# Credit the Customer

The last step of a return, built from what was actually received.

Crediting closes the money half of a return. It produces a credit note against the customer, based on what came back rather than what was requested.

## Credit a received return

- **Open the received return**

  The Received column should already show that the goods landed.

  ![The Sales Returns list showing the Status, Received and Refund columns side by side, with every row reading Approved, Not Received and Not Refunded.](https://www.sorviai.com/help/inventory/sales-returns/returns-list.png)
- **Create the credit note from it**

  The lines and quantities come from the receive, so a return that came back short credits the short amount.
- **Check the rate**

  It follows the original invoice, which is what the customer paid. That is usually right, and worth a glance when a rate list has changed since.
- **Save and send it**

  The credit is then applied to an invoice or refunded, like any other credit note.

> **Note:**
>
> **The two columns close independently**
>
> Received and Refund are separate on the list because the goods and the money genuinely settle at different times. The return as a whole is done only when both are.

## The month-end read

| State | What it means | How expensive |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Received, not refunded | You hold stock a customer believes they own | Awkward |
| Refunded, not received | You have credited goods that never arrived | Expensive |
| Neither | A return agreed and forgotten | Worth chasing |

> **Tip:**
>
> **Filter on both columns separately**
>
> It is two short lists, and each catches a different failure. Doing it monthly is enough.