Credit Memos

Overview

Typically, credit memos are issued by product or service providers to their clients to reduce the amount owed (accounts receivable) by them on previous invoices. This might be done as a courtesy or for any other reason, such as dissatisfaction over some project work. This type of client credit is a liability that must be refunded to the client or adjusted on invoices. However in BQE CORE, credit memos cannot be used directly on invoices to affect the overall amount due or A/R. Instead, you can use the 'credit' payment method in the Payments screen to do that. That reduces your A/R, lowering your total income and profit.

You can use the Credit Memos screen to issue project credits or retainer refunds to your clients. Both are liabilities that credit your Accounts Payable and can be paid off to the client. That also registers as an expense on the accounting side, lowering your net income and profit. So credit memos in CORE can be used to facilitate two basic functions:

• Enter project credits: You can create a credit memo for a project, post it to the relevant account and later pay this liability to the client.
• Refund retainers: You can create a credit memo for a client to refund a retainer and then pay the amount to the client.

Click to watch this video on using credit memos in CORE.

From the accounting perspective, credit memos debit and decrease your income account; on the other hand they credit and increase your A/P.

Note: Credit memos are not linked to the 'Credit' type payments in CORE. You should use them independently of one another: credit memos to pay back the credit liabilities of a client (Accounts Payable) and credit payments to reduce the outstanding amount on invoices (Accounts Receivable).

Field Descriptions

How To

Create Credit Memos for Project Credits

Create Credit Memos for Retainer Refunds

Add Documents

Add Custom Fields

Email Credit Memos

View Journals

Download Credit Memos

Show/Hide Columns in Grid

Export Credit Memos

View Reports

Apply Filters

Mark Screen as Favorite

Field Descriptions

Create Credit Memos for Project Credits

To create a credit memo for a project credit, watch this video or follow these steps:

1. Open the Credit Memos screen from the side menu > Billing > Transactions.
   
   
   
   
2. Click Create Credit Memo on the top-right.
3. On the Create Credit Memo screen, select Type as Project Credit.
   
   
   
   
4. Enter the required information. Check Field Descriptions above for details.
   • Project on which you want to apply the credit
   • Date
   • Reference Number
5. Click Add and enter the required information in the top row of the grid. Check Field Descriptions above for details.
   • Account
   • Amount: credited to the client
6. Click Done and then Save & Done.

You have successfully issued a credit memo as a project credit. The next step is to create a bill payment for your client (payee) because in the background, CORE creates a system vendor bill for the above project credit transaction. Only then it becomes available for cutting a check to the client.  

Create Credit Memos for Retainer Refunds

You can create a retainer refund in CORE from the Credit Memos screen and later pay off the liability from the Bill Payments screen to complete the refund process.

To create a credit memo for a retainer refund, watch this video or follow these steps:

1. Open the Credit Memos screen from the side menu > Billing > Transactions.
   
   
   
   
2. Click Create Credit Memo on the top-right.
3. On the Create Credit Memo screen, select Type as Refund Retainer.
   
   
   
   
4. Enter the required information. Check Field Descriptions above for details.
   • Client to be refunded
   • Date
   • Reference Number
5. A grid displays below. Enter the Refund Amount (retainer refund amount) on the grid.
6. Click Save & Done or Save & Add Another.

The next step is to create a bill payment for your client (payee) because in the background, CORE creates a system vendor bill for the above retainer refund transaction. Only then it becomes available for cutting a check to the client. 

Add Documents

To add a document to a credit memo record, watch this video or follow these steps:

1. Open the Credit Memos screen from the side menu > Billing > Transactions.
   
   
   
   
2. In the list view, select a credit memo on the grid and click  to select View Details.
3. On the Edit Credit Memo > Documents screen, click Add.
   
   
   
4. On the Add Documents dialog, select the relevant tab, depending on the type of attachment.
   • Computer: To attach files stored on your computer, enter its Description and drag your file or click to browse to that location.
   • Hyperlink: To attach an external link, enter its Description and then insert the hyperlink.
   • Dropbox: To link files stored in your Dropbox account, enter its Description and then browse for it.
   • Google Drive: To link files stored in your Google Drive account, enter its Description and then browse for it.
   • OneDrive: To link files stored in your Microsoft OneDrive account, enter its Description and then browse for it.
   • Box: To link files stored in your Box account, enter its Description and then browse for it.
   • Resource Library: To link company resources, select the resource from the library. This option is available only with CORE CRM.
5. Click Add.

CORE pre-fills some of the information about the attached documents in the grid. You can send the documents to your clients, employees or other contacts for getting their digital or electronic signatures (eSignature via DocuSign) using the eSign option from the  row-action menu. CORE automatically adds the signed documents to the Documents folder of the entity (record) as separate attachments. It displays the status of the document, whether it has been delivered via DocuSign, viewed by the recipients, declined or completed by the recipients, etc. This column does not show up if you are not connected via the DocuSign integration. You can also check the detailed video on managing documents in CORE.

Add Custom Fields

Using custom fields, you can track extra characteristics and attributes of your credit memos. You can add unlimited number of custom fields to a credit memo. You can even customize these fields in the Custom Labels screen.

To add a custom field, watch this video or follow these steps:

1. Open the Credit Memos screen from the side menu > Billing > Transactions.
   
   
   
   
2. In the list view, select a credit memo on the grid and click  to select View Details.
3. On the Edit Credit Memo screen, go to the General > Custom Fields tab.
   
   
   
4. Click Add Custom Field. Select the type of field you want depending on its purpose, say Text Box.
5. On the Add Text Box dialog, enter the required information:
   • Name
   • Type
   • # of Characters
6. Check Show in List View if you want this field to appear under the Show/Hide Columns list and be displayed on the grid.
7. Click Save.

Note: You can display a maximum of three custom fields on the list view per screen.

You can also check the detailed video on managing custom fields in CORE.

Email Credit Memos

You can email credit memos to your clients or anyone else in the company.

To email a credit memo, watch this video or follow these steps:

1. Open the Credit Memos screen from the side menu > Billing > Transactions.
   
   
   
   
2. In the list view, select a credit memo on the grid that you want to email and click  to select Email. You can also select multiple credit memos on the grid and click Actions > Batch Email to batch email your credit memos.
3. On the Compose Email screen, enter the required information. Check Field Descriptions above for details.
   • To
   • Subject
   • Message
     
     
     
     
4. Click Add Attachments at the bottom if you want to attach any other files to the credit memos. You can also drag-and-drop any file into the Compose Email window from your desktop or email program. Click Send Message.

The selected credit memos are attached with the email. If the email is sent to an address that is no longer working, there is a bounce-back email sent to let you know about this. You can also check the detailed video on emailing in CORE.

Note: You cannot remove the default or system attachments. Only user-defined attachments can be added or removed. CORE restricts the file size of the attachments to 10 MB and sends the attachments as a single zipped file.

View Journals

You can understand the accounting behind a transaction by looking at its journal entries. In CORE, you can open the Journal report to view the transaction details, including the accounts being credited or debited.

To view the journal, watch this video or follow these steps:

1. Open the Credit Memos screen from the side menu > Billing > Transactions.
   
   
   
   
2. In the list view, select the credit memo on the grid whose journal you want to view and click  to select View Journal.
3. It opens in the viewer. Preview the journal report and then choose to export or print it.

Download Credit Memos

You can download the details of the credit memos as a PDF file directly from the list view.

To download a credit memo, watch this video or follow these steps:

1. Open the Credit Memos screen from the side menu > Billing > Transactions.
   
   
   
   
2. In the list view, select the credit memo on the grid whose details you want to download and click  to select Download PDF.
3. It prompts you to save the PDF at the relevant location, say your Desktop. Click Save.

Show/Hide Columns in Grid

You can configure the fields or columns that appear on the grid in the list view. You can hide or show columns, and sort the order of columns according to your requirements.

To do so, watch this video or follow these steps:

1. Open the Credit Memos screen from the side menu > Billing > Transactions.
   
   
   
   
2. In the list view, click More > Show/Hide Columns on the action bar.
3. Select or un-select the column names in the drop-down list, say Ref.
4. Next, click the column you want to sort, say Type.
5. Click once for ascending order (A-Z) and twice for descending order (Z-A).

Note: You can resize the column widths on the grid and then reset them, if needed (More > Reset Column Widths).

You can also check the detailed video on navigation and customizing grids in CORE.

Export Credit Memos

In CORE, you can export credit memos to the Comma Separated Values file format. CORE exports data from all available columns and not just the columns visible in the grid.

To export the credit memos to a .CSV file, watch this video or follow these steps:

1. Open the Credit Memos screen from the side menu > Billing > Transactions.
   
   
   
   
2. In the list view, click More > Export as CSV.
3. A .csv export file is created and saved on your system at the default download location, say your desktop. Click to open the spreadsheet.

You can also check the detailed video on exporting data in CORE.

View Reports

To view a report, watch this video or follow these steps:

1. Open the Credit Memos screen from the side menu > Billing > Transactions.
   
   
   
   
2. In the list view, click More > View Reports.
3. Select a report from the Report List dialog. It opens in the viewer.
4. Preview the report and then choose to export or print it.

You can also check the detailed video on running and managing reports in CORE.

Apply Filters

To view selective data on the grid, watch this video or follow these steps:

1. Open the Credit Memos screen from the side menu > Billing > Transactions.
   
   
   
   
2. In the list view, click  on the right.
3. On the Filters panel, select a filter from the drop-down and specify individual records or range.
4. Click Add Filters to specify more filters.
5. When you have finished, click Apply Filter. You can see selective data now.
6. In the list view, you can remove the individual filters by clicking  on each. To disable applied filters temporarily or remove all filters, click  next to the Filters icon and select Disable Filters or Clear All, respectively.

You can also check the detailed video on applying filters in CORE.

Mark Screen as Favorite

You can mark or flag the most-often used and important screens in CORE as your favorites up to a maximum of ten. These favorite screens then display separately on the side menu under the Favorites list. You can manage all your favorite screens in CORE from User Settings.

To mark this screen as your favorite, watch this video or follow these steps:

1. Open the Credit Memos screen from the side menu > Billing > Transactions.
   
   
   
   
2. In the list view, click  on the top-right.
3. You can access this screen from the side menu under Favorites.

You can also check the detailed video on marking screens as favorite in CORE.