issue date.
    • Click the checkboxes for the invoice(s) to which you wish to apply the credit.
  4. Click Done.

The selected invoice will be paid with the credit applied. If additional fees are due, the remaining balance will be reflected in the Billing History.

Auto-Apply Credit Memos

Within the Finance General Settings, the option Auto-Apply Credits to Newly Created Invoices can be enabled. When new invoices are generated through the scheduled billing process and this feature is enabled, the system will automatically apply any available credits to the invoice before processing payment.

Credit Memos in the Info Hub

Credit memos are visible in the Info Hub, but members may not apply these to open invoices themselves. They must work with your staff to ensure the credit is applied to the appropriate invoice.

Common Pitfalls

  • Applied Date before Issue Date: The system will not allow a credit to be applied prior to its issue date — check the issue date if you encounter an error.
  • Wrong fee item on the credit memo: Best practice is to use the same fee item that triggered the credit. This enables cleaner reporting and filtering in the Credit Memo Report.

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