In most cases you may need to issue a Credit Memo to a customer for a return of items purchased. A Credit Memo is simply a negative invoice. Select the customer you wish to give credit. Then select Credit Memo in the Transaction Type combo box. Fill in the appropriate detail in the Line Item Detail and make sure you enter the quantity in negative. For example, if your customer is returning 10 widgets, simply put -10 in the quantity. When you post the Credit Memo the 10 widgets will be put back into inventory and reverse all the accounts effected. (I.e., A/R, Revenue, Inventory Assets and Cost of Sales) If you want to change any of these accounts for a particular credit memo, you can select the yellow folder to the left of the inventory item being returned and select the Edit Accounts button. This will display a form that shows which accounts will be affected when you post your credit memo. (Some companies may want to change the Revenue account to some sort of Return and Allowance account to be able to track the return of merchandise).
When you post the Credit Memo you will be creating a Receivable showing the amount of money in the form of a negative number. You can then apply this credit to any other outstanding invoices for this customer. You can also leave it in place to apply to any future orders that this customer places.
If your customer requests a check to be issued for the credit in their account you will need to do the following two steps: 1) You will need to go into the Receivables and clear the transaction. 2) Then cut a check from the Write Checks. Below is a list that describes how to handle both of the above steps.
Open the Receivables form and select your customer. You will want to use the Return and Allowance account in the deposit account field instead of your usual checking account or undeposited funds account. You will want to leave the A/R field defaulting to the accounts receivable ID. Then, select the line item that displays the credit and enter the credited amount in the amount paid field and in the payment field. Then you want to Post the Customer Payment.
The remaining step is to cut a check for that customer. You will want to go into the Write Checks form and select the bank account you want to issue funds from. Enter the amount of the refund. In the Line Item Detail of the Write Check you will once again select the Return and Allowance account.
By following these steps, you are removing the Receivables entry and issuing a check to your customer for the refund amount.