Bookkeeping & reports
Store credit is the supplier's promise, not money in or out of a bank account, so no store-credit movement ever creates a bookkeeping transaction. Reports treat applied credit as part of what was sold (an order's total includes it) and as something that reduces what the customer still owes, but never as a payment received.
Who uses it
- Supplier staff reconciling their books, the invoices summary and the sales report.
- Accountants reading the bookkeeping export.
How it works
Bookkeeping: what each action posts
"Nothing" means no transaction row is added, changed or reversed.
| Action | Bookkeeping |
|---|---|
| Issue store credit by hand | Nothing |
| Apply credit on a new order or in Promotions & Fees | Nothing |
| Pay an invoice with Store Credit (one or several invoices) | Nothing |
| Refund as Store Credit (on cancel or from the invoice) | Nothing. A cash-type refund would post Payment Reversal – Order Cancelled (on cancel) or Refund Provided (from the invoice), category Sales Return, as a negative amount |
| Overpayment kept as credit | Only the part applied to invoices is booked (Order Payment Received). The extra posts nothing |
| Credit returned on cancel, return or lowered order credit | Nothing |
| Remove or correct a store-credit record | Nothing for the credit side. If the other side was money (cash payment ↔ store credit), the money entry is reversed or booked. See Correct or remove |
Store Credit also has no "default account" setting: it can't be mapped to a financial account, and the account field is hidden whenever Store Credit is the method.
Worked example
Joe's Diner, INV-1001 for $100.00. $20.00 credit applied when the order was created, then a $10.00 Store Credit payment and a $30.00 cash payment.
| Where | Figure | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Invoice | Total | $100.00 |
| Store Credits | −$30.00 | |
| Payment (money) | $30.00 | |
| Balance Due | $40.00 | |
| Status | Partially paid | |
| Bookkeeping | Order Payment Received, Cash Payment | +$30.00 only |
| Invoices summary | Net Sales / Paid / Pending | $100.00 / $30.00 (1 invoice) / $40.00 (1 invoice) |
| Invoices list → Invoice Total | full value | $100.00 |
| Invoice PDF | Payment Method | "Cash: $30.00". The credit appears only as the Store Credits line |
| Sales report | Store Credit Applied | $30.00 (1 invoice) |
Calculations
Net Sales = items − returns + fees and charges + opening balance − discounts. Store credit isn't in it at all, so credit never lowers sales.
Pending (outstanding) = invoice total − money received − store credit applied − Clipp promotion payouts, with refunds putting their amount back. A negative balance shows as customer credit.
| Figure | Counts store credit? |
|---|---|
| Net Sales | Not affected |
| Payment Received / Paid | No. Only cash, check, card, bank, Other, Other ACH, Other Credit Card |
| Store Credit Applied | Credit applied to the period's invoices (its own card on the sales report) |
| Refunded | Cash-type refunds only. A store-credit refund is shown as Store Credit Issued |
| Outstanding / Pending | Reduced by credit applied |
| Invoice Total (lists) | The order's full value |
| Payment-method breakdowns | Store Credit is left out |
| Bookkeeping | Never |
Applying credit doesn't make the sale smaller: the goods were sold at full price and paid for with credit the customer already held. Counting it as a discount would understate sales every time a customer spends credit.
Not visible anywhere
- Credit outstanding (the total the supplier owes in unspent credit) isn't reported. Each customer's balance is only on their page.
- Credit issued by hand doesn't appear in Net Sales, Paid or Pending until it's spent. Credit issued as a cancellation refund is shown on the sales report's Store Credit Issued card.
Where it shows up
Invoices summary cards · invoices list Invoice Total · invoice PDF (Store Credits deduction, Refunded Method, Refunded Amount) · sales report (Store Credit Issued and Store Credit Applied cards in the collections block) · customer page Payment box.
Permissions
Bookkeeping needs accounting access; the customer page, invoices summary and sales report follow their own pages' access.
Decisions
- Store credit is never booked. It isn't money the supplier holds. (#2306, IMM-009)
- Credit counts as a payment, not a discount. Credit and Clipp promotions are payments, not revenue reductions, so Net Sales and the Invoice Total column show the full value. (#2368)
- The overpaid cash kept as credit isn't booked as cash received, pending an accounting decision. (#2499)
Known limitations
- Overpayment cash kept as credit never reaches the books, and spending that credit later books nothing either. Cash in the drawer exceeds bookkeeping by that amount.
- There's no report of total unspent credit (a liability the supplier carries).
- The bookkeeping export and the sales report can't be footed against each other where credit is involved; that's by design but often surprises accountants.
- The customer page's Payment box hasn't moved to the new orders yet, so it leaves out credit applied to them. The invoices summary and the sales report include it.
- The sales report has no switch to add store credit into Paid; the payment-method breakdown always leaves it out.
FAQ
My Net Sales is higher than the payments I received plus what's outstanding. Store credit applied counts in neither Net Sales nor Payment Received. Add Store Credit Applied and the figures foot. See Calculations.
Why is there no expense when I give a customer credit? Credit isn't money leaving. Nothing is booked when it's given or spent.
Why does the invoices list show $100 when the invoice says $40 due? Invoice Total is the full value. The balance due is on the invoice.