Debit notes

A supplier debit note records a credit the supplier owes you: goods you returned, an overcharge, or an agreed discount after the bill. Posting it reduces what you owe the supplier (it debits Accounts Payable). You then apply it to one or more open bills, or take the money back with a supplier refund.

Where to find it

• Sidebar: Purchases → AP (Purchases) → Payments & Credits → Debit Notes (URL /ap/debit-notes).
• Quick create: + quick-add menu → Purchases → New Debit Note.
• From a posted bill: the bill's relationship map offers Create Debit Note, which opens the form with the bill's supplier and project filled in (URL /ap/debit-notes/create?bill_id=…).

The debit notes list

These are the default columns; Created can be added from the saved-view column picker. Filter by search text, status, date range and supplier. Saved views and Excel export are available. Excel exports the rows and columns you are looking at (or only the ticked rows, up to 100), with the same headings, in the page language.

Create a debit note

1. Click New Debit Note (top right of the list).
2. Fill in the header:

3. Add lines. Each line needs a description and a quantity above zero. Choose the line type:

4. Choose a purchase tax rate per line. Sales-only rates are refused ("Sales-only tax rate cannot be used on debit notes.").
5. Optionally apply a percentage line discount (0–100) or a document discount.
6. Click Save Draft or Save & Post at the bottom. If posting fails, the note is kept as a draft and you see why.

Post a debit note

On a draft, click Post to GL. Posting requires a date, a supplier, a total above zero, an open period and any required approval. The note becomes Unapplied and the supplier's balance drops by the total.

Apply a debit note to bills

1. Open a posted debit note with credit left (Unapplied or Partially Applied) and click Apply to Bill.
2. The Apply supplier credit page shows the remaining credit. Pick the Bill — the list only shows this supplier's posted, unpaid, partially paid or overdue bills that still have a balance, each with its remaining amount.
3. Enter the Amount and the Date.
4. Click Save. You see "Debit applied successfully."

Rules:

• Same supplier and same currency, and the bill must be posted: "Select a posted bill in the same organization and currency as this credit."
• The amount cannot exceed the credit left ("Amount exceeds available debit note balance.") or the bill's balance ("Amount exceeds bill remaining balance.").
• The date cannot be before the debit note date or the bill date, and must be in an open period.
• To spread one note across several bills, apply it once per bill.

Applying does not create another journal entry in a base-currency note; the AP debit was made when the note was posted. It moves the credit onto the specific bill: the bill's balance falls, its status updates (Partially Paid or Paid) and the bill page shows the amount under Credits applied. The note becomes Partially Applied or Fully Applied.

Foreign-currency notes. A debit note and the bill it settles may have been booked at different exchange rates. When you apply a foreign-currency note, SolaCount compares the base value the note carries with the base value of the bill share it clears and posts the difference in a separate journal (source NOTE_FX, memo "Realized FX on credit allocation") dated on the allocation date: Dr or Cr Accounts Payable against the realized exchange gain or loss account. Unapply reverses that journal too. See Multi-currency.

Unapply

On the debit note page, the Allocations table lists each application (bill, amount, date). Click Unapply on a row and confirm "Remove this allocation?". The allocation is removed ("Allocation removed."), the bill's balance comes back, and the note returns to Unapplied or Partially Applied. The allocation date must be in an open period. Needs the purchases.debit_notes.unapply permission and any required approval.

Void a debit note

Click Void and confirm "Void this debit note? A reversing entry will be created and balances will be updated. This cannot be undone." Voiding is blocked while:

• "Debit note is applied to bills — remove allocations first" — unapply every allocation,
• "Supplier refunds are linked to this debit note" — void the refunds first,
• the period is closed or locked.

Opening supplier credits created during data migration cannot be voided as ordinary debit notes.

A bill cannot be voided or unposted while a debit note is applied to it — unapply first.

Debit notes when SolaStock owns the stock

In an organization connected to SolaStock (Connecting SolaCount and SolaStock), credits for stock purchases follow the stock:

• Goods you send back. Record the supplier return in SolaStock. When it is posted there, SolaCount proposes a draft debit note for the exact bill line and quantity that was returned. Review it and post it like any debit note. Until the return and its credit are completed or reversed, the original bill cannot be unposted or voided ("Complete or reverse the linked supplier return and its credit before unposting or voiding this bill. Reconcile any pending return request first.").
• A price reduction without a return. Use Financial supplier credit on the posted bill. See Financial supplier credits. The draft it creates is reserved for that bill line and its lines cannot be edited.
• A manual debit note against a bill that is still in the invoice-first position is refused: "This Stock purchase uses invoice-first matching. Reverse the unpaid bill safely before correcting it, or use a reviewed supplier-return workflow. An inventory credit cannot be posted against GRNI while the invoice acquisition position remains active. Select the original bill so its ownership can be checked."

Services and non-stock items on a debit note behave as described above in every organization.

Status lifecycle

Worked example

Al Noor Trading LLC returns 10 damaged LED panels (stock item, AED 120 each, 5% recoverable VAT) to Emirates Lighting LLC, and is also given an AED 200 goodwill allowance on delivery charges (account-only line, 5% VAT).

Posting:

The stock line also records the items going out of inventory. Applying AED 1,470 to the supplier's open bill BL-7781 (balance AED 7,560) leaves AED 6,090 due on that bill. Reverse-charge rates on a debit note credit the reverse-charge output VAT account instead.

Second example: applying a USD debit note to a USD bill

Al Noor Trading LLC (base currency AED) booked bill BL-2050 from a US supplier for USD 500.00 when 1 USD = AED 3.7037 (AED 1,851.85). Later the supplier issues debit note DN-0009 for USD 500.00, posted when 1 USD = AED 3.6724 (AED 1,836.20). Posting the note: Dr Accounts payable 1,836.20 / Cr Purchases 1,836.20.

When DN-0009 is applied to BL-2050 in full, the bill is cleared in USD, but in AED the payable still shows 1,851.85 - 1,836.20 = 15.65 credit. SolaCount posts the realized FX journal on the allocation date:

If the rates were the other way round, the same journal would debit the Foreign Exchange Loss (Realized) account and credit Accounts Payable. If Unapply removes the allocation, this journal is reversed with it.

Effect on AP aging

AP aging subtracts applied debit notes from each bill's balance. A posted but unapplied debit note lowers the supplier's overall balance but is not attached to any bill's aging bucket until you apply it. Apply credits promptly so the aging matches the supplier statement.

Permissions

Debit notes are part of the supplier credits feature of your plan. With approvals configured for debit notes, applying, unapplying and voiding can require a current approval.

Tips

• Use a debit note when the supplier gives you a credit; use Supplier refunds when they send money back against that credit.
• Only drafts can be edited ("Only draft debit notes can be edited.").

Related

• Financial supplier credits
• Receiving goods on supplier bills
• Payables reports
• Bills
• Supplier refunds
• Payments
• Taxes & VAT
• Suppliers