Term
What is credit note? Meaning and explanation
A credit note (creditnota) is an invoice with a negative amount that fully or partly corrects a previously issued invoice, for example after a return, discount or billing error.
Definition
A credit note (creditnota) is an invoice with a negative amount that fully or partly corrects a previously issued invoice, for example after a return, discount or billing error.
Also known as: Creditnota, Creditfactuur, Credit note
A credit note reverses an earlier invoice in full or in part. It refers to the original invoice and shows a negative amount, including the related VAT correction. An invoice that has been sent may not simply be changed or deleted; a correction goes through a credit note, so invoice numbering stays sequential and auditable.
For a firm, credit notes need extra attention. They must be booked with the correct sign and VAT code, and offset against the original invoice or a refund. A credit note booked as a regular invoice doubles the error instead of fixing it. During reconciliation, the credit note also has to be linked to the right invoice.
Autoboeker matches credit notes automatically in bank matching for Exact Online, Twinfield and SnelStart. The AI assistant's prompt library includes example instructions for credit notes. In the invoicing module, your client creates a credit note from the original invoice in one click: all lines and details are copied and the correction lands in the books in Exact Online, SnelStart, Twinfield or e-Boekhouden.
Example
A customer returns two of the ten chairs delivered. The supplier issues a credit note for those two chairs, which is offset against the open invoice.
FAQ
Questions about credit note.
No. You correct a sent invoice with a credit note referring to the original invoice. If needed, you then send a new, correct invoice.
Yes. In the invoicing module your client creates a credit note from the original invoice in one click, and the correction lands in the books.
Further reading
Related in the knowledge base.
Guides
Bank matching and reconciliation: how to automate it
What bank matching and reconciliation are, how to link transactions to invoices and how AI matches on amount, reference, IBAN, contact and date with a score.
9 min readRead the guideRunning a firmOffering invoicing to clients as a bookkeeping firm
How to offer invoicing to clients: invoices and quotes from the client portal, iDEAL via Mollie, an EPC QR code and every invoice booked into the ledger.
7 min readRead the guide
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