How do I create a credit note for a guest invoice?

A credit note is a document that records a correction or cancellation of an invoice you already issued to a guest. In Smoobu you create it from the invoice itself, then issue it, download it, or use it for your bookkeeping. A credit note is a paper trail only. It does not send any money back to your guest, so refunding the guest is always a separate step.

Before you start

• You need an invoice to credit. A credit note is always created from an existing invoice, so create the invoice first if you have not yet. See .

Steps

1. Open Bookings, click View more on the booking, and scroll to the Invoices card.
2. Open the menu (the three-dot icon) on the invoice you want to credit, and click Create credit note.
3. Remove any line items you are not crediting, using the trash icon on each row. What is left is the amount the credit note covers.
4. Enter the amount as a positive number. The credit note already reverses the value for you, so do not type a minus sign.
5. Click Create to issue the credit note, or Create and Send to issue it and email it to the guest.

Do not rename the credit note number. Smoobu offers an optional field to rename it (for example to CN-1). If you change it, Smoobu pauses automatic sequential numbering for all your future invoices, not just this credit note, and you then have to type every invoice number by hand. Leave the number as Smoobu sets it. If you have already renamed one and your numbering has stopped, see the common problem below to restart it.

A credit note does not refund your guest

Creating a credit note does not move any money. It is an accounting document that records the correction. To actually return money to the guest, use the same channel the payment came in on:

• Stripe payments: refund in your Stripe Dashboard.
• Booking.com, Airbnb, or Vrbo bookings (where the channel collected the money): refund in that channel's host portal.
• Direct bank transfers: refund the guest through your bank.

The credit note is the document for your records; the refund is the separate money step.

Check it worked

The credit note is created with its own number and can be downloaded as a PDF for your bookkeeping.

Common problems

My invoice numbers stopped filling in automatically after I made a credit note

This happens when the credit note number was renamed, which pauses automatic numbering for every invoice. To restart the sequence, set the next invoice number to a plain number (for example 600), and Smoobu resumes counting from there. See .

I want to send money back, not just document it

A credit note only records the correction. Return the money through the channel the guest paid with (Stripe, the channel's host portal, or your bank), as described above.

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Still stuck?

If these steps didn't fix it, contact the Smoobu team: open the Help menu to open a ticket or book a call slot, or use the chat bubble in the bottom-right corner. To get the fastest answer, please include:

• Your Smoobu User ID (in the profile-icon menu, top right).
• The property name or ID, if it's about one property.
• The Booking ID, if it's about one booking (Bookings, then View more).
• The channel name, if it's about channel sync (Booking.com, Airbnb, Vrbo, and so on).
• A short step-by-step: what you did, what you expected, and what happened.
• Screenshots or a short screen recording of the problem.
• Your browser and operating system, if something looks wrong on screen.