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Make a debit note

Record goods returned to a supplier, or raise an extra charge on a customer, with a debit note linked to the original invoice.

A debit note can be issued to a supplier or to a customer. Issued to a Supplier, it is a purchase return: you send goods back, or the supplier owes you for a short or wrong bill. Issued to a Customer, it adds an amount to a sale you already billed, such as a price you charged too little.

Before you start

Create the supplier or customer. You can also create one from this screen.
For returned goods, the items must be in Products.
For a charge with no goods, create an expense ledger in Chart of Accounts, or create it from this screen.
Debit note numbers come from the debit note series in Invoice Series. If none exists for the year, one is made for you.

Steps

Open Transactions > Debit Notes.
In Issue To:, click Supplier or Customer.
Pick the party in the Supplier or Customer box. To add a new one, click the person icon at the end of the box.
Check DN No. and Date. If you have more than one active series, pick the Series.
In Invoice Mode, choose Item to return goods, or Accounting / Service for an amount with no goods.
In Orig. Purchase Invoice (supplier) or Orig. Sales Invoice (customer), pick the invoice this note is against. It is optional, but needed for an e-invoice.
Type the Reason, for example "Goods returned" or "Price difference".
Add the lines. See the two sections below.
Add any Charges, Notes and Round Off.
Check Live Totals on the right.
Click Save Debit Note. The message Debit Note saved. appears. Click Print in that message to print it.

Add item lines (Item mode)

Under Items, pick the product in the Item column. HSN, Unit, GST% and Rate fill in from the product.
Enter Qty, Rate and Discount. You can also type the Taxable value and the rate is worked out for you.
Click Add for another line. Click the bin icon to remove a line.
To add a product that is not in the list, click New Product.
If barcodes are on, you can scan an item to add it as a line.

In Item mode, saving the debit note takes these items out of stock.

Add ledger lines (Accounting / Service mode)

Under Ledger Lines, pick the Expense Ledger. If the ledger has a default GST rate, GST% fills in.
Type a Description and the Amount. Enter any discount in Disc.
Click Add Line for more lines.
To make a new ledger, choose + Create Ledger at the top of the list. The New Expense Ledger form opens, and the new ledger is put on the line.

Number the debit note yourself

Click the small icon at the end of DN No. (Manual entry).
Type the number in DN No. (Manual).
To go back to the automatic number, click the icon again (Switch to auto).

Edit a debit note

Open the debit note from the Debit Note register and choose to edit it. The screen shows EDIT DEBIT NOTE.
Change what you need. All lines are replaced when you save.
Click Update Debit Note. To leave without saving, click Cancel Edit.

The debit note number cannot be changed while editing.

e-Invoice and e-Way Bill for a customer debit note

When GST is on, a saved customer debit note shows a GST DOCUMENTS panel where you can generate the e-invoice and e-way bill. See e-invoice and e-way bill. A supplier debit note has no e-invoice, because the supplier issues it.

Fields

Field	What to enter
Issue To:	Supplier for a purchase return or claim on a supplier. Customer for an extra charge on a customer. Changing it clears the party and original invoice.
Orig. Purchase Invoice / Orig. Sales Invoice	The bill this note corrects. The list shows purchase invoices for a supplier and sales invoices for a customer.
Reason	Why the note is raised. It prints on the debit note.
POS	Place of supply state code. Shown only when GST is on. A different state from yours gives IGST; your own state gives CGST and SGST.
RCM	Tick if reverse charge applies. Shown only when GST is on.
Expense Ledger	Only expense ledgers that are not GST ledgers are listed.

Common problems

Select supplier / Select customer — no party is picked. Pick one in the party box.
Add at least one item — no line in Item mode has a product. Pick a product on at least one line.
Add at least one ledger line — no line in Accounting / Service mode has a ledger. Pick an Expense Ledger.
Ledger must be EXPENSE: ... — the ledger is not an expense ledger. Pick a ledger under an expense group.
Ledger cannot be GST ledger: ... — a GST tax ledger was picked on a line. Pick the expense ledger instead.
Charge account cannot be GST ledger: ... — a GST ledger was picked in Charges. Pick a normal ledger.
e-Invoice will not generate — the customer debit note has no Orig. Sales Invoice. Edit it, pick the original invoice and save again.

More in Purchase

Record a purchase billEnter a supplier's bill for goods or services, with GST, reverse charge, TDS and charges, so stock and accounts update together.Purchase ordersRaise a purchase order to a supplier, print it, and convert it into a purchase bill when the goods arrive.Enter many purchase bills by scanning (Bulk OCR)Upload up to 20 supplier bills at once, let Arthlekha read them, check the details, skip duplicates and save them all as purchases.Purchase RegisterFind, filter and export your purchase bills, and edit, duplicate, copy to a sale, share or delete any of them.Credit Note and Debit Note registersFind, filter, print, share and export your credit notes and debit notes, and edit, duplicate, cancel or delete them.