How to Create Credit Notes in WooCommerce?

This article will walk you through the step-by-step process of creating WooCommerce credit notes for refund requests.

Every eCommerce store will inevitably encounter returns and refunds, making it essential to issue credit notes. These documents serve as proof of sales returns for store owners and can be particularly beneficial in managing customer transactions. Unfortunately, many platforms, including WooCommerce, do not have built-in features for creating credit notes.

However, WooCommerce allows for the integration of plugins that can facilitate this process. In this article, we will show you how to generate credit notes for refund orders in WooCommerce automatically.

A credit note is a document issued by a seller to the buyer to acknowledge a financial transaction and give credit to the buyer. It acts as proof of sales returns or refunds in eCommerce.

Credit notes play a crucial role in maintaining accurate financial records and ensuring transparency in transactions. When a customer returns a product and requests a refund, store owners issue credit notes to indicate the amount owed to the buyer. These notes can then be applied to future purchases or invoices, facilitating a seamless shopping experience.

A credit note is a document that guarantees credit to a customer. In WooCommerce, credit notes may be given in lieu of a refund or replacement.

Credit notes can be useful in a variety of scenarios, such as:

• The moment when an out-of-stock item has been successfully ordered by a customer, at which point the order status is complete.
• A customer unintentionally received an invoice for a bigger sum than was originally agreed.
• Providing a refund to a dissatisfied customer.
• If you offer subscriptions, and a subscriber’s plan has been downgraded before the next subscription cycle starts and the customer invoice has been generated, you want to refund them.

A credit note is a practical, time-saving solution in each of the above scenarios. For eg, if a customer successfully purchases an out-of-stock item, you can use refunds to cancel the invoice and prevent generating a negative purchase invoice.

Follow the below steps to create credit notes for WooCommerce stores:

Step 1: Install WebToffee WooCommerce PDF Invoices Plugin

First you need to install and activate the free version of WooCommerce PDF invoices plugin in your store. Then get the premium version of PDF Invoices and Credit Notes Addon.

After purchasing the premium add-on plugin, install and activate it on your website.

Step 2: Configure WooCommerce Credit Notes

To create a credit note, go to Invoice/Packing > Credit Note from your WordPress dashboard.

You can configure the general settings required for the credit note here.

• Create credit notes automatically: Select the order status which when reached would trigger the automatic generation of the WooCommerce credit notes. Credit notes are usually generated when an order is refunded, so by default ‘Refunded’ is selected as the order status to automatically generate the credit notes.
• Attach credit notes in ‘Refund’ email: Enable or disable attaching the credit note PDF to the refund emails sent out to customers.

• Sort Products by: You can sort products in the ascending or descending order of their names or SKUs.
• Show variation data below each product: Include the variation data of each product under the product name in the product table.

• Set credit note number using: Specify the numbering you want to follow for your credit notes. The WooCommerce credit notes can either have the order number of a custom number sequence. If you select Custom number series and fill out the sections with the relevant information to create a unique credit note number.
• Credit note number format: To be specific about the format in which the credit note must be produced. For example, [prefix][number][suffix]. This field lets you enter any of the date formats or alphanumeric characters displayed in the popup window.
• Credit note number length: This option lets you adjust the overall length of the credit note number. The generated credit note number will be padded with a zero if its length is less than what is specified. For instance, if you choose 7 for the credit note number length and your credit note number is 1987, the credit note number will appear in the relevant documents as 0001987.

• Order meta fields: By choosing the needed item from the drop-down, you can add more order details to the credit note.

In order to create new meta fields, click the Add/Edit order meta field button and provide a custom field name and the corresponding meta key for the field. Alternatively, you can choose a field from the list of default fields.

In the custom fields section of the WooCommerce Order page, find the order meta keys.

• Product Meta fields: Choose/add further product details to the credit note.
  Like Order Meta Fields, to create a new product meta field, click the Add/Edit Product Meta button and enter a unique Field Name and the corresponding Meta Key.
• Product attributes: the option helps you to display more product information below the product.
• Show variation data below each product: Enable this option if you want the product variation information to be included in the credit note.
• To save the settings, click the Update Settings button.

Step 3: Customize WooCommerce Credit Note Layout

Use the built-in templates to customize the credit note and make any changes.

You add the columns or custom fields by simply toggling the buttons on the left-hand side of the customize tab. Also, can view the live preview of changes on the credit note template.

Including a return address in a credit note that also serves as a return label for customers who return their ordered products.

Creating a new template for a credit note is as easy as the steps below,

Tap change layout > select the template > select any layout from the pop-up menu.

Save the layout after making the necessary changes. Once you’ve saved, activate the template to continue using it for your credit note.

Go to WooCommerce Orders page. Select the orders you want to print the credit note. Then from the Order edit page, you can print or download the credit note for refunded orders.

Sample Credit Note

The image below shows the sample Credit Note in WooCommerce

Credit notes in WooCommerce offer a seamless solution for managing returns and issue complete or partial refunds with ease. This functionality not only enhances customer satisfaction but also streamlines your order management process.

Once you’ve set up credit note generation in your WooCommerce store, you’ll find it simple to print them directly from your order page, making it an invaluable tool for your online store.

Hope this article leads you in the right direction. We encourage you to read how to print dispatch labels in WooCommerce.

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