Read existing sales credit notes
Where: invoice detail → Credit notes → select an SCN-… link.
Who: sales.credit-note.view. Viewing the source invoice's customer name and balances also requires invoice viewing and its business-unit access.
Current availability
Credit-note creation, posting and cancellation are disabled in the current browser. You may see Credit-note changes are currently unavailable. This is a release restriction, not a missing permission you can fix by adding credit-note create/post rights.
Existing records can be inspected. This page describes their fields, statuses and financial meaning. It is not a procedure for enabling the hidden dialog, using direct APIs or bypassing the restriction. Refer a new credit/refund request to Accounts and the application owner.
Read the credit-note detail
| Field / section | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Credit note number | Generated credit reference | SCN-E5F6A7B8 |
| Status / type | State and business classification | Posted / Price correction |
| Source invoice | Linked invoice number or fallback numeric ID | INV-A1B2C3D4 |
| Customer / Business unit | Source context; may use fallback IDs | Café Aroma / Bright Home Supplies |
| Date | Credit-note document date | 15/11/2026 |
| Reason code / Reason | Recorded adjustment rationale | PRICE-AGREEMENT / Agreed price correction |
| Lines | Source line, description, quantity, price, subtotal, tax, discount and total | An adjustment of 27.60 |
| Totals | Transaction/base amounts and rate context | GBP 27.6000, base GBP 27.6000 |
| Posted/cancelled date | Recorded event timestamp, where present | Read with the record's state |
| Cancellation reason | Recorded explanation, if a cancelled credit has one | Draft raised against wrong bill |
Use Reload to fetch current data. Invoice register returns to sales invoices; the source-invoice link opens the originating bill where permitted.
Types you may encounter
| Type | Intended business meaning |
|---|---|
| Invoice adjustment | General invoice value adjustment |
| Sales return | Credit classified as associated with returned goods |
| Price correction | Correction to invoiced pricing |
| Discount adjustment | Adjustment to discount after invoicing |
| Tax adjustment | Tax-related correction |
| Goodwill credit | Customer-service adjustment |
The label describes the credit, not a separate executed stock or banking operation. A Sales return credit does not itself prove goods were returned into inventory. A goodwill credit is not evidence that a cash refund was paid.
Status and balance effect
| Status | How to interpret an existing record |
|---|---|
| Draft | Proposed credit; not yet effective settlement |
| Posted | Posting applies its credit to the invoice balance in the implemented service |
| Cancelled | Abandoned credit draft; not an effective posted credit |
| Applied / Refunded | Recognised statuses in existing data/reporting; no browser apply/refund command is available |
A Posted credit can already be applied to the source balance even when its status remains Posted rather than Applied. Do not subtract it twice or assume another Apply button is needed.
Example: cash plus an existing credit
| Event | Paid / credited | Amount due |
|---|---|---|
| Original invoice 327.60 Posted | 0 | 327.60 |
| Cash allocation 200 | 200.00 | 127.60 |
| Existing effective credit 27.60 | 227.60 | 100.00 |
| Further cash allocation 100 | 327.60 | 0 |
Cash received is 300, not 327.60. Paid / credited includes the 27.60 adjustment. This example explains existing effective data; it does not instruct users to post a new credit in the restricted browser.
Example: draft credit does not reduce collections
A Posted bill is due 100 and an existing credit Draft is 20. The bill is still due 100 until an authorised effective adjustment has actually changed it. Do not promise a remaining bill of 80 based only on a draft proposal.
What to do if an adjustment is needed
Give Accounts the source invoice number/ID, reason, affected source lines, proposed amount, currency and any already recorded payments/credits. Do not cancel a posted invoice as a substitute, change a payment amount to imitate a credit, or create another sales order merely to hide a discrepancy.
If the credit list cannot load, distinguish its error from a successful No credit notes for this invoice response. Check credit viewing access before treating an empty-looking section as confirmation of no adjustments.