June 3, 2025
Overview: Differences Between Refunds, Unapplied Payments, and Credit Memos
Refunds
What it is: Returns money back to the customer’s original payment method.
Use when: A customer is owed money and you’re returning it—no future credit involved.
Example: A customer cancels an order or was overcharged and wants their money back.
Unapplied Payments
What it is: A payment removed from an invoice and saved on the customer’s account for later use—like account credit.
Use when: A customer overpaid or paid for the wrong job, and you’re keeping that money to apply later.
Example: Customer paid $500 but the order ended up costing $400—apply the extra $100 to their next invoice.
Credit Memos
What it is: A system-issued credit not tied to a payment—used to reduce the total on a future invoice.
Use when: You’re giving a customer credit due to a return, a billing correction, or as a goodwill gesture.
Example: Customer returns equipment or was incorrectly charged—credit them $100 for next time.
How to Use Each in Quipli
Refunds
Cancel an Order
When cancelling an invoice, Quipli prompts you to issue a full refund.
Edit the Rental to Lower the Price
Go to the Invoices section and click “Issue Refund” to return the overpaid amount.
Add a Refund Line Item
Manually enter a negative line item in the invoice and either:
Refund immediately using the prompt, or
Refund later from the “Issue Refund” button.
Note: Stripe payments refund directly to the card/bank. Manual payments (cash, check) require you to return funds physically.
Unapplied Payments
Adjust the Order Downward
Then click “Issue Refund” and switch to the “Unapply” tab in the refund modal.
Add a Refund Line Item
You can:
Unapply immediately via the prompt, or
Later unapply via the “Issue Refund” button using the “Unapply” tab.
Apply to Another Invoice
Go to a new payable invoice for the same customer, and for the "Payment Method," choose “Pay from remaining balance”.
Select the unapplied payment from the dropdown. Any remaining balance stays on the account.
Credit Memos
Enable Credit Memos
Go to Settings > General Settings > Options, and turn Credit Memos ON.
Create a Credit Memo
In the Credit Memos section, click “Create Credit Memo”.
Select a customer and add a product:
Match the original rental setup, or
Use a Custom Sale Product for a simple flat amount.
Adjust the amount to reflect the credit you want to give.
Submit the credit memo.
Why a product and rental duration?: This mirrors how QuickBooks Online handles credit memos—to maintain reporting consistency and align with original charges. If it’s easier, you can just use a custom sale product with a flat credit value.
Apply the Credit Memo
Go to a new payable invoice for the same customer, and for the "Payment Method," choose “Pay from Credit Memo”.
Select the memo from the dropdown. Any remaining balance stays on the account.
What's the difference between an unapplied payment and a credit memo?
An unapplied payment is money you've already collected from the customer on an order, held on their account as credit instead of being refunded. A credit memo is not tied to any payment the customer made, it's a credit you issue directly, for any reason, and it mirrors how QuickBooks Online handles credit memos.
Do I need Stripe connected to issue a refund?
No. If Stripe is linked, you can refund directly to the customer's card or bank account. If the customer paid by cash, check, or another manual method, you record the refund in the admin console and handle returning the physical payment outside the system.
How do I know when I can issue a refund on an invoice?
Check the Payable box on the invoice. If it shows a negative amount, that means you've collected more than what's currently owed (for example, after shortening a rental), and an "Issue Refund" button will appear.
Why isn't the Credit Memos section showing up in my sidebar?
Credit memos are off by default. Go to Settings > General Settings > Options, search for "credit memo," and set it to Yes, then save.
If I apply a large unapplied payment or credit memo to a small invoice, what happens to the extra amount?
It stays on the customer's account. The invoice is paid off using only what it needs, and the remaining unapplied payment or credit memo balance is available to apply to future invoices.