Sometimes an invoice is too low because a line item used a partial amount, or because a charge was missed. A debit memo raises the amount due on specific invoice lines without changing the original invoice.
When to Use This
Use a debit memo when you need to add a missed charge to an invoice or correct a line entered for less than it should have been. For example, use one when a staff member entered a partial price instead of the full amount, or when registrations on an order were discounted or made free by mistake and you need to restore the correct order balance. You can also use a debit memo to adjust an invoice's balance due when you need to clear the way for an ACH payment to process. If you need to lower the amount owed on an invoice, see Apply a Credit Memo to an Invoice. If nothing has been recorded against the invoice yet, it may be simpler to adjust it directly; see Correct an Invoice.
Rhythm does not let you remove a coupon from an order after it has been applied. To reverse a discount after the fact, apply a debit memo to raise the invoice balance instead. This updates the invoice's financial balance, but it does not remove the coupon from the order, so the order still shows the coupon as applied.
A payment reversal, refund, or credit memo applied before payment does not automatically restore an invoice's balance due. If you reversed a payment entered with the wrong method, or removed a credit memo's reduction, apply a debit memo to the affected line so the invoice is payable again for the remaining amount.
Tip
Rhythm does not add late fees to overdue invoices automatically, and there is no setting to configure late fees in advance. If your association charges a late fee, add it with a debit memo after the invoice is overdue.
Prerequisites
- Permission to create debit memos.
- The invoice must not be void, written off, or imported. Rhythm disables Apply Debit Memo on a void or written-off invoice, and it does not allow a memo against an imported invoice.
- You need an open batch in the invoice's business unit to book the memo in. If the invoice's own batch is already closed, choose a different open batch. Rhythm books the debit memo into that open batch, and the adjustment and later posting can still go through.
- If the invoice is in a posted batch, applying a debit memo can fail. If you get an error, unpost the batch first; see Unpost Batches.
- Open the invoice.
- Open Invoice Options and select Apply Debit Memo.
- In the dialog, every line starts with its full quantity filled in. For the line you want to raise, enter the amount to add in the Debit Amount column. The New Total updates to show the line total after the debit.
- For every line you're not changing, clear its quantity to zero. As with a credit memo, Rhythm sends each line's quantity exactly as shown. If you leave an untouched line's quantity filled in, Rhythm adds that quantity again and doubles the recorded quantity on the invoice.
- Choose the Batch: to book the memo in.
- Add a customer-facing Memo (Customer Facing): note and, if needed, Internal Notes:. A customer-facing memo appears on the invoice in the Portal only when your invoice template includes the Invoice > Memo merge field. Entering the memo alone does not make it visible there. Internal notes are never shown to members.
- Select Process Debit Memo.
Result
Rhythm increases each selected line's total and balance due by the amount you debited, and records the debit memo as its own numbered transaction linked to the invoice. The related order also reopens and shows the updated balance due. If you are increasing an invoice to correct its balance, apply the resulting payment directly to the invoice instead of the order. This keeps the invoice and order balances aligned.
Warning
Check every line's quantity, not just the amount, before you submit. Every line starts with its current quantity already filled in, so submitting the memo without clearing quantities on lines you do not mean to change adds that quantity again to every untouched line. That effectively doubles the quantity on those lines.
Applying a Debit Memo to a Pro Forma Invoice
If the invoice is still pro forma, applying a debit memo turns it into a real invoice immediately, in the same batch you chose for the memo. This change is permanent. The invoice does not return to pro forma later, even if you reverse the debit with a credit memo.
Tip
If you are adding a missed charge to a pro forma invoice that has not been sent anywhere yet, it may be simpler to void it and create a new invoice with the correct lines. A pro forma invoice usually has not reached the customer yet.
Limits on the Amount
Rhythm does not set a hidden maximum for how much you can debit a line. In the dialog, each line's debit is limited to that line's current total, so you cannot enter more than the line already totals. If you need to add more than that in one action, you need more than one memo or a direct request outside the dialog.
If a coupon or credit was applied before the invoice was paid, a line's total may already be $0. You cannot create a debit memo against a line whose invoice total has been reduced to $0 this way, because there is nothing to raise it from. Rhythm also does not allow further adjustments or refunds after a credit memo has been applied to a line before payment.
What Can Stop the Debit
- The memo is in a different currency or business unit than the invoice.
- A line named in the memo doesn't exist on the invoice, usually because the invoice changed after you opened the dialog. Reload the invoice and try again.
- The invoice is void, written off, or imported.
- The memo has no lines, or its total doesn't match the sum of its lines. This generally cannot happen through the dialog, because Rhythm calculates the total as you go.
- The line's quantity has already been reduced to 0. A debit memo needs the line's quantity to be at least 1, so a line that was zeroed out first may refuse the memo.
- You're targeting the wrong line on an order that has a discount product line. Cancelling one invoice line on an order that includes a separate discount product line can create a credit memo amount that does not match a plain refund. If a correcting debit memo fails with an invalid amount error on the discount line, apply it to the package or registration line instead.
If you cannot meet the prerequisites above and a debit memo is not available, you can use a workaround. Cancel the current order, issue an account credit for the amount involved, process a new order for the correct amount, and then apply that credit to the new order.
The order side does not always update at the same pace. If a credit memo zeroes out the remaining balance on an invoice that already had a partial payment, the associated order can stay in Awaiting Payment instead of moving to a completed status. Closing that order by hand is not always the right fix, especially when a shipment or other fulfillment step is still pending. Check with the process the order came from before forcing it closed.
Once Applied
Like a credit memo, a processed debit memo cannot be changed in amount, deleted, or reversed after it has gone through. If you need to undo a mistaken debit, apply an offsetting credit memo instead of trying to edit or remove the debit memo.
Related Reading
To lower what an invoice owes instead of raising it, see Apply a Credit Memo to an Invoice. To adjust an unpaid invoice's lines directly, void it, or edit its details, see Correct an Invoice. To create a new invoice instead of debiting an existing one, see Create an Invoice.