Debit Notes
Debit Notes are raised against suppliers — not customers — to formally claim back money for price differences, short supply, quality issues, returns to a supplier or other reasons. Each debit note moves through a fixed forward-only status pipeline (Draft → Sent → Acknowledged → Settled) and can be printed as a document to send to the supplier.
Overview
A debit note is created with a supplier name, an optional PO reference (free text, not linked to an actual purchase order record), a reason, and one or more manually entered line items (product/description, quantity, unit price); the total is computed automatically as items are added.
The status pipeline is strictly forward-only and single-path: DRAFT → SENT → ACKNOWLEDGED → SETTLED, driven by one "→ next status" button per row — there is no reject/cancel state and no way to move backward.
The Delete button is only shown in the UI for DRAFT debit notes, but the underlying deleteDebitNote function has no server-side status check — it will delete a debit note in any status if called directly via the API, unlike RMA deletion which is enforced on the backend.
Editing an existing debit note's supplier, items or notes has no dedicated UI — the only update action exposed on this page is the forward status-advance button (PUT with just { status }), even though the backend's update function accepts supplierName, reason, items, totalAmount and notes as well.
Before You Start
- You must have the Billing feature enabled on your plan.
Step-by-Step Guide
1 Raise a new debit note
- Open Wholesale → Debit Notes and click "+ New Debit Note".
- Enter Supplier Name (required) and, if relevant, a PO Reference.
- Choose a Reason: Price Difference, Short Supply, Quality Issue, Return, or Other.
- Add one or more Line Items using the product/description, qty and unit price fields, clicking "+" after each — the running Total updates automatically.
- Add optional Notes, then click "Create" — the note is saved in DRAFT status with an auto-generated debit note number.
2 Send and track a debit note
- On a DRAFT note, click the "→ SENT" button once you have sent it to the supplier.
- Click "→ ACKNOWLEDGED" once the supplier confirms receipt/agreement.
- Click "→ SETTLED" once the supplier has settled the claim (refund, credit, adjustment, etc.).
3 Print a debit note for the supplier
- Click the print icon on any row — this works regardless of status.
- A printable document opens showing supplier, date, reason, PO reference (if set), line items and total debit amount, ready to send or file.
4 Filter and delete
- Use the status dropdown to narrow the list to one pipeline stage.
- Delete is only available (as a button) on DRAFT notes — click the trash icon and confirm to permanently remove it.
Every Field & Button, Explained
| Field / Button | What it does |
|---|---|
DN Number | Auto-generated debit note number assigned at creation (via buildDebitNoteNumber, based on the existing count of debit notes for the tenant). |
Supplier Name * | Required free-text supplier name; not linked to a formal supplier/vendor record by this form. |
PO Reference | Optional free-text purchase order reference for your own records — not validated against or linked to an actual purchase order. |
Reason | One of Price Difference, Short Supply, Quality Issue, Return, Other — displayed with underscores replaced by spaces. |
Line Items | Each line captures a product/description, quantity and unit price; Amount is computed as qty × unit price the moment you click "+" and is not editable afterward except by removing and re-adding the line. |
Total | Sum of all line item amounts, recalculated automatically whenever a line is added or removed; sent to the server as totalAmount. |
Notes | Optional free-text notes, included on the printed document. |
Status | DRAFT → SENT → ACKNOWLEDGED → SETTLED. Each row shows exactly one "→ next status" button reflecting the only allowed next step; there is no way to go back or skip a stage from this UI. |
Print icon | Opens a printable debit note document (supplier, date, reason, PO ref, line items, total) in a new window — available at any status. |
Delete (trash icon) | Only rendered for DRAFT notes in the UI. Permanently deletes the note; there is no confirmation beyond the browser confirm() dialog, and no undo. |
Tips & Best Practices
- Enter the PO Reference consistently (e.g. always the exact PO number) since it is a free-text field used only for your own cross-referencing, not a real link to a purchase order.
- Double-check quantity and unit price before clicking "+" to add a line — there is no inline edit for an added line, only remove-and-re-add.
- Move a debit note to SENT as soon as you actually send it to the supplier; the status has no timestamp shown per stage on this page, so the visual pipeline is your only record of where each note stands.