Manually match a credit note to an invoice

This article shows you how to settle an invoice and credit note in FreeAgent (only if our quick matching feature won't work for your situation).

If you issue a credit note to your customer, you’ll want to show both the invoice and the credit note as ‘settled’ in FreeAgent.

In the vast majority of cases, you will be able to match any invoices and credit notes in the standard way. Please only use the method outlined below if you encounter an exception, for example, if the credit note and invoice are for different contacts.

Create a ‘dummy’ invoice receipt and 'dummy’ credit note refund

To complete this process, you’ll need to enter a ‘dummy’ invoice receipt and a ‘dummy’ refund against the credit note. As pictured below, you can see an invoice and credit note, each with the value of £600, cancelling each other out.

1. Create a ‘dummy’ invoice receipt

Navigate to the ‘Work’ tab at the top of the screen and select ‘Invoicing’ from the drop-down menu.

Select the reference of the relevant invoice.

On the ‘Actions’ drop-down menu, select ‘Add manual bank transaction’.

Enter a manual invoice receipt, settling the invoice in full.  Make sure to use the credit note’s date because this is likely to be the date on which you want the ‘net off’ to show on.

2. Create a ‘dummy’ credit note refund

Follow the same steps above to navigate to the relevant credit note and under the ‘Actions’ menu select ‘Add manual bank transaction’ again. Make sure to use the same amount again so that everything balances out.

Once you’ve done this, both the invoice and the credit note will show as settled. The invoice will show as as paid and the credit note will show as as refunded.

You’ll see a dummy receipt and a dummy payment for the same amount, cancelling each other out in your bank account.

Navigate to the 'Banking' tab at the top of the screen and select 'Bank Accounts' from the drop-down menu.

Choose the relevant bank account from the list of accounts below the graph and you’ll see the dummy receipt and payment for the same amount, cancelling each other out.

What if the credit note doesn't cancel out the whole invoice?

If the credit note only settles part of the invoice, then follow the same steps, but when you enter the invoice receipt, only enter the amount that’s covered by the credit note. This is so that the receipt and payment in the bank account are the same, and so that the amount of the invoice that isn’t covered by the credit note still shows as due.