Customer Credits

What is this page about: Light lets you create customer credits to reduce a customer's balance, and apply them against open or partially-paid invoices. This page explains the credit states, how to create a credit and duplicate its lines, how the posting date and document date work, how tax calculates on credit lines, how to post a credit and apply it to invoices, what you can edit after posting, and the actions available from the credit and from the list.

# On this page

• What is a customer credit in Light?
• What are customer credit states in Light?
• How do I create a customer credit?
• How do I duplicate a line on a customer credit?
• What's the difference between the posting date and the document date?
• Can I apply a discount to a customer credit line?
• How does tax calculation work on a customer credit?
• How do I post a customer credit?
• How do I apply a customer credit to an invoice?
• Can I edit a customer credit after it's posted?
• What other actions can I take on a customer credit?
• Frequently asked questions
• Related articles

# What is a customer credit in Light?

A customer credit in Light is a credit document that reduces a customer's balance. You can apply the full credit amount, or allocate a partial amount, to one or more open or partially-paid sales invoices. Any unallocated balance remains available on the credit for future use.

To find customer credits in Light, navigate via Revenue & Invoicing → Customer credits.

# What are customer credit states in Light?

A customer credit in Light can be in one of five states, shown as a badge on the credit: Draft, Posted, Partially cleared, Cleared, and Void.

A customer credit moves from Posted → Partially cleared → Cleared as it is applied to invoices.

Note: Archiving a credit voids it, the badge reads Void.

# How do I create a customer credit?

To create a customer credit in Light:

1. From Revenue & Invoicing, open the Create menu and select Customer credit.
2. Light immediately creates the customer credit in Draft state and opens its detail page.
3. Fill in the form (customer, entity, currency, dates, lines, etc.) directly on the draft.

# How do I duplicate a line on a customer credit?

When a credit needs several similar lines, duplicate an existing line and change only what's different.

1. Open a Draft customer credit.
2. Open the action menu on the line you want to copy.
3. Select Duplicate.
4. Edit the fields that differ on the new line.

Light saves the copy straight away and adds it to the end of the line list. The copy keeps every field from the original line, including product, description, quantity, amount, discount, tax code, ledger account, custom properties, and amortisation template and dates.

Line actions are available on Draft credits only. To duplicate a whole credit instead, use Duplicate from the credit's ⋮ menu (see What other actions can I take on a customer credit? below).

# What's the difference between the posting date and the document date?

A customer credit has two dates, so a credit can show its issue date to the customer while its accounting lands in a different period. For example, a credit dated 30 September on the document can still post to October.

• Posting date (required): the date Light posts the credit to the ledger. It decides which accounting period the credit falls in.
• Document date: the date printed on the credit note the customer receives.

To set the dates:

1. Open a Draft customer credit.
2. Set the Posting date.
3. Set the Document date, or leave it blank.
4. Check the preview to confirm the date shown on the credit note.

If you leave Document date blank, the field shows Same as posting date and the credit note uses the posting date. The two dates are independent: changing one never changes the other.

Good to know: After a credit is posted, you can still change its Document date. This only changes the date on the credit note, and the ledger entries stay as they are.

# Can I apply a discount to a customer credit line?

Yes. Each credit line has a Discount field where you can enter either a percentage (e.g., 10%) or a fixed amount in the credit's currency. When a line has a discount, the totals summary at the bottom of the credit shows the total discount amount alongside the total tax.

# How does tax calculation work on a customer credit?

A customer credit calculates tax through whichever tax engine is configured for the entity. If the entity uses Avatax or Sphere, each line item displays the tax engine name as a badge in the Tax code column (e.g., "Avatax (your tax code)" or "Sphere"). If the entity uses Light's built-in tax codes, the Tax code column shows a dropdown selector instead.

With built-in tax codes, new lines take the customer's default tax code if the customer has one, before the product's default. See Setting Up Customers.

# How do I post a customer credit?

To post a customer credit, open the draft credit and use the Post split button at the top right:

• Post & send customer credit: posts the customer credit and emails it to the customer (the email composer opens, with the same fields used for invoices).
• Post only: posts the customer credit without sending an email.

Both options are also in the ⋮ menu on the credit's row in the Customer credits list.

# How do I apply a customer credit to an invoice?

You can apply a customer credit, in full or in part, to one sales invoice per action. Any unallocated balance stays on the customer credit for later use.

1. Open the customer credit. It can be Draft, Posted, or Partially cleared, and it needs a customer set.
2. Click Apply to invoice.
3. The dialog lists invoices for the same customer, entity, and currency as the credit, filtered to Open or Partially paid state.
4. Select one invoice.
5. Enter the amount to apply, up to the credit's available balance.
6. Review the running totals: total invoice amount, amount being applied, and remaining credit balance.
7. Click Apply to invoice to submit. On a Posted or Partially cleared credit, click Confirm on the confirmation step.
8. To apply the same customer credit to another invoice, repeat this process. Only one invoice is applied per action.

Good to know: Applying a Draft credit reserves the amount against the invoice. Nothing reaches the ledger until you post the credit, and posting then applies the reserved amounts. On a Draft credit, the amount field appears only if partial allocation is enabled for your company. Otherwise the full available balance is applied.

What happens after a posted customer credit is applied:

• The selected invoice's balance decreases by the applied amount.
• The customer credit's state updates to Partially cleared if a balance remains on the credit, or Cleared if the credit is fully allocated.
• A partially cleared customer credit can be applied to additional invoices at any time.

# Can I edit a customer credit after it's posted?

Yes. After a customer credit is posted, its amounts, quantities, and posting date are locked. These fields stay editable:

• The credit's description, document date, PO number, and custom properties
• On each line: description, GL account, tax code, and custom properties

You can update these fields without voiding and recreating the customer credit.

To edit a posted customer credit's line details:

1. Open the posted customer credit.
2. Enter edit mode on the line item you want to update.
3. Change the line's description, GL account, tax code, or custom properties (department, cost center, project code, etc.).
4. Confirm the changes when prompted, then save.

Every change to a posted customer credit is recorded in the credit's modification history, and the line item re-locks after saving. See Custom Properties for more.

# What other actions can I take on a customer credit?

The actions available on a customer credit depend on its status and your permissions.

On the credit's page, these appear as buttons at the top:

• Apply to invoice: available on Draft, Posted, and Partially cleared credits.
• Post: split button with Post & send customer credit and Post only. Available on Draft credits.
• Enter payment: available on Posted and Partially cleared credits.
• Show document / Hide document: shows or hides the document preview.

The ⋮ menu at the top right holds the rest:

• Duplicate: creates a new customer credit pre-filled from this one. Available on any credit you have permission to edit, including Draft, Posted, and Void.
• Restore: brings the credit back from Void. Available only on Void (archived) credits.
• Send e-invoice: submits the credit to the e-invoicing network Light supports, when e-invoicing is enabled for your entity. Available on Posted, Partially cleared, and Cleared credits.
• Reset to draft: returns the credit to Draft state. Available only on Posted credits.
• Archive: archives the credit; the badge changes to Void. Available on Draft and Posted credits.

The ⋮ menu is hidden while you're editing a posted credit.

# Can I take actions from the Customer credits list?

Yes. Each row in the Customer credits list has a ⋮ menu, so you can work through credits without opening each one. It includes the button actions and the ⋮ menu actions above, with the same status and permission rules: Post & send customer credit, Post only, Apply to invoice, Enter payment, Restore, Duplicate, Reset to draft, and Archive.

Send e-invoice is only on the credit's own page. Open the credit to send it as an e-invoice.

# Frequently asked questions

Which date decides the accounting period of a customer credit?

The Posting date. The Document date only changes the date printed on the credit note.

What happens if I leave the document date blank?

The credit note uses the posting date. The field shows Same as posting date as a reminder.

Can I change the posting date after a credit is posted?

No. The posting date locks when the credit is posted. The document date, description, PO number, custom properties, and line descriptions, GL accounts, and tax codes stay editable.

Where does a duplicated line appear?

At the end of the line list. Light saves it straight away, with every field copied from the original line.

Can I apply a draft credit to an invoice?

Yes. Applying a draft credit reserves the amount against the invoice. The invoice balance changes when you post the credit.

Why can't I see Send e-invoice in the list's row menu?

Send e-invoice is only on the credit's own page. Open the credit and use its ⋮ menu.

# Related articles

• Accounts Receivable Overview
• Invoice Generation
• Setting Up Customers
• Sending Invoices
• Tracking Payments and Outstanding Balances