Better handling of refunds

[Ealfardan]

Continuing the discussion from Where in the guide does it talk about how to give refunds?:

@Ealfardan

If, on the other hand, you want to process the Payment back to your Customer, you will have to do that manually by creating a new payment and filling in the lines with relevant details.

I think this is a weakness of Manager since you can’t do any of the following with a single click:

1. Copy a Sales Invoice to a Payment for direct refund
2. Copy a Credit Note to a Payment for a two step refund process
3. Copy a negative balance of a Customer to a Payment either from a tab or a report for a periodic full settlment.

I think Manager could streamline the process of issuing and receiving refund payments to and from Customers and Suppliers.

[shahabb]

@Ealfardan

Copy a Sales Invoice to a Payment for direct refund

This will just create liability of a customer.

@Ealfardan

Copy a Credit Note to a Payment for a two step refund process

Yes. A New Payment button on Credit Note would be fine just like New Receipt button on Sales Invoice.

[Ealfardan]

@shahabb

This will just create liability of a customer.

Not exactly. A Credit balance in the Account Receivable can and should be settled using a Payment.

[shahabb]

If i copy an already paid Sales Invoice to a payment will just make the Sales Invoice unpaid. Then you have to create a Credit note too. So it again involves two steps.

@shahabb

create liability of a customer.

What i meant is liability of your customer to your business.

[Ealfardan]

@shahabb

Then you have to create a Credit note too.

That’s not the purpose of the one step process.

If you issued an invoice and received it, you can credit the customer account and pay the amount back using a single payment. No credit notes needed.

[Sweey]

Credit notes are an indispensable feature.

[Abeiku]

I strongly believe that the two-step process for refunds is essential. However, an interface improvement could enhance the workflow.

I suggest adding a “Refund” button to the credit note view page if cash has been received for the related invoice. Manager can use this information to display the button when applicable, allowing users to record refunds directly from the credit note view rather than navigating to another tab.

Alternatively, the “Refund” button could also appear on the credit note view screen when a customer has a credit balance. It could also always be displayed, regardless of the customer’s balance. The button would open a payment screen with the customer’s details, account, and debit balance amount or credit note amount pre-filled.