Apply Credit Notes and Write Offs

Credit notes in Clio Manage allow you to reduce or zero out the total amount owed on an approved, unpaid bill. Reducing or writing off a bill amount without deleting the bill maintains an accurate, auditable record of why a client owes less than the original invoice amount. You can apply a credit note to an approved, unpaid bill to record a waiver, a post-approval discount, or a write off that your firm does not expect to collect, and your firm can track and report on every credit note to keep write offs transparent.

Compare discounts and credit notes

Discount:

Apply to individual activities or a whole bill while the bill is in draft or pending approval. Calculates before tax. See Apply Discounts.

Credit note:

Apply to an approved, unpaid bill to reduce its total amount owed. Primarily used to track a write off, though it can also record a waiver or a post-approval discount.

Apply credit notes or write offs

You can apply a credit note directly while viewing a bill to reduce the amount owed before payment, or write off an amount when recording a partial payment. You can also apply a write-off to a trust request.

Apply a credit note without recording a payment

1. Go to Billing, or select the Bills subtab in a matter or contact.
2. Select the Unpaid quick filter.
3. Click the bill ID to open the bill. You can also click the down arrow next to Send and select View bill.
4. Select the Credit notes tab and click Add credit note.
5. Complete the details and enter the amount you are writing off.
6. Click Save credit note.

Apply a write off while recording a payment

1. Go to Billing, or select the Bills subtab in a matter or contact.
2. Select the Unpaid quick filter.
3. For a bill or trust request, click the down arrow next to Send and select Record payment. You can also click a bill or trust request ID to open it, then click More actions > Record payment.
4. 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
5. Enter the Payment amount.
6. Check the box under Write offs. This box appears only when the payment amount is less than the bill or trust request amount.
7. Click Record payment.
8. 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:

1. Go to Billing or select the Bills subtab in a matter or contact.
2. Select the Unpaid quick filter.
3. Click the bill ID to open the bill. You can also click the down arrow next to Send and select View bill.
4. Select the Credit notes tab and click Delete next to the credit note.
5. When the warning prompt appears, select Delete.

Up next

Apply Discounts: Reduce a bill or individual line items before it is approved.