Credit Notes lets you issue numbered credit notes against an order from the order screen in the J2Commerce administrator. You can credit order lines by quantity or enter a custom amount, and the credits can never add up to more than the order.
Each credit note is a fixed record with its own number. You can open it, print it or email it to the customer as a PDF. It is for store owners who need a proper document when they refund or adjust an order.
Requirements
- J2Commerce 6.6.2 or later.
- J2Commerce PDF Support (the Dompdf library), installed before this plugin.
Credit Notes is a separate add-on available from the J2Commerce Extensions Store.
Installation
- Download the plugin package from your J2Commerce Extensions Store account.
- In the Joomla administrator, open System -> Install -> Extensions and upload the zip file.
- Open System -> Manage -> Plugins, search for Credit Notes and make sure the plugin is enabled.
Issuing a Credit Note
- Open J2Commerce -> Orders and open the order.
- Click Issue Credit Note in the toolbar.
- To credit specific items, tick them under Credit Specific Lines (Optional) and enter the quantity for each. The credit amount is calculated from the lines and cannot be edited. To enter your own amount instead, leave every line unticked.
- Enter the amount if you are not crediting lines. Amounts include tax.
- Enter the Reason. It is required.
- Issue the credit note.
Info
With a custom amount, the tax is split in proportion to the order.
Credit Limits
A credit note cannot be issued for more than what is still creditable on the order. These limits apply:
- The total credited can never be more than the order total or its tax.
- A line cannot be credited for more than its quantity, counting earlier credit notes.
- A line with a fractional quantity cannot be credited by line. Credit it by amount.
- On an order with a discount or store credit, lines cannot be credited. Enter a credit amount instead.
Warning
A credit note is a record only. It does not refund the payment or change the order total. Refund the customer through your payment method.
The Credit Notes Card
The order screen shows a Credit Notes card. Its Credit Summary lists Order Total, Credited So Far and Still Creditable. The table below it lists every credit note issued for the order.
| Column | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Number | The credit note number. |
| Date | The date it was issued. |
| Amount | The amount credited, including tax. |
| Reason | The reason you entered. |
| Emailed | The date it was emailed, or Not Sent. |
| Actions | View PDF and Email. |
Issuing a credit note adds a note to the order history and an entry to the action log.
Emailing Credit Notes
Click Email on a credit note to send it to the customer as a PDF. The order needs a valid customer email address.
To send credit notes without clicking, choose order statuses in Attach to Status Emails. When the customer email for one of those statuses is sent, the order's credit notes that were not yet emailed are attached. Each credit note is attached once.
Settings
Open System -> Manage -> Plugins, search for Credit Notes and open it.
| Setting | What It Does | Default | Options |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number Prefix | Text placed in front of every new credit note number. Credit notes already issued keep their prefix. | CN- | Up to 20 characters |
| Number Padding | Minimum number of digits in the running number. A padding of 4 gives 0001. | 4 | 1 to 10 |
| Restart Numbering Every Year | When on, the number starts again at 1 each January and includes the year, for example CN-2026-0001. When off, numbering never restarts and continues from the highest number issued. | Yes | Yes, No |
| Order Statuses That Allow Credit Notes | Credit notes can only be issued for orders with one of these statuses. | Empty: Confirmed, Processed, Shipped and Delivered | Any order status |
| Attach to Status Emails | Order statuses whose customer email carries the order's new credit notes as PDF files. Leave empty to send credit notes by hand only. | Empty | Any order status |
| PDF Font Family | Font used in the PDF. DejaVu Sans covers currency symbols and most European alphabets. | DejaVu Sans | Up to 60 characters |
| Debug Logging | Writes extra detail to the app_creditnotes log file. | No | Yes, No |
Credit Note Template
The credit note layout is an invoice template of the type Credit Note. Edit it in the invoice template editor, in the same way as your invoice templates. An order needs an enabled Credit Note template before a credit note can be issued.
Info
Each credit note keeps the document as it was issued. Changing the template or the settings later does not change credit notes that already exist.
Troubleshooting
The Issue Credit Note Button Is Greyed Out
The card on the order screen gives the reason.
- Credit notes can only be issued for orders with a status that allows them. Change the order status, or add the status to Order Statuses That Allow Credit Notes.
- There is no enabled Credit Note template for this order. Open the invoice templates and enable a template of the type Credit Note.
The button is not shown once the full order amount has been credited.
Credit Notes Open as Printable Pages
The message The PDF library is not available means J2Commerce PDF Support is missing. Install it. Until then credit notes open as printable pages and cannot be emailed.
Another Credit Note Is Being Issued
The message Another credit note is being issued right now appears when two people issue at the same moment. Wait a moment and try again.
Uninstalling
Uninstalling removes the plugin and the Credit Note template. The credit notes table is kept on purpose, because issued credit notes are legal records.