Debit notes

Who can use this: Owner, Manager, Accountant. URL / Route: /finance/ap/debit-notes (finance.ap.debit-notes.index). Detail: finance.ap.debit-notes.show, edit, update, create, store, destroy. Action endpoints: finance.ap.debit-notes.post, void, pdf, apply-form, apply, unapply. Plan / feature gate: feature:tracker.vendor_credits_debit_notes (default: enabled on standard plans). Permissions: debit_notes.view, debit_notes.create, debit_notes.edit_draft, debit_notes.delete, debit_notes.post, debit_notes.void, debit_notes.apply, debit_notes.unapply.

Purpose

A Debit note records an amount a supplier owes you. Use one when:

• a supplier overcharged on a bill and agrees to credit the difference,
• you returned goods and the supplier issues a credit against the original bill,
• the supplier owes you a rebate or post-purchase adjustment,
• you booked a bill in error and want to neutralise it without voiding the original document.

A debit note can be applied to one or more open bills to reduce their balance, or left as unapplied credit to offset against future bills. The supplier's AP balance reflects unapplied debit-note credit as a reduction (you owe them less).

For an actual cash refund from the supplier (money comes back to your bank), see Supplier refunds. A debit note alone is bookkeeping; a supplier refund is money in.

It's the AP mirror of a Credit note: credit notes reduce what a customer owes you; debit notes reduce what you owe a supplier.

Step by step

Browse debit notes

Open /finance/ap/debit-notes. Each row shows the number, date, supplier, amount, applied amount, unapplied balance, and status (Draft / Posted / Void).

Create a debit note

Route: finance.ap.debit-notes.create / store. Permission: debit_notes.create.

1. Click New debit note.
2. Pick the Supplier.
3. Set the Date and (optionally) reference an originating Bill for the audit trail.
4. Add lines: Product/Service or Account, Description, Quantity, Unit price, Tax. These are often copied from the bill being credited.
5. Save as Draft or Save and Post.

Edit a draft

Route: finance.ap.debit-notes.edit / update. Permission: debit_notes.edit_draft. Drafts only.

Post a debit note

Route: finance.ap.debit-notes.post. Permission: debit_notes.post.

Writes the GL journal:

• Credit Expense / Inventory (reducing the cost recorded on the original bill).
• Credit VAT Input — Recoverable (reversing the tax claim).
• Debit the AP control account (reducing what you owe the supplier).

The debit note's unapplied amount becomes the supplier's open credit on your side.

Apply a debit note to bills

Route: finance.ap.debit-notes.apply-form (page) and finance.ap.debit-notes.apply (POST). Permission: debit_notes.apply.

From a posted debit note, click Apply to bills. Tick one or more of the supplier's open bills and enter the amount applied to each — the total cannot exceed the debit note's unapplied balance. Applying writes a credit_allocations row per bill and reduces the bill's open balance.

Unapply

Route: finance.ap.debit-notes.unapply. Permission: debit_notes.unapply.

Removes a specific allocation, freeing the credit to be applied elsewhere or refunded.

Void a posted debit note

Route: finance.ap.debit-notes.void. Permission: debit_notes.void.

Reverses the GL journal, removes every allocation, and marks the debit note Void. The document number stays on the books for the audit trail.

Print a PDF / Delete a draft

finance.ap.debit-notes.pdf (any view permission) streams the PDF. finance.ap.debit-notes.destroy deletes Drafts only.

How the journal looks

A JOD 117 debit note for goods returned on a 17% VAT bill:

If the return is a stocked item (JOD 100 cost, JOD 17 VAT) physically going back to the supplier:

The Inventory account is credited because the stock has left the warehouse (back to the supplier).

Applying the JOD 117 debit note against a JOD 117 open bill:

No cash moves — only the bill's open balance is reduced; the unapplied debit-note balance drops by the same amount. The supplier's net AP position is unchanged on this side; it was already reduced when the debit note was posted.

When to use which supplier credit

Common mistakes

• "The debit note didn't reduce my AP balance." Until you Apply it to an open bill, it sits as a supplier credit on the supplier's profile. Apply it from the debit-note's Apply to bills action.
• "I voided the debit note but the bill I applied it to is still showing as paid." Void removes every allocation as part of voiding — re-open the bill, which goes back to its prior balance.
• Tax wrong on a return. When you return stock, the debit-note tax should mirror the original bill's tax code — not be picked fresh. Use Reference originating Bill when creating the debit note and the tax codes pre-fill.
• Period locked. Posting, voiding, and applying all need an open period.

Behaviour and rules

• Debit-note JE source label. On the Journal entries page, the debit-note JE is tagged with the info-blue Debit Note chip.
• No cash impact. A debit note only moves AP — no bank account is touched. Combine with a Supplier refund if you also need the supplier to pay you back.
• Period lock. Posting / voiding / applying require the date's period to be open.
• Applied debits and aging. When applied to a bill, the applied amount reduces that bill's open balance and stops it from continuing to age.
• Tax recoverability. The Recoverable / non-recoverable split on the debit note mirrors the bill being credited.

Permissions / restrictions

• View / create / edit drafts / post: debit_notes.{view,create,edit_draft,post}.
• Apply / unapply: debit_notes.{apply,unapply}.
• Void / delete drafts: debit_notes.{void,delete}.

Related

• Bills — the document a debit note typically applies against.
• Supplier refunds — cash refund of a debit-note balance.
• Credit notes — the AR counterpart.
• Suppliers — debit-note history shown on the supplier profile.
• Payments — every supplier refund tied to a debit note appears here as a "Supplier Refund" row.
• Reports — AP Aging, Purchases by Supplier.