Create credit notes and cancellations

Credit note or cancellation: which one when?

Both corrections use the same “credit note / cancellation” document type in Billance but behave differently. A credit note reduces an invoice fully or in part: you carry line items and quantities over from the original and adjust what is actually credited. A cancellation voids the original invoice entirely; Billance carries the source data over, sets the matching correction type and links the cancellation to the invoice it voids.

Because a finalized invoice must not be altered, a correction is the only proper route. The link stays traceable: the correction names the number and date of the original invoice, and the document chain shows in both directions what belongs together.

If the original invoice was structured, the correction can be produced as an e-invoice too. It then uses the matching invoice type codes and carries the reference to the preceding invoice in the record, which is what an invoice intake expects for a correction.

How to correct an invoice

1. 1

   Open the original invoice

   The correction starts on the finalized invoice, so the reference is set from the beginning instead of being typed in by hand.

2. 2

   Choose the mode

   A credit note for a partial or full reduction, a cancellation to void the source document entirely.

3. 3

   Define the scope

   For a credit note you decide which line items and quantities carry over. If the original invoice was settled with a discount, the correction flow takes the amount actually paid into account.

4. 4

   Add the reason

   A correction reason keeps it traceable later why the credit note exists, for you as well as your accountant and the recipient.

5. 5

   Finalize and output

   The correction takes its number from its own number range and is produced as an e-invoice or PDF. Check the generated file before you send it.

What the correction flow does

• Two modes, one document type

  Credit note and cancellation share number range, templates and design but behave differently in substance.

• Adjust line items and quantities

  A partial credit note carries over only what is actually credited: single line items, reduced quantities or changed amounts.

• Discounts are taken into account

  If the original invoice was settled with a discount, the correction flow works from the amount actually paid instead of the gross total.

• Reference to the original invoice

  Number and date of the corrected invoice appear on the document and, in an e-invoice, also as a reference inside the structured record.

• Matching invoice type codes

  The correction is produced with the type code the standard defines for a correction, so the recipient processes it correctly.

• Document chain in both directions

  You get from the invoice to the correction and back; an existing active successor is opened rather than duplicated.

• Own templates and texts

  Credit notes and cancellations have their own document, text and design templates so the tone fits the occasion.

• Validation like any e-invoice

  The generated file can be checked against EN 16931 and the detected profiles with the same validator as a normal invoice.

On desktop and in the app

Both applications produce corrections with the same modes and the same reference.

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Frequently asked questions about corrections

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