Credit memos and refunds - going round in circles

You followed this?

To connect the refund check to the credit memo:

1. Choose Customers > Receive Payments.
2. Choose the customer to whom you just wrote the refund check.

   You'll see the amount of the credit included in the Existing Credits field and the refund check in the bottom section of the window.

3. Select the Apply Existing Credits checkbox.
4. On the Refund Chk line, enter the check amount in the Payment column, if not already entered by QuickBooks, and then click OK.

   If you now choose Customers > Create Credit Memos/Refunds to display the credit memo you just entered and click Tx History, you should see the refund check listed in the Transaction History - Credit memo window.

Yes, That's what I was referring to in my post.  When I did those steps, the checks fell off the open invoice report,  but the credit memos remained.  

Did you change the account on the refund check or leave it as assigned by QB?

Left it as assigned by QB. 

I think that did the trick!  When I tried before, I checked the two items which created a payment amount.  This time, I just clicked apply existing credits and auto apply.  Everything fell off my reports.  I do not see a new transaction anywhere though, so if I ever do this by mistake in the future, I have no idea how to reverse it.  Can you shed light on that?

I just discovered a credit memo from 2015 created by a predecessor. I want write a refund check but if I do that without connecting it to the credit memo, the credit won't go away. Here are the instructions with my comments in parenthesis.

1. Choose Customers > Receive Payments. (There is no "Receive Payments" option under "Customers." I can go to "All Sales," "New Transaction," "Payment," and it will take me to "Receive Payments.")
2. Choose the customer to whom you just wrote the refund check.

   You'll see the amount of the credit included in the Existing Credits field and the refund check in the bottom section of the window. ("Existing Credits" doesn't exist. The title is just "Credits" but the Credit Memo shows up. The refund check does not "appear in the bottom section of the window" or anywhere else in this window.)

   Select the Apply Existing Credits checkbox. (This option does not exist either so none of the rest of this makes any sense.)
3. On the Refund Chk line, enter the check amount in the Payment column, if not already entered by QuickBooks, and then click OK.

   If you now choose Customers > Create Credit Memos/Refunds to display the credit memo you just entered and click Tx History, you should see the refund check listed in the Transaction History - Credit memo window.

Thanks for providing detailed information about your concern, @ICT.

Based on the description provided, it looks like you’re using the online version. Let’s create the credit memo in your account and then go to the Receive Payment window to apply transaction.

1. In your QBO company, select the Sales menu to open the Customers list.
2. Click on the customer's name to view the Transaction List page.
3. In the upper right corner, click the drop-down arrow for New transaction and pick Credit memo.
4. Choose the name by clicking the Customer drop-down and enter the correct date.
5. In the PRODUCT/SERVICE column, choose the item you’re issuing credit to the customer for and input the correct amount.
6. Hit the Save and close or Save and send button when you're done.
   

Once the credit memo is created, you can now apply it to the invoice. Here’s how:

1. Select the Plus icon (+) at the top bar and then choose Receive Payment.
2. Go to the Outstanding Transactions section and mark the invoice you want to apply the credit memo.
3. Under Credits, select the Credit memo and type in the amount in the Payment field.
4. Click Save and Close.  

For additional information how to apply and enter a delayed credit and credit memo, check out this article: Credit memo or delayed credit.

Leave a comment below if you have other question or concerns. Please know I’m here to help.

The Credit Memo already exists. It was created by a predecessor in 2015. Since then, they created several invoices without reducing the amount by the amount of the credit. All subsequent invoices have been paid in full. On July 1 of this year, I created an invoice for the full amount due, not being aware of the credit. If QB indicated that there was a credit I didn't see it. The recent invoice was paid in full and that's the first time I saw the credit. When I went to "receive payment," QB assumed that the payment was for the full amount less the credit. I had to manually insert the full payment, leaving the credit in place. I assume that's what my predecessors did as well. 

So, there is no outstanding invoice. My question is how to tie a CHECK to the Credit Memo. You said: 

Once the credit memo is created, you can now apply it to the invoice. Here’s how:

1. Select the Plus icon (+) at the top bar and then choose Receive Payment.
2. Go to the Outstanding Transactions section and mark the invoice you want to apply the credit memo.
3. Under Credits, select the Credit memo and type in the amount in the Payment field.
4. Click Save and Close.

So, I followed Step 1 but there is no "Outstanding Transactions section" and even if there were, there is no Invoice to mark. 

Hello ICT,

You can create a check using the A/R account. Then, link it to your credit memo. Let me guide you through how to do it.

1. Click Sales.
2. Click Customers.
3. Click the customer's name in question, click the New transaction drop-down.
4. Click Payment.
5. Select the customer's name under Payee.
6. Under Category details, Category section, choose the "A/R account" and enter the Amount.
7. Click Save and close.

Once done, go to (+) Create and then Receive Payment to link the transactions.

You can read this handy article for more information: Write off customer and vendor balances.

You might also want to visit our page for future reference: Income and expenses.

Reach out to us anytime if you have questions.

Thank you for this. I am following the steps below but when I enter the amount, it gets wiped out before I can save. Also, there is no check box off to the left. Not sure what I can do here. Super frustrating! Credit memo shows up in list of transactions for this customer but the status still shows "unapplied". 

I can share some troubleshooting steps so that you can get back to work, robynbrad. 

When we use the browser, we may run into trouble with the browser's cache. Occasionally your browser will load your cached info instead of updated portions of the page that you are desiring to view. This can cause a slowdown,  error, or unusual behaviors in QuickBooks.

We can start by opening a private window and use it to access QBO. You can press Ctrl + Shift + N for Google Chrome or Ctrl + Shift + P for Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer. Once done, let's try to link the credit memo again. If it's working fine, we'll have to go back to your regular browser and clear the cache to delete the junk files.

If you still encounter the same issue, you can use other supported browsers. It could be that the one you're currently using right now has a temporary problem with QBO. 

Check out our supported browsers below:

• Google Chrome
• Mozilla Firefox
• Microsoft Edge
• Safari 11 or newer

  Let me know how it goes in the comment section, as I want to ensure that you can link the credit memo.