How Vendor Credits Work

Overview

A vendor credit records money a vendor owes you back: a returned part, a corrected overcharge, a warranty credit, or a rebate. Apply it to a bill and the bill's amount due drops by that amount, so what Roopairs shows you owe each vendor matches their statement.

Where to find it: Bills → Vendor Credits in the left sidebar. Each credit gets its own number (for example VC-1001) and can have line items, attachments, labels, and a PDF.

Key Benefits:

  • Accurate balances - Bills show what's actually due after credits

  • Statement matching - Vendor balances line up with the vendor's statement

  • Inventory accuracy - Returned parts come out of stock when the credit is recorded

  • QuickBooks Desktop sync - Credits and applications sync like bills do

Creating a Credit From a Bill

This is the most common way to record a credit. Example: a vendor bills you $1,000, you return a $200 part, and they send a $200 credit memo.

  1. Open the bill and click Create Vendor Credit

  2. Select the bill line(s) being credited and set the quantity or amount

  3. If the part is going back to the vendor, turn on Remove from inventory on that line and choose the stock location it's leaving from

  4. Enter the vendor's credit memo number and attach the memo if you have it

  5. Click Record

The credit is applied to that bill automatically. The bill now shows Credited: $200 and Amount Due: $800. If the credit covers the full bill, the bill reads Paid.

Credits Without a Bill

For rebates or credits not tied to a specific bill:

  1. Go to Bills → Vendor Credits and create a new credit

  2. Select the vendor, add the lines, and click Record

The credit is held on the vendor as Unapplied Credit until you use it. Any amount left over when a credit is larger than its bill is held the same way.

Applying and Removing Credits

Apply a Credit to a Bill

  1. Open the vendor's bill and click Apply Credit

  2. Select the credit. The amount defaults to the smaller of the credit's remaining balance and the bill's amount due, and you can lower it

  3. Click Apply

You choose which credit goes on which bill, so you can follow what the vendor shows on their statement. A bill can have more than one credit applied, one at a time.

Unapply or Void

  • Unapply - Remove a credit from the bill. The amount due goes back up, and a bill that was paid by credit reopens.

  • Void - Open the credit and click Void (a reason is required). The credit comes off every bill it was applied to and stays in your history as voided.

  • Corrections - Recorded credits can't be edited. Void the credit and record a new one. Drafts can be edited freely.

  • Locked bills - A bill with a credit applied can't be revised or voided until the credit is removed.

Returned Parts and Inventory

For companies that track inventory, a credit line created from a bill line for a tracked part has a Remove from inventory switch. It's off by default. Turn it on and choose the stock location the part is leaving from.

How stock moves: A returned part comes out of stock at the location you choose when the credit is recorded. Voiding the credit puts that stock back. Saving a draft doesn't move any stock.

Each movement appears in the part's inventory history with a link to the credit.

Where Balances Appear

  • Bills - Bill page, list, cards, and PDF show Amount Paid, Credited, and Amount Due

  • Vendors - Vendor list and details show Payables, Unapplied Credit, and Amount Owed

  • Dashboard - Bill totals use amount due, matching the bill list

If a vendor holds more credit than you have open bills with them, Amount Owed shows as negative, the same way QuickBooks does.

QuickBooks Desktop

  • Vendor credits and their bill applications sync to QuickBooks Desktop like bills

  • Credits applied in QuickBooks' Pay Bills window are read back into Roopairs

Record every vendor credit in Roopairs. Where you apply it doesn't matter, but a credit entered directly in QuickBooks won't appear in Roopairs, the same as bills. Also note: once an application has synced to QuickBooks Desktop, it has to be released in QuickBooks, and that releases the credit from every bill it's applied to.

What's Covered

  • Recording credits with line items, attachments, labels, an automatic VC number, and a PDF

  • Creating a credit from a bill and applying it automatically

  • Standalone credits held as Unapplied Credit

  • Applying, unapplying, and voiding credits

  • Bill and vendor balances that reflect credits

  • Removing returned parts from stock (restored if the credit is voided)

  • Browsing (table and cards) and search

  • QuickBooks Desktop sync, including credits applied in Pay Bills

Not Yet Supported

  • Vendor refund checks - Refunds paid by check can't be recorded as vendor credits

  • Partial cash payments - Bills are still marked paid as a whole

  • Bulk application - Credits are applied one bill at a time

  • Credits entered in QuickBooks - These aren't imported into Roopairs

  • Stock removal without a bill - Only credit lines created from a bill can remove inventory

  • Automatic stock location - The location is chosen by hand and isn't filled in from the original purchase order

  • Mixed settlements in QuickBooks - A bill closed in QuickBooks with both credit and payment is read as paid in full by payment

  • Additional list filters - Search and browsing are available, and more filters are in progress

Open Questions

We're still working on these with our engineering team:

  • Returned stock location - Today a returned part leaves inventory from the location chosen on the credit line. We're looking at defaulting to the location where the part was originally received, and at letting returned stock be directed to another location (such as a returns area) before it ships back.

  • Returns with no bill - How to remove stock for parts whose bills were never entered in Roopairs

  • Applying one credit to several bills at once - Whether to add bulk application

Questions?

Contact our support team at support@roopairs.com. We're here to help!

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