Applying Credit Notes

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Overview

Feature Availability: Some Credit Note functionality is being released in stages and may be controlled by a feature flag.
Where the Credit Note invoice-only restriction is enabled, Credit Notes can only be applied to invoices. They cannot be applied directly to disbursements.
This restriction applies to Credit Notes only.
Office Credit Funds are separate from Credit Notes and may still be available for eligible disbursements, depending on your firm’s region, permissions and configuration.
If you cannot see an option described in this article, it may not be available for your firm, region or transaction type.

Credit Notes and Office Credit Funds can be used to reduce outstanding balances on invoices.

Before applying a credit, confirm that available funds are showing on the Matter.

Credit allocations create corresponding entries in the Office Ledger, providing an audit trail of the transaction.

Credit Note Availability by Region

Region	Credit Notes Available	Can Apply to Invoices	Can Apply Directly to Disbursements
Australia	Yes	Yes	No, where the invoice-only restriction applies
United States	Yes	Yes	No, where the invoice-only restriction applies
Great Britain	No	Not applicable	No
Ireland	No	Not applicable	No

Where Credit Notes are unavailable, the Credit Note balance and related actions are not displayed.

Checking Available Credit

Before applying a Credit Note or Office Credit Funds, verify that credit is available on the Matter.

Navigate to the Matter.

Step	Action
1	Open the required Matter.
2	Review the available credit balances.
3	Office Credit Funds display in red and represent funds available for allocation.
4	Credit Notes display in green and represent available Credit Notes that can be applied to outstanding invoices.

Only available credit can be applied.

Applying Credit to an Invoice

To apply available credit to an invoice:

Navigate to the Matter.
Open Invoices.
Locate the required invoice.
Select More Actions (⋮).
Select Pay with Credit.
Select the required credit source, such as Credit Notes or Office Credit Funds, where available.
Review the available balance.
Confirm or amend the Date.
Enter a Memo, if required.
Select Save.

If the full outstanding balance is paid, the invoice is automatically marked Closed.

The corresponding allocation is recorded in the Office Ledger.

In Scotland, it may show Mark as Paid instead of Pay with Credit

Disbursement Restrictions

Where the Credit Note invoice-only restriction is enabled, Credit Notes cannot be applied directly to disbursements.

This means Credit Notes cannot be applied directly to:

incurred disbursements
anticipated disbursements
cost recovery disbursements

The Apply Credit Notes action is not displayed for these disbursements.

If a disbursement has already been billed, apply the Credit Note to the related invoice instead.

This restriction applies to Credit Notes only. It does not prevent Office Credit Funds from being applied to eligible disbursements where that functionality is available. Office Credit Funds may still be available for eligible disbursements, depending on your firm's region, permissions and configuration. If the Apply Credit Funds option does not display, it is not available for that transaction.

Supported Alternatives for Disbursements

Scenario	Supported Treatment
The unbilled disbursement is not billable to the client	Use Write-Off.
A supplier credit is received before billing	Record a contra negative disbursement using the same tax code.
The firm wants to provide a partial goodwill reduction before billing	Use a partial write-off or contra negative disbursement.
The disbursement has already been billed	Apply the Credit Note to the related invoice.

Office Ledger Entries

Every credit allocation creates corresponding Office Ledger transactions.

These entries provide an audit trail showing:

the source of the credit
the amount applied
the allocation date
the resulting ledger movements

Key Behaviour

Scenario	Behaviour
Credit Note invoice-only restriction is enabled	Credit Notes can only be applied to invoices.
Credit Note applied to an invoice	The invoice balance is reduced by the allocated amount.
Credit Note applied directly to a disbursement	Not available where the invoice-only restriction is enabled.
Apply Credit Notes action not visible on a disbursement	The Credit Note restriction applies, or the action is not available for that firm, region or transaction.
Office Credit Funds available	Office Credit Funds may still be applied to eligible invoices or disbursements, depending on region, permissions and configuration.
Apply Credit Funds action not visible	Office Credit Funds are not available for that transaction, firm or region.

Best Practices

Confirm available credit before applying it.
Review the available balance before saving the allocation.
Enter a Memo or Reason where appropriate to assist future auditing.
Verify the corresponding Office Ledger entries after the allocation has been completed.
Apply Credit Notes to invoices rather than directly to disbursements.
Use Write-Off or contra negative disbursement options where a disbursement needs to be reduced before billing.