BYTETOOLS

Credit Note Generator

Create a credit note PDF against an original invoice: line items, tax summary by rate, credit total, reason code and the balance left on the invoice.

Credited lines
£640.00
£111.00
£45.00
VAT rateNet creditedVAT creditedGross
0%£45.00£0.00£45.00
20%£751.00£150.20£901.20
Total credit£796.00£150.20£946.20
Remaining on invoice INV-2025-0417——£3,913.80

CN-2025-0031 credits £946.20 to Meridian Interiors Ltd against invoice INV-2025-0417 dated — — 3 lines, 9 units, reason: Goods returned.

The PDF is assembled in your browser with pdf-lib and saved straight to your device — customer details, prices and tax numbers are never uploaded. Long descriptions wrap inside their column and long credit notes continue onto extra pages with the table header repeated. Tax is calculated per line and summarised by rate, which is what most tax authorities expect on a credit note; check your own jurisdiction’s rules on sequential numbering and the wording required to reference the original invoice.

What is the Credit Note Generator?

A credit note is the document that cancels part or all of an invoice you have already issued — for returned goods, a pricing mistake, a cancelled order or a discount agreed after the fact.

  • Per-line tax rates with a summary grouped by rate
  • References the original invoice number, date and total
  • Remaining balance on the invoice after the credit is applied
  • Nine standard reason codes plus a free-text detail line
  • A4 or US Letter, with the table header repeated on continuation pages
  • Built entirely in the browser — nothing is uploaded

How to use the Credit Note Generator

  1. 1

    Fill in your business details and the customer's, then enter the credit note number and date.

  2. 2

    Add the original invoice number, its date and its total so the remaining balance can be worked out.

  3. 3

    List each credited line with a quantity, unit, unit price and its own tax rate, adding rows as needed.

  4. 4

    Choose a reason code, add any detail and edit the terms block that prints under it.

  5. 5

    Check the tax summary table, then click Download credit note PDF.

About the Credit Note Generator

A credit note is the document that cancels part or all of an invoice you have already issued — for returned goods, a pricing mistake, a cancelled order or a discount agreed after the fact. This generator builds one as a clean A4 or US Letter PDF, with the original invoice number and date printed on it so your customer's accounts team can match the two straight away.

Enter your details and the customer's, list what is being credited with a quantity, unit price and its own tax rate, and pick a reason code. The tool totals the net credit, groups the tax by rate the way most tax authorities expect to see it, and works out what is still owed on the original invoice once the credit is applied.

Everything runs locally in your browser. The PDF is assembled on your own machine with pdf-lib and downloaded directly, so customer names, prices, tax numbers and bank details are never uploaded to a server. Sequential numbering rules and the wording required to reference an invoice vary by country, so check your own jurisdiction before issuing.

Frequently asked questions

What is a credit note used for?

A credit note reduces the amount a customer owes on an invoice that has already been issued. It is the correct way to handle returns, overcharges, cancelled orders and post-invoice discounts, because it leaves an audit trail instead of quietly editing or deleting the original invoice.

Can a credit note be more than the original invoice?

It can, but it usually should not. Most accounting systems expect a credit note to reference one invoice and not exceed it. If the credit is bigger, this tool shows the remaining balance as a negative number and warns you — normally you would split it across the invoices it actually relates to.

Does a credit note need a unique number?

Yes, in most tax jurisdictions. Credit notes normally follow their own sequential series, separate from invoices, so they can be traced individually. The number you type here is used as-is and also becomes the filename of the downloaded PDF.

How is VAT or sales tax shown on a credit note?

Tax is calculated line by line and then summarised by rate, so a note containing 20% and 0% lines shows both bands with their net and tax amounts. That grouped summary is what most tax authorities expect, because the credit has to reverse the tax at the rate it was originally charged.

Is a credit note the same as a refund?

No. A credit note adjusts the account balance; a refund moves money. If the invoice was never paid, the credit simply reduces what is owed. If it was already settled, the credit note documents the amount and you then either refund it or offset it against the next order.

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