Store credit
Store credit is money a supplier owes a restaurant that the restaurant can only spend with that supplier. Each restaurant has one running balance per supplier. Credit goes in when the supplier issues it by hand, refunds money as store credit, keeps an overpayment as credit, or when an order that used credit is cancelled or shrinks. Credit comes out when the supplier spends it on an invoice, either while building the order or as a payment. Credit is not cash, so none of it ever reaches the supplier's bookkeeping.
Who uses it
- Supplier staff issue credit, apply it to orders and invoices, refund in credit, and correct or remove credit records. Almost every action needs full access to invoices; applying credit on an order needs full access to orders. See Permissions.
- Restaurants never act on store credit themselves. They don't see their balance anywhere in the apps. They see credit only as a Store Credits line on an invoice, PDF or order, and in refund messages ("refunded in Store Credits").
How credit moves, at a glance
| Credit goes in (balance rises) | Credit goes out (balance falls) |
|---|---|
| Issue Store Credit on the customer page | Apply Store Credits on a new order or in Promotions & Fees |
| A refund paid as store credit | A payment made with Store Credit in Manage Payments |
| Overpayment kept as credit | Store Credit chosen in the Invoices page's Add Payment drawer |
| Lowering the credit applied to an order | Removing a record that gave credit (an issuance) |
| Cancelling an order that used credit | |
| Returns that shrink an invoice below its credit | |
| Removing a payment that spent credit |
Every movement leaves a record. Credit applied while building an order is recorded as the order's own Store Credits line (a Payment row in the customer's Payment History, not in the invoice's Records). The rest show in the invoice's Records tab or the customer's Payment History. Those records can be corrected or removed.
The kinds of record
Store credit shows up under these labels (chips) in Records and Payment History:
| Chip | What happened | Method shown | Money direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Payment (Store Credit) | Credit was spent on this invoice | Store Credit | In |
| Credit Issued (refund) | A refund was paid as store credit | Store Credit | Out |
| Credit Issued (issuance) | Credit given outside a refund: by hand, an overpayment, a cancellation, a return, or credit taken off an order | Store Credit | Out |
| Payment / Refund (cash etc.) | Ordinary money. Shown for comparison | Cash, Check… | In / Out |
In this section
| Page | Answers |
|---|---|
| Store credit balance | What the balance is, where it shows, how it rounds, and what it never does |
| Issue store credit | Giving a customer credit by hand from the customer page |
| Apply credit to an order | Apply Store Credits on a new order and in Promotions & Fees |
| Pay an invoice with store credit | Store Credit as a payment method, on one invoice or several |
| Refund as store credit | A refund, from the invoice or on cancellation, paid as credit |
| Overpayments as store credit | The multi-invoice surplus, and why one invoice refuses an overpayment |
| Cancellations & returns | Credit handed back automatically on a cancel, a deleted draft or a return |
| Correct or remove a credit record | Editing and deleting, the "already spent" rule, and every before/after |
| Bookkeeping & reports | Why credit never reaches the books, and how each report counts it |
Where it shows up
- Customer page: the Store Credits box ("Available Store Credit Balance"), the Issue Store Credit button, and the Payment summary's "Store Credits Applied" figure (see Known limitations).
- Customer → View Payment History: every credit record, with Edit and Delete for credit that belongs to no invoice.
- New Order dialog and the order's Promotions & Fees panel: "Promo/Discount/Store Credit (Optional)" → Apply Store Credits.
- Invoice → Manage Payments: Store Credit as a payment method and every credit record under Records.
- Cancel Order dialog: Store Credit as the default refund method. The dialog doesn't mention the order's own credit, which comes back automatically.
- Invoice preview, invoice PDF and order emails: a Store Credits line (a deduction); the PDF lists "Store Credits" under Refunded Method when a refund was paid as credit.
- Invoices list: Invoice Total shows the order's full value, credit included.
- Sales report: Store Credit Issued and Store Credit Applied cards.
- Refund email, SMS and push name the method "Store Credits".
- Bookkeeping: nothing. See Bookkeeping & reports.
Permissions
| Action | Needs | Default roles that can |
|---|---|---|
| See the balance on the customer page | Access to the customer page | Admin, Clerk, Driver, Warehouse, Salesperson (read-only roles see it too) |
| Issue Store Credit | Invoice: full access | Admin, Clerk |
| Apply Store Credits on a new order / Promotions & Fees | Order: full access | Admin, Clerk, Driver, Warehouse, Salesperson |
| Manage Payments (pay, correct, remove) | Invoice: full access | Admin, Clerk |
| Edit/Delete on Payment History | Invoice: full access | Admin, Clerk |
| Cancel an order (returns its credit) | Order cancelation: full access | Admin, Clerk |
Custom roles follow whatever access their creator gave them. The server checks invoice access for edits and removals, but not for issuing credit. See Issue store credit → Permissions.
Decisions
- One balance per customer per supplier, no history of separate grants. Simple to spend and to show. The cost is that "already spent" can only be judged from what's left. (#2306)
- Every credit movement leaves a record, written together with the balance change. Credit with no record was invisible and impossible to undo. (#2306, #2316, #2321)
- Store credit never reaches the books. It is not money the supplier holds. (#2306)
- Credit can never settle more of an invoice than it owes. The excess would vanish, because an invoice can't go below $0.00. (#2306)
Specs
The store-credit scenarios live in the invoice money-movements spec (IMM-001, IMM-004, IMM-008 to IMM-017, IMM-019, IMM-020, IMM-023 to IMM-027, IMM-031, IMM-033). Each feature page names the scenarios that cover it.
invoice-money-movements.feature
# prefix: IMM
Feature: Invoice Money Movements
Every movement of money against an invoice — money the customer pays, money the
supplier returns, and store credit moving in either direction — is kept on one
record the supplier can review. Movements the supplier recorded by hand can also
be corrected and undone; those the payment processor moved cannot.
Money returned by cash, check or another hand-recorded method is an expense in
the supplier's accounting. Store credit is not money the supplier holds, so it
never reaches the accounting at all — it only moves the customer's credit
balance. Because of that, the same store-credit amount moves the balance in
opposite directions depending on which way the money was travelling: a refund
paid in store credit gives the customer credit, while a payment made with store
credit spends it.
The customer's credit is a single balance per supplier, not a history of
separate grants. So "the credit has already been spent" can only be judged from
what is left, and is exact only when the refund in question is the only credit
the customer holds with that supplier.
Correcting a refund downwards takes the difference back out of that one balance,
so a refund can only shrink by the credit the customer still holds. What is left
is therefore how much can be taken back, never how small the refund may become:
1000.00 returned against 600.00 still held can come down to 400.00 and no lower.
Background:
Given a supplier has issued an invoice to a customer
Rule: Every movement of money on an invoice sits on one record
Scenario: IMM-001 the invoice's money record covers payments, refunds and store credit alike
Given the customer has paid part of the invoice in cash
And the supplier has returned part of the invoice in cash
And part of the invoice was settled with the customer's store credit
When the supplier reviews the money recorded against the invoice
Then the cash payment is listed
And the cash refund is listed
And the store credit settlement is listed
Scenario: IMM-002 each movement identifies what moved, when, how and by whom
Given money has been recorded against the invoice
When the supplier reviews the money recorded against the invoice
Then each movement shows its amount
And each movement shows the date the money moved
And each movement shows the method the money moved by
And each movement shows who recorded it
And each movement states whether the money came in from the customer or went back out to them
Scenario: IMM-003 money recorded against a cancelled order can be reviewed but not changed
Given the order behind the invoice has been cancelled
When the supplier reviews the money recorded against the invoice
Then every movement is listed
And no movement can be corrected
And no movement can be removed
Rule: Only money the supplier recorded by hand can be corrected or removed
Scenario Outline: IMM-004 hand-recorded money can be corrected and removed
Given the supplier returned 50.00 to the customer by <method>
When the supplier reviews the money recorded against the invoice
Then the refund can be corrected
And the refund can be removed
Examples:
| method |
| cash |
| check |
| store credit |
| bank transfer |
| credit card |
| another method |
Scenario Outline: IMM-005 money returned through the payment processor cannot be corrected or removed
Given the supplier returned 50.00 to the customer by <method> through the payment processor
When the supplier reviews the money recorded against the invoice
Then the refund cannot be corrected
And the refund cannot be removed
And the supplier is told to contact the customer or Clipp support instead
Examples:
| method |
| card |
| bank transfer |
Scenario: IMM-006 anyone who can reach the invoice can correct the money on it
Given a member of the supplier's team can reach the invoice
And that member did not record the refund themselves
When that member corrects the refund
Then the correction is accepted
Rule: Removing a refund puts the money back where it came from
Scenario: IMM-007 removing a cash refund restores the amount owed and clears it from the accounting
Given the supplier returned 120.00 to the customer in cash
When the supplier removes that refund
Then the amount recorded as returned on the invoice drops to nothing
And the returned-sale expense for that refund no longer stands in the supplier's accounting
Scenario: IMM-008 removing a store-credit refund takes the credit back from the customer
Given the supplier returned 50.00 to the customer as store credit
And the customer has not spent any of it
When the supplier removes that refund
Then the customer's credit balance with the supplier falls by 50.00
Scenario: IMM-009 store credit never touches the supplier's accounting
Given the supplier returned 500.00 to the customer as store credit
When the supplier removes that refund
Then nothing about that store credit is recorded in the supplier's accounting
And nothing about it was recorded there when the credit was first given
Scenario: IMM-010 removing a payment leaves the invoice's refunds alone
Given the customer paid 1000.00 in cash
And the supplier returned 300.00 to the customer as store credit
When the supplier removes the 1000.00 payment
Then the 300.00 refund is still recorded against the invoice
And the customer's credit balance is unchanged
Rule: Store credit moves in opposite directions depending on which way the money was going
Scenario: IMM-011 a refund paid in store credit gives credit, and removing it takes that credit away
Given the customer's credit balance with the supplier is nothing
When the supplier returns 1000.00 to the customer as store credit
Then the customer's credit balance is 1000.00
When the supplier removes that refund
Then the customer's credit balance is nothing
Scenario: IMM-012 a payment made with store credit spends credit, and removing it gives that credit back
Given the customer's credit balance with the supplier is 500.00
When the customer settles 500.00 of the invoice with store credit
Then the customer's credit balance is nothing
And 500.00 of credit stands against the invoice
When the supplier removes that settlement
Then the customer's credit balance is 500.00
And no credit stands against the invoice
Scenario: IMM-013 an invoice carrying store credit in both directions settles each movement on its own
Given the customer settled 400.00 of the invoice with store credit
And the supplier later returned 250.00 to the customer as store credit
When the supplier removes only the 250.00 refund
Then the customer's credit balance falls by 250.00
And the 400.00 settled with store credit still stands against the invoice
Rule: Credit the customer has already spent cannot be clawed back
Scenario: IMM-014 removing a store-credit refund is refused once the customer has spent the credit
Given the supplier returned 1000.00 to the customer as store credit
And the customer has since spent 400.00 of their credit
When the supplier tries to remove that refund
Then the removal is rejected
And the supplier is told that 400.00 of the credit has already been spent
And the supplier is told the refund can be reduced no lower than 400.00
Scenario: IMM-015 reducing a store-credit refund is refused when the reduction exceeds the credit still held
Given the supplier returned 1000.00 to the customer as store credit
And the customer has since spent 400.00 of their credit
When the supplier tries to reduce that refund to 10.00
Then the correction is rejected
And the supplier is told that 400.00 of the credit has already been spent
Scenario: IMM-016 a refused claw-back changes nothing at all
Given the supplier returned 1000.00 to the customer as store credit
And the customer has since spent 400.00 of their credit
When the supplier tries to remove that refund
Then the refund still stands at 1000.00 against the invoice
And the customer's credit balance is exactly what it was before the attempt
And the customer's credit balance never falls below nothing
Rule: Correcting a refund moves only the difference, never the whole amount again
Scenario Outline: IMM-017 correcting a store-credit refund moves only the difference in credit
Given the supplier returned 100.00 to the customer as store credit
And the customer's credit balance is 100.00
When the supplier corrects that refund to <corrected amount>
Then the customer's credit balance becomes <resulting balance>
Examples:
| corrected amount | resulting balance |
| 150.00 | 150.00 |
| 60.00 | 60.00 |
Scenario: IMM-018 correcting a cash refund restates the accounting and keeps it money going out
Given the supplier returned 100.00 to the customer in cash
When the supplier corrects that refund to 60.00
Then the supplier's accounting shows a single returned-sale expense of 60.00 for that refund
And it is still recorded as money going out to the customer, not money coming in
And the amount recorded as returned on the invoice is 60.00
Scenario Outline: IMM-019 changing the method a refund was paid by moves the money between accounting and credit
Given the supplier returned 100.00 to the customer by <original method>
When the supplier changes that refund's method to <new method>
Then the customer's credit balance ends at <resulting balance>
And the returned-sale expense in the supplier's accounting ends at <accounting result>
Examples:
| original method | new method | resulting balance | accounting result |
| cash | store credit | 100.00 | nothing recorded |
| store credit | cash | nothing | 100.00 going out |
Scenario: IMM-020 correcting only the note of a refund leaves every balance alone
Given the supplier returned 100.00 to the customer as store credit
When the supplier corrects only the note kept with that refund
Then the customer's credit balance is unchanged
And the amount recorded as returned on the invoice is unchanged
Rule: A refund can never return more than was paid, and the suggested amount is what has not yet been returned
Scenario: IMM-021 the suggested full refund is the part of the invoice not yet returned
Given the customer has paid 100.00 against the invoice
And the supplier has already returned 30.00 of it
When the supplier begins returning money on that invoice
Then the suggested full refund is 70.00
Scenario: IMM-022 a refund larger than what is left of the customer's payment is rejected
Given the customer has paid 100.00 against the invoice
And the supplier has already returned 30.00 of it
When the supplier tries to return 80.00 to the customer
Then the refund is rejected, naming 70.00 as the most that can be refunded
And raising an existing refund past that limit is rejected the same way
Rule: Store credit can never settle more of an invoice than it owes
Scenario: IMM-023 settling a single invoice with more store credit than it owes is rejected
Given the invoice still owes 40.00
And the customer's credit balance with the supplier is 100.00
When the supplier tries to settle 60.00 of that invoice with store credit
Then the settlement is rejected
And the supplier is told the invoice only owes 40.00
And the customer's credit balance is unchanged
Scenario: IMM-024 settling several invoices with store credit spends only what those invoices owe
Given the customer has two unpaid invoices from the supplier owing 40.00 and 30.00
And the customer's credit balance with the supplier is 100.00
When the supplier settles both invoices with store credit
Then 70.00 of the customer's credit is spent
And the customer's credit balance is 30.00
And neither invoice is left owing anything
Rule: Credit created by an overpayment is recorded and can be undone
Scenario: IMM-025 paying more than is owed records the surplus as credit given to the customer
Given the customer's unpaid invoices from the supplier owe 70.00 in total
When the customer pays 100.00 in cash against those invoices
Then the invoices are settled
And 30.00 is given to the customer as store credit
And that 30.00 appears in the customer's money history with the supplier as credit given
Scenario: IMM-026 the surplus-credit entry can be undone and takes the credit back
Given 30.00 was given to the customer as store credit from an overpayment
And the customer has not spent it
When the supplier removes that credit entry
Then the customer's credit balance falls by 30.00
Scenario: IMM-027 cancelling an order returns the store credit it consumed and records the return
Given 25.00 of the customer's store credit was used to settle an order
When that order is cancelled
Then the customer's credit balance rises by 25.00
And that 25.00 appears in the customer's money history with the supplier as credit returned
Rule: A payment keyed in by hand on one invoice pays up to what it owes, and more only on request
Scenario: IMM-030 a cash overpayment on one invoice is refused unless the supplier asks for credit
Given the invoice still owes 100.00
When the supplier records 120.00 in cash against it without asking for the extra as store credit
Then the payment is refused, naming the 20.00 that exceeds what is owed
And nothing is recorded
Scenario: IMM-031 asking for the extra as store credit settles the invoice and credits the rest
Given the invoice still owes 100.00
When the supplier records 120.00 in cash and asks for the extra as store credit
Then the invoice is settled by a 100.00 payment
And 20.00 is given to the customer as store credit
Scenario: IMM-032 a corrected payment can never exceed what the invoice owes
Given the customer paid 100.00 in cash and the invoice owes nothing more
When the supplier corrects that payment to 100.01
Then the correction is refused
Scenario: IMM-033 a payment on an invoice that owes nothing is refused, even as store credit
Given the invoice owes nothing
When the supplier records 20.00 in cash and asks for the extra as store credit
Then the payment is refused, saying nothing is due
And the customer's credit balance is unchanged
Scenario: IMM-034 a bank payment still clearing counts against what is owed
Given the invoice owes 100.00
And a 60.00 bank payment against it is still clearing
When the supplier records 50.00 in cash without asking for the extra as store credit
Then the payment is refused, naming the 10.00 that exceeds the 40.00 still owed
Rule: The customer hears about a refund correction only when the supplier asks
Scenario: IMM-028 correcting or removing a refund tells the customer nothing by default
Given the supplier returned 100.00 to the customer in cash
When the supplier removes that refund without asking for the customer to be told
Then the customer is not told about it
Scenario: IMM-029 when the supplier asks, the customer is told in refund wording
Given the supplier returned 100.00 to the customer in cash
When the supplier removes that refund and asks for the customer to be told
Then the customer is told the refund was withdrawn
And the wording refers to the refund, not to a payment they made
Known limitations
- The customer page's Payment box and orders table haven't moved to the new orders yet, so "Store Credits Applied" there leaves out credit applied to them. Credit is correct on the invoice, the Invoices page and the sales report.
- A cancellation refund is always the full amount; a partial refund as credit is made from the invoice's Issue Refund tab. See Refund as store credit.
- No Undo Cancel. Credit returned by a cancellation stays returned.