Credit Notes
Issue credit to members, apply it to invoices, and leave balance for future renewals.
Overview
A credit note creates credit on a member's account. Use it for corrections, mid-cycle cancellations, goodwill, or when you want to refund value as credit that can be used for future payments.
Credit notes are numbered (for example CN-12). Staff can issue them from the payments tab on the member profile. The same operations are available on the Credit Notes API.
When to use a credit note
| Situation | Approach |
|---|---|
| The invoice should never have been collected | Void the invoice (if still unpaid. If paid, add an explanation and issue a credit note) |
| The draft invoice lines are wrong | Edit the draft before finalizing the invoice |
| The member overpaid, cancelled mid-cycle, or should keep credit for later | Credit note, then apply to the next invoice |
| Money should go back to the original payment method as a refund allocation | Credit note, then refund |
Credit notes are the usual path after pause or cancel proration leaves credit owed to the member. Ultimately, it depends on your policy whether to refund the money or keep it as credit.
Create a credit note
Choose the member
Credit belongs to a member profile, not to a single invoice. You can see past and current credit notes, and create a new one from the payments tab on the member profile.
Add lines
Each credit note line needs a description and an amount (or quantity and unit amount). When a subscription is paused for multiple periods, each period will have its own credit note line, for easier tracking.
Confirm
Create the credit note. It will be added to the member's credit balance, but will not be applied to already open invoices.
Apply to invoices
You can apply the credit note to one or more open invoices. Open the invoice you would like to apply the credit note to, and you will see a section with an option for each existing credit note. Any unused credit balance will be kept as credit for future payments. Members uses a ledger system for tracking credit balances, so you can track exactly how much credit is used where.
Use Create a Credit Note for the same flow from an integration.
Statuses and remaining balance
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Open | Credit remains unallocated (remaining amount greater than zero) |
| Applied | Fully allocated; nothing left to apply |
| Voided | Cancelled and no longer usable |
Track amount, allocated amount, and remaining amount to see how much credit is still available.
Using credit
Credit is consumed through allocations. Common types:
| Allocation type | Use |
|---|---|
| Invoice application | Reduce what is owed on one or more invoices (most common) |
| Refund | Record that credit was returned as a refund |
| Adjustment | Staff or system adjustment of the credit balance |
If a member has a credit balance, an invoice will still be generated. For example, if a member makes a booking, and has enough credit to cover the cost, the invoice will be generated and the credit will be applied automatically with an 'Invoice application' type.
See Invoices for more on applying credit when creating or updating an invoice.
Auto-application on generated invoices
When Members automatically generates an invoice, like for a subscription renewal or event booking, any unallocated credit notes on the member will be applied automatically. Only the remaining balance is charged to the payment method.
That means unused credit from a cancellation or goodwill note can clear the next invoice in full or in part without a separate manual step. See How subscription billing works.