Credit notes in Clio Manage allow you to reduce or zero out the total amount owed on an approved, unpaid bill. You apply a credit note to the entire bill to record a waiver, discount, or a write-off (an amount the firm does not expect to collect). You can track and report on all credit notes you create.
What is the difference between a discount and a credit note?
A Discount is a feature you apply to individual activities or the whole bill when the bill is in draft or pending approval. Discounts are calculated before taxes.
A Credit note is a feature you apply to an approved and unpaid bill to reduce its total amount owed. While you can use a credit note to record a waiver or a post-approval discount, it is primarily used for tracking write-offs.
Apply credit notes or write-offs
You can apply a credit note in two ways: you can apply a credit note without recording a payment (for waivers or discounts), or you can write off the remaining bill balance when recording a payment.
- Go to Billing or select the Bills subtab in a matter or contact.
- Select the Unpaid quick filter.
- Click the bill ID to open the bill. You can also click the down arrow next to Send and select View bill.
- Select the Credit notes tab and click Add credit note.
- Complete the details and add the amount that you are writing off.
- Click Save credit note.
- Go to Billing or select the Bills subtab in a matter or contact.
- Select the Unpaid quick filter.
- Click the bill ID to open the bill. You can also click the down arrow next to Send and select View bill.
- Click the More actions dropdown and select Record payment.
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Complete the fields as necessary.
- Payment source: Select the appropriate option about the payment. Enter information about the source or destination of the payment, e.g., information about the vendor's bank account.
- Payer: This optional field should be used if the person making the payment is not the client
- Enter the Payment amount.
- Check the box under Write offs.
- Click Record payment.
- When the warning prompt appears, select Write off and record payment.
Delete credit notes
Credit notes cannot be modified or transferred from one bill to another. Once applied, a credit note can only be deleted. If you need to edit the credit note, delete it and then create a new one. To delete a credit note:
- Go to Billing or select the Bills subtab in a matter or contact.
- Select the Unpaid quick filter.
- Click the bill ID to open the bill. You can also click the down arrow next to Send and select View bill.
- Select the Credit notes tab and click Delete next to the credit note.
- When the warning prompt appears, select Delete.