Credit notes and refunds

A credit note reduces the value of an issued invoice and stays linked to that invoice and its project. A refund returns money already collected. Creating or emailing a credit note does not automatically return money unless you explicitly use the eligible Stripe refund option.

Create a credit note

Open the invoice's project panel and choose the credit-note option in Add Document when available.
If asked, select the invoice being corrected.
Review the purpose and choose a correction reason.
Check the credited items, quantities, and amount.
Decide whether to send an email and, when eligible, whether to refund through Stripe.
Preview the credit note. Review the email if enabled, then confirm the action shown.

Draft invoices, demo invoices, and invoices already fully credited are not eligible in the project selection. Credit notes are for issued records; edit a draft directly when it has not yet been issued.

Full cancellation or partial adjustment

Full Cancellation credits the remaining invoice value. Partial Adjustment lets you choose specific items or add a custom credit line when eligible.

An issued invoice with no collected payment requires full cancellation rather than a partial adjustment. Applying client credit does not count as collecting money for this rule. For an invoice with collected payments, the available correction flow can include a partial adjustment or a full credit/refund.

Choose the reason that explains the correction, such as a price or quantity error, service not provided, cancellation, refund, goodwill adjustment, or another correction.

TREVY counts active credit notes already attached to the invoice. Previously credited amounts and quantities reduce what remains available, so you cannot credit the same invoice value repeatedly.

What happens to the value?

Original invoice position	Result of the credit
Still has a balance due	The credit reduces that balance first.
Credit exceeds the outstanding balance	The excess can remain available as client credit.
Already paid	The credit can remain on the client's account or be refunded.

For example, an invoice with 100 still due and a 150 credit note uses 100 to clear the invoice and leaves 50 of credit. The credit note has not, by itself, sent that 50 to the client.

Use Client credit to apply remaining value to another invoice.

Refund through Stripe

Refund via Stripe is offered for eligible invoices paid through Stripe. The connected account, successful payment, and remaining refundable amount must support the request. The flow limits the refund to eligible collected funds.

Review the amount before confirming: this option requests an actual refund and links it to the credit note. Check the resulting status and activity. If an error says the Stripe refund succeeded but the record needs reconciliation, do not submit another refund for the same money.

Refunds made directly in Stripe can also be received by TREVY. Clear matches can be linked to credit notes, while ambiguous matches require review. Inspect existing refunds and credit notes before creating another correction for a Stripe refund.

Record a refund made elsewhere

After returning money outside TREVY, open a credit note with remaining client credit and choose Mark as Refunded. Set the Refund Date and confirm the refund.

This records the note's remaining credit as refunded; it does not make a bank transfer or charge a card. Use it for money already returned, and check the remaining amount before confirming. Credit already applied to another invoice is not remaining credit available to refund.

Open Invoice Settings → Credit Notes, or open the note from its connected project. Review its original invoice, remaining credit, and refund information. Use View Invoice to return to the source record.

Available actions include Send, Share PDF, and Download PDF. Sending provides a copy of the credit note; it is separate from processing or recording a refund. Check remaining, applied, and refunded amounts alongside the status to understand where its value went.