Procedure
Issue a credit note
Issue a credit note in Vault to correct an invoice, record the amount and reason, and keep the account balance accurate.
A credit note is a numbered correction that offsets a charge or an invoice. This page walks the billing counter through issuing a credit note in Vault to correct an invoice, recording the amount and reason, and keeping the account balance accurate.
Why a credit note
A finalised bill holds its number for the life of the record. When something on that bill needs correcting, you issue a credit note against it rather than editing the bill.
The credit note carries its own number and offsets the amount it corrects. The account then shows the original bill, the correction, and the balance that stands between them.
A finalised bill keeps its number
A finalised invoice keeps its number for good, so the numbering series stays unbroken. A correction is a credit note against the bill, and both the bill and its correction stay visible on the account.
When to correct which way
Three corrections cover most cases at the counter. The one you reach for depends on where the charge sits.
| Correction | When to use | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Discount | Before the bill is finalised | Lowers a charge or the bill as an adjustment. |
| Credit note | A charge sits on a finalised bill | Offsets the charge, the bill keeps its number. |
| Cancel the invoice | The whole bill was raised in error | Voids the bill, its number preserved, a matching credit note posts. |
Issue the credit note
- 1
Open the finalised invoice
Open the patient's account and select the finalised bill you want to correct. The bill shows its number and its lines.
- 2
Choose what to correct
Select the scope, a single charge on the bill or the whole invoice. The counter shows the amount that the correction covers.
- 3
Enter the amount and reason
Set the Amount to correct, and choose the Reason from the list. The reason is drawn from a fixed set, so the correction carries a clear, comparable ground.
- 4
Issue the note
Select Issue credit note. Vault gives the note its own number, offsets the charge or the invoice, and posts the matching accounting entry. Where the original bill carried tax, the credit note carries the tax correction with it.
- 5
Confirm the balance
Read the account balance. It updates as the credit note posts, so the amount the patient owes reflects the correction at once.
Cancelling a whole bill
To void a bill raised in error, cancel the invoice. Vault preserves the bill number, posts a matching credit note where tax was charged, and confirms the void with you before it commits. Cancelling suits a bill that should stand at zero; a credit note suits a bill that needs a partial correction.
Common questions
Does a credit note change the original invoice?
The original invoice holds as it was. The credit note is a separate numbered entry that offsets it, so the account carries both documents and the balance between them.
Credit note or discount?
A discount lowers a bill before you finalise it. Once a bill is finalised, a credit note is the way to correct it, because the finalised bill keeps its number.
What about the tax on a corrected line?
Where the original charge carried tax, the credit note carries the matching tax correction, so the account and the tax record stay in step.
Related tasks
Read how invoices and credit notes relate in invoices and credit notes.
Lower a bill before it is finalised in apply a discount, and settle the balance that stands in take a payment.