Understanding & Managing Credit Notes in Ordermentum

What Are Credit Notes?

Credit notes are issued by suppliers to adjust invoices when there are order changes or corrections.

They are commonly used for:

Overpayments
Missing or short-supplied items
Pricing adjustments
Other agreed invoice corrections

Once issued, credit notes are stored in Ordermentum and are automatically applied to future invoices when eligibility rules are met.

Why Would I Receive a Credit Note?

You may receive a credit note if:

You were charged for items you didn’t receive
An order was overpaid
A pricing error was identified after invoicing
A supplier agreed to adjust an invoice amount

You’ll be notified when a supplier issues a credit note. To receive email notifications, make sure your Order Confirmation / Invoice notifications are enabled in your notification settings.

How Credit Notes Are Applied to Payments

Automatic Application

You don’t need to apply credit notes manually. When you make a payment through Ordermentum:

The system automatically checks for available credit notes from the same supplier
Eligible credit notes are applied to your invoice
Your payment amount is adjusted accordingly
The credit note must be in "ISSUED" status and not locked (e.g., due to payment issues)

Example:

If your invoice total is $150 and the credit note is $140 →
The credit note applies successfully and $10 is charged.

Understanding Credit Note Statuses

The Default Payment Method at the time the credit note is created determines how it’s applied and what status you’ll see.

Credit Note Status Comparison

Status	What it means	What you need to do
Issued	The credit note has been created and is waiting to be applied to a payment through Ordermentum.	Nothing — it will apply automatically to a qualifying invoice.
Applied	The credit note has already been used, and its value has been deducted from a payment.	Nothing — the credit has been fully used.
N/A	Payments are made directly to the supplier and no payment details are set up in Ordermentum. The credit won’t apply automatically.	Nothing — since payments are made directly, the supplier will apply the credit in their own accounting system.

What Happens If a Credit Note Doesn’t Apply?

If the credit note amount is equal to or greater than the invoice total:

The credit note will not apply
The credit remains active on your account
It will be used on a future qualifying invoice

Example
If your invoice total is $140 and the credit note is $140 →
The credit note does not apply and remains available for future use.

Important
To apply successfully, the invoice total must be greater than the credit note amount.

At least $1.00 must remain to be charged, otherwise the credit won’t apply.

Viewing Your Credit Notes

You can view your credit notes anytime in Ordermentum.

Where to Find Them

Log in to Ordermentum
Go to History, then the Credit Notes tab
View credit notes linked to your supplier invoices

You’ll be able to see:

Credit note number
Status (Issued, Applied, or N/A)
Credit amount

FAQs

Do I need to apply credit notes myself?

No. Credit notes are applied automatically when there is an eligible invoice.

Can a credit note be split across multiple invoices?

No. Credit notes cannot be split across multiple invoices.
They are applied to a single eligible invoice to ensure accuracy.

Why is my credit note not applying?

A credit note may not apply due to the following reasons:

The credit amount exactly matches the invoice total, which can prevent it from applying correctly
A payment attempt has failed, causing the credit note to be locked
The account is set to direct payments (N/A), so credits are not applied automatically