Handle a customer credit or overpayment in QuickBooks Online

Learn what to do in QuickBooks Online when a customer overpays you.

To issue a refund directly in QuickBooks, check out QuickBooks Payments rates and apply.

If a customer overpays, you can apply the credit to an invoice, give a refund, or enter the extra payment as a tip.

For a better experience, open this article in QuickBooks Online. Launch side-by-side view

You can use QuickBooks Online to issue credits to your customers. You might want to do this to reduce what a customer owes on an invoice, or to write off the balance of an invoice you’ll never receive, like bad debt. This video will go over how to record a credit memo, send it to a customer, and then apply it to an invoice.

Manage all kinds of payments in one place. Accept cards, ACH, Apple Pay®, PayPal, and Venmo. No matter how you get paid, manage it all in QuickBooks.

There are a few ways to handle credits in QuickBooks. Learn how to create a credit.

Apply the credit or refund the customer

Option 1: Apply the credit

Apply the credit to an existing invoice

1. Select + Create.
2. Select Receive payment.
3. Select the customer, then the credit and the invoice.
4. If a credit balance remains from the overpayment, you can apply it toward another open invoice by selecting it.
5. Select Save and new or Save and close.

Tip: Learn how to turn on or turn off Automatically apply credits.

Option 2: Refund the customer for the overpayment

If your customer overpaid you on accident, you can give them a refund.

Result

The customer’s overpayment is now correctly handled. Whether it’s credited or refunded, your books stay correct.

More time on your business, less time on your books.

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