Credit Memo Processing

The Credit Memo feature will only be used after one or more Invoices have been created on a Job. It is the only way to return material and/or refund any money to a Customer once the Job is complete and/or any Line Items have been invoiced. Whether you are creating a partial credit to return a portion of the material, creating a monetary credit to satisfy a customer complaint, returning material to stock in the system, or crediting an entire job, you will do all of these things through the Credit Memo feature. (Please Note: this feature is not currently for use in Jobs that have been Progress Billed, but can be used on OTC Job Invoices.) 

If a Job has been closed, when you begin the Credit Memo process, the system will prompt the following: Job Closed Review-only mode. Click the OK button to continue. If there is more than one Invoice on a job, you can look up an invoice number before processing the credit by clicking on the Job History button. To begin the credit process, click on the Credit Memo option from the Functions drop-down menu. The system will prompt a Credit Memo Selection Screen as follows:



The Invoice to Credit (1) field will default to the earliest Invoice tied to the Job Number. If multiple Invoices exist, use the drop-down arrow in that field to display a complete list of Invoices on the Job and make another selection. The Date, Amount, Beginning Balance, and Current Balance fields will display data applicable to the selected Invoice. If previous credits have been processed on the Invoice, the data will be displayed in the Credited Amount, Credited Tax/Fees, Credited Total, and Remaining Credit fields. The Reprint (2) button can be used to print a copy of the selected Invoice. The Notes icon next to the Customer display field will prompt Customer Address Notes. The Notes icon below will prompt Job Number Notes. The Job Line Review (3) button will prompt the Job Line Review screen where you can view the Invoice # tied to each Job Line, as well as prompt other key data, such as Customer Status Inquiry, On Order Info, Assigned Inventory, etc.

The Credit No Return (4) box allows you to set up a credit amount to the customer without crediting any of the lines on the Invoice. The maximum amount to credit should be the net amount of the Invoice (net of previous credits). Type a value in the Amount field and check the Tax box if tax is applicable. Do not select any lines in the screen below and then click the Continue button to begin finalizing the credit. 

The Select All and Unselect All (5) buttons can be used to instantly select or unselect all lines in the display screen below. When a line is selected, a “Y” will appear in the Select column. If you right-click on a line, the system will prompt the following option: Line Notes. The Line Notes option will prompt the Order Entry Line Comments Screen. Any Line Comments added from Quote or Order Entry will prompt automatically and you can add/edit/delete or use any of the available features in that screen as needed. 

Partial Returns can be activated by clicking directly in the Select column of any line, or by editing the quantities in the Cred W Qty or the Cred S Qty columns. Adjustments to the Cred W Qty column will automatically adjust the Cred S Qty column, but an adjustment to the Cred S Qty will not impact the Cred W Qty column. When you click directly in the Select column of a material line, the system will prompt a Credit Memo Inventory Pointer Selection Screen as follows: 



The Inventory Pointer (1) section will display all pointer records on inventory assigned/invoiced on the line. The Return Br column can be accessed to update Branch data, provided the User is allowed to change the Credit Memo return Branch. Where multiple pointer records exist, you can determine which pointer records will be impacted by the return by adjusting the Credit Amount and Selected columns. The Line Comment (2) field is used to record a comment concerning the credit/refund and will appear on the Credit Memo. The Remaining Work Quantity (3) field must be zero to proceed. You will receive a warning if it does not. The Sale Quantity (4) will default to the total Sale Quantity on the line unless you adjust either the Cred W Qty or the Cred S Qty column for partial returns. This field can be changed in this screen. 

The Zero Price (5) button should only be used to return material to stock without creating a credit amount to return to the customer. This process will net the Credit Memo to zero and receive the material back into inventory. The magnifying glass icon (6) button will prompt a breakout of Tax/Fee data. The Handling Charge (7) field is used to charge the customer a “handling” fee or service charge for returning material where applicable. Enter the total charge in this field, not a unit price. The amount will be added as a positive line on the Credit Memo and reduce the net credit due. Click the Continue button to save the data in this screen and return to the previous screen. 

On non-material lines, a Split Lines Screen will prompt as follows:



The Work Quantity to Credit (1) field will default to the total Work Quantity on the line unless you adjust the Cred W Qty column before entering this screen. The Line Comments (2) field is used to record a comment concerning the credit/refund and will appear on the Credit Memo and on the Credit Report. The Sale Quantity (3) will default to the total Sale Quantity on the line, again, unless you adjusted either the Cred W Qty or the Cred S Qty column for partial returns. This field can be changed in this screen. The Zero Price (4) button should only be used to create a credit amount to return to the customer. The Handling Charge (5) field is used to charge the customer a “handling” fee or service charge for the credit where applicable. Enter the total charge in this field, not a unit price. The amount will be added as a positive line on the Credit Memo and reduce the net credit due. Click the Continue button to save the data in this screen and return to the previous screen. 

Once lines have been selected and any notes or comments added, you can move forward on printing the Credit Memo. At the bottom of the screen, data on what has been selected to credit will appear as follows:



The Invoice Line Detail – Available for Credit (1) section displays details of the current line the cursor is positioned on in the screen above. The total of all lines selected will appear in the Selected Lines Total (2) section. The Rebill Credit Lines (3) option reverses an Invoice to correct a cost, sell, or sales tax issue. All lines are re-written and material returned, but still assigned, to allow for correcting the Invoice total, so the lines can be re-invoiced. In cases where customers, such as Property Management companies, will only pay based on a single, perfect Invoice, this feature is a great timesaver. You can also Rebill selected Credited Lines to another Job via the Rebill To Another Job (4) option. To select this option, you must first select the Rebill Credit Lines option to enable and then select the Rebill To Another Job feature. Once selected, you will continue the Credit Memo process as you normally do, but at the very end, the system will prompt a new Job containing the selected Lines using the next available Job Number.  

When you are ready to print, click the Continue button. The system will prompt a Credit Memo Summary box as follows:



Click Yes to continue. A Print Label screen will prompt on systems with Bar-Code functionality if material is being returned. The system will then prompt the following:



To continue the process, click Yes. The system will then prompt an Invoice Selection Screen as follows:



The screen above works identically to the Invoicing screen. Follow the procedures for printing the Credit Memo just as you would an Invoice. Once a Credit Memo # has been generated, the system will prompt a Refund/Credit Screen as follows:



The Invoice # (1) field will prompt the original Invoice selected for credit. If you need to change Invoices, use the Lookup button—please be very sure this is what you want to do. More often than not, you will hit enter to accept the default Invoice #. The data along the left side (2) is pulled from the listed Invoice as it was created. If a Deposit or Prior Payment was made against an Invoice, that information will be displayed in those fields. If no money has been applied to an Invoice, no money can be refunded to the customer, so in this instance, you would apply the full amount of the Credit Memo to the Invoice to clear the balance on the customer’s account. In the example above the full amount of the credit is prompted in the Amount To Apply To Invoice (3) field so you can hit enter to finalize the process. The Amount To Leave UnApplied field can be used to leave a portion of the Credit Memo unapplied for use on another Invoice, rather than process the amount as a refund. The Credit File Comment (4) field can be used to record internal notes regarding this credit. You will see this info on the Credit/Return Report.

If a customer has made a payment, you must set up the refund through the Refund/Credit Screen also, as in the example below (For Broadlume Payments customers only, please see 2^nd screenshot below for an additional step.):

 

The maximum amount that can be refunded in the Amount of Refund To Return field is the amount of the deposit plus any prior payments, less any prior refunds. If there is a Current Balance on the Invoice, the difference between the Credit Memo Amount and the amount that is being refunded will appear in the Amount To Apply To Invoice field. 

For Broadlume Payments customers, you will have an additional button allowing you to view the payment transactions that are linked to the job. See the View Distributions button below:


Clicking View Distributions will bring you to a screen (see below) that lets you select exactly where to send the refund back to before continuing through the Credit Memo process. When a transaction is selected, the status will note whether it can be Voided or Refunded based on when it was initially taken and whether a Void or Refund has already been done.



If money is being refunded to the customer, as soon as you click Continue, the system will prompt the following:



If you do not have integrated payments processing a Customer Refund box will prompt below the Refund/Credit Screen as follows:



For multi-branch operations, the Refund Branch (1) box will default to the current Branch, but you can select another Branch in which to set up the refund using the drop-down arrow. The Job History (2) button will prompt the Job Line Review screen. At the Payment Type (3) field, if a Deposit was posted on the job, the system will prompt the Payment Type that was used originally. If not, select a Payment Type using the drop-down arrow. Before clicking the Finalize button, make sure the Posting Period (4) field is correct.

For Broadlume Payments customers with integrated payment processing the box above will not appear for anything to be filled in. Instead, when you hit Continue the software will reach out to the processor and give a Successful message when the refund or void is complete. 


When selecting a credit card or cash payment type as the Payment Type, the system will automatically update the General Ledger to reflect the money coming out of the system during this process. The transaction will also appear on the Customer Payment Register. No further processing will need to be performed. To issue a check, select the “Check” Payment Type. When Company Check is selected, a prompt will appear as follows: You chose to refund by Company Check – Are you sure? This is an additional double-check to alleviate extra work if Company Check was mistakenly selected. If you type a “Y” for yes at this prompt, the system will automatically set the customer up as a Vendor using the Customer ID on the Job and place an asterisk “*” before the ID, e.g., *COOK327, for Fred Cook. The system will also create an Open Item for that Customer, and it will appear at once on the A/P Cash Requirements Report. The item can then be selected for payment at any time. Please Note: to clear customer refund Vendors from your Vendor Listing once a check has been printed, run the Delete “*” Vendors With No Activity module accessible from the Accounts Payable menu. 

Credit Memo Security/Control Features:
Security/control features have been added to the system concerning Credit Memo Processing. These features allow you to set a number of days for which no merchandise can be returned and also allows you to flag catalog items as “Non-returnable.” There is an override control for key Users. There are two Branch Control 2 options and one User Control 6 option that need to be set up to use these features (explained below). 

During Credit Memo Processing, if the system identifies an item past the number of days to return, or an item that is flagged as “Non-Returnable,” a pop-up message will prompt. If a User has permission to override, this prompt will only be a warning. Otherwise, the system will not allow the process to continue.
The following Branch Control 2 controls relate to Credit Memo processing. The first—Activate No CM if past days—if set to “Y” for yes, will allow you to enter a number of days in the next control. The Can’t CM- if past XXX days control can be set to 30 days, 120 days, etc. With these two controls set, no User will be able to process a Credit Memo for an item that is older than the number of days entered, unless you grant permission via the User Control 6 option granting override permission. The User Control 6 option to override appears in that screen as follows: Allowed To Override CM- if past xxx days. Only Users that have the authority to return/credit an item past the set number of days in should have this control set to “Y” for yes. All others should be set to “N” for no.