You may receive a purchase credit memo when you return items to a vendor. You may also receive a purchase credit memo granting you a purchase allowance as compensation for faulty items in cases where you do not actually return the goods.
When you return items to the vendor, you create a purchase return order. When you post the purchase return order as invoiced, a purchase credit memo is automatically created.
You can create a purchase credit memo manually, for example, if you do not physically return the goods. You can also create a credit memo to correct an erroneous purchase invoice.
When you create a credit memo manually, you can use the Copy Purchase Document batch job to copy the header and all of the lines from a posted document to a credit memo. Alternatively, you can use the "Get Posted Document Lines to Reverse" function to copy one or more lines from a posted document. Both methods ensure that the costs on the credit memo are an exact reversal of the costs on the original document, unless you select Recalculate Lines on the Copy Purchase Document batch job.
To ensure the accurate inventory value of the items to be returned to the vendor, you must assign exact cost reversing.
If you have created a purchase return order and the vendor rejects the returned items, you can delete the purchase return order if it has not yet been posted as shipped. However, if the order has been shipped, you must invoice the return order, which automatically creates a credit memo. Since you cannot delete the credit memo, you can create a corrective purchase invoice to offset the credit memo.
Finally, you must apply credits and debits to each other in order to obtain correct vendor statistics so that account statements and finance charges can be calculated correctly. When you post a credit memo, you can apply it to the original purchase invoice to which it relates if you have not yet paid the invoice. Alternatively, you can apply the credit memo to a replacement purchase order, a cash refund, or the vendor account.
The following table describes a sequence of tasks, with links to the topics that describe them. These tasks are listed in the order in which they are generally performed.
| To | See |
|---|---|
Create purchase credit memos when you return items to a vendor, or when you receive a credit memo with a purchase allowance for items that you were not required to return physically. | |
Post a purchase allowance as an item charge on a credit memo or return order and link it to the posted receipt. | |
Get an overview of methods for copying information from a posted document to a credit memo. | How to: Copy Information from Purchase Documents to Purchase Credit Memos |
Copy the header and lines, or just the lines, from a posted document to a new document. | |
Copy one or more lines from a posted document to a return order or credit memo. | |
Revalue inventory using the unit cost that is connected to the original purchase entry when you return a purchase. | |
Create a purchase invoice to counter a purchase credit memo when items that you return are rejected by the vendor. | |
Apply or unapply vendor ledger entries, or apply vendor ledger entries in different currencies. |