commercepaymentsCreditNote

commercepaymentsCreditNote is a data construct used within commerce payments platforms to record a formal credit issued to a customer. It represents a negative adjustment to amounts owed for a previously charged sale, typically arising from returns, pricing adjustments, supplier credits, or error corrections.

A credit note includes essential details such as a unique identifier, creditNoteNumber, issuedDate, originalPaymentId or invoiceId, currency, amount, taxAmount, status, issuer, recipient, and reasonCode. Optional lineItems may itemize affected products or services, clarifying how the total credit was calculated. The document functions as an accounting signal that reduces revenue, decreases accounts receivable, and can be applied against future charges or refunds.

Lifecycle and usage: after creation, a credit note may undergo approval or validation, then be issued to the customer electronically. It can be applied to offset a customer balance on a future order, used to generate a refund, or reconciled with the seller’s accounting records. In some workflows, the credit note and any corresponding refund are issued in tandem, while in others the credit note stands alone and a separate refund is processed later.

Relationship to other concepts: a credit note is distinct from a cash refund but can accompany or enable one. It also differs from a debit note, which records a charge or debit to a customer. For reporting and compliance, credit notes should reference the original invoice and include tax details where required; many systems support standard electronic issuance that integrates with ERP and tax authorities.

In API terms, commercepaymentsCreditNote is a resource linked to payments, invoices, and customers, enabling accurate reconciliation across financial systems.