Internal Sales Refund Note Applet

Purpose and Overview

The Internal Sales Refund Note Applet manages the creation and processing of refund notes issued to customers. When goods are returned, pricing adjustments are needed, or credit notes must be issued, this applet handles the end-to-end workflow — from creating the refund note header, adding line items, processing intercompany transactions, through to finalization and export.

Key Features Overview

Who Benefits from This Applet?

Accounts Receivable Staff:

• Create and manage refund notes for customer returns
• Add detailed line items with quantities and pricing
• Process refunds through structured approval workflows
• Export refund data for reporting

Sales Team:

• Track refund notes linked to customer accounts
• View refund history per customer
• Understand return reasons through configured reason codes

Finance Managers:

• Approval workflow for refund authorization
• Intercompany refund processing for multi-entity organizations
• Printable format configuration for official documents
• Branch-level refund tracking and reporting

System Administrators:

• Configure return reason codes
• Set up branch-level settings
• Define approval workflows
• Manage printable format templates

What Problems Does This Solve?

The Manual Refund Problem:

Processing customer refunds manually creates significant risks:

• No standardized process for recording refund reasons
• Difficult to track refund status across departments
• Manual intercompany reconciliation for multi-entity refunds
• No centralized refund reporting
• Paper-based approvals causing delays

The Refund Note Applet Solution:

• Structured refund creation — Standardized header + line item structure with mandatory fields
• Reason tracking — Configurable return reason codes for every refund
• Approval workflows — Multi-level approval before refund processing
• Intercompany support — Automatic cross-company transaction handling
• File import/export — Bulk operations via file upload and data export
• Printable formats — Professional refund note documents for customers

Key Features Overview

Key Concepts

Understanding the Refund Note Framework

Every refund note follows a structured process from creation to settlement:

Refund Note Lifecycle

Create (Draft)
│
├── Add Line Items
│   ├── Select items / enter quantities
│   ├── Apply pricing / discounts
│   └── Assign return reason
│
├── Submit for Approval
│   └── Routes to configured approver(s)
│
├── Approved
│   ├── Posts to customer account
│   ├── Creates GL entries
│   └── Triggers intercompany posting (if applicable)
│
└── Finalized / Exported
    ├── Print refund note document
    └── Export for reporting

Quick Start Guide

For AR Staff: Create Your First Refund Note

Goal: Create a customer refund note in 5 steps.

1. Navigate: Go to Internal Sales Refund Note from the sidebar
2. Create Header: Click "+" → Select Customer → Choose Branch → Set Date → Create
3. Add Line Items:
   • Click “Add Line” or navigate to the Line Items tab
   • Select the Item being refunded
   • Enter Quantity and verify Unit Price
   • Select Return Reason (e.g., Defective, Wrong Shipment)
   • Add a Description or note if needed
4. Review: Verify all amounts and tax calculations
5. Submit: Click Submit → Refund note routes to approver

What happens next? The approver reviews and approves the refund note. Once approved, the credit posts to the customer account.

For Managers: Approve a Refund Note

Goal: Review and approve a pending refund note.

1. Navigate: Go to Internal Sales Refund Note from the sidebar
2. Filter: Filter by Pending Approval status
3. Review: Open the refund note, check customer details, line items, amounts, and return reasons
4. Decide: Click Approve or Reject with comments

Sidebar Menu Reference

Internal Sales Refund Note

The main listing and management screen for all refund notes.

Listing View:

• Displays all refund notes with status indicators (Draft, Submitted, Approved, Rejected, Finalized)
• Columns: Refund Note No., Customer, Date, Amount, Status, Branch
• Search by refund note number, customer name, or date range
• Filter by status, branch, or date
• Click any row to view or edit

Create / Edit View:

The refund note form contains the following fields:

Status Transitions:

• Draft → Edit freely, not yet submitted
• Submitted → Sent for approval, no further edits
• Approved → Credit posted to customer account
• Rejected → Returned to creator with comments
• Finalized → Completed and locked

Line Items

The Line Items view provides a consolidated listing of all refund line items across all refund notes.

Listing View:

• Aggregated view of all line items across all refund notes
• Columns: Item Code, Item Name, Quantity, Unit Price, Amount, Refund Note No., Customer
• Search and filter by item, customer, or refund note
• Useful for analyzing refund patterns by product

Line Item Fields:

Intercompany

Handles cross-company refund transactions for organizations with multiple legal entities.

Key Features:

• Automatic creation of corresponding intercompany transactions
• Maps the selling entity’s refund to the receiving entity’s accounts
• Maintains audit trail across entities
• Supports multi-currency intercompany postings

When to Use:

• Customer purchased from Company A but returns to Company B
• Centralized refund processing across multiple entities
• Inter-entity billing adjustments

File Export

Export refund note data for external reporting, integration, or archival.

Available Export Options:

• Export by date range, customer, branch, or status
• Supported formats: CSV, Excel
• Includes header and line item details
• Configurable column selection

How to Export:

1. Navigate to File Export from the sidebar
2. Set filters (date range, status, customer, etc.)
3. Select export format
4. Click Export → File downloads to your device

File Import

Bulk import refund notes from external files.

Supported Import Format:

• CSV or Excel files with predefined column structure
• Template available for download within the import screen

How to Import:

1. Navigate to File Import from the sidebar
2. Download the import template
3. Fill in refund note data following the template format
4. Upload the completed file
5. Preview and validate the imported data
6. Confirm import → Refund notes are created as Drafts

Settings

Access Settings from the gear icon (⚙️) at the bottom of the sidebar.

Application Settings (Settings → Application Settings)

Control applet-level field visibility, mandatory fields, and system behavior.

Key Configurations:

• Toggle field visibility for listing columns and edit forms
• Set mandatory fields for data entry
• Configure default values for frequently used fields
• Enable/disable specific features (e.g., intercompany, file import)

Default Selection (Settings → Default Selection)

Pre-set default values that auto-populate when creating new refund notes.

Available Defaults:

• Default Branch
• Default Currency
• Default Tax Code
• Default Reason Code

Printable Format Settings (Settings → Printable Format Settings)

Configure the layout and content of printed refund note documents.

Key Configurations:

• Select template layout (standard, compact, detailed)
• Configure company header (logo, address, registration number)
• Toggle optional sections (terms & conditions, bank details, notes)
• Set paper size and orientation
• Footer customization

Return Reasons Settings (Settings → Return Reasons Settings)

Manage the list of return reason codes available when creating refund line items.

Key Features:

• Create custom reason codes (e.g., Defective, Wrong Item, Price Adjustment, Warranty Claim)
• Activate or deactivate reason codes
• Set default reason code
• Reason codes appear as dropdown selections in line items

Branch Settings (Settings → Branch Settings)

Configure branch-specific behavior for refund note processing.

Key Configurations:

• Branch-level numbering sequences
• Branch-specific approval routing
• Default GL accounts per branch
• Branch operating parameters

Workflow Settings (Settings → Workflow Settings)

Define approval workflows for refund note processing.

Key Configurations:

• Set approval levels (e.g., single approver, multi-level)
• Define approval thresholds (e.g., auto-approve below RM 500)
• Configure approver assignments (by role, department, or specific user)
• Set notification preferences for approval requests

Personalization

Access Personalization from the profile icon at the bottom of the sidebar.

Default Selection (Personalization → Default Selection)

Set your personal default values that auto-populate when you create refund notes. These override company-level defaults for your account only.

Available Personal Defaults:

• Your preferred default branch
• Your preferred default currency
• Your preferred listing filters and sorting

Integration Points

Related Applets

Module Integration

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Refund Note Stuck in “Submitted” Status

Problem: A submitted refund note is not progressing to Approved. Symptoms: Status remains “Submitted” for an extended period. Solution:

1. Check Workflow Settings to verify the approver is correctly configured
2. Verify the assigned approver has access to the applet
3. Contact the approver to review pending items
4. If the approver is unavailable, an Admin can reassign the approval Prevention: Configure backup approvers in Workflow Settings.

Line Item Amount Calculation Error

Problem: Line item totals don’t match expected amounts. Symptoms: The calculated total differs from the manual calculation. Solution:

1. Verify the Unit Price and Quantity are correct
2. Check if a Discount has been applied at the line level
3. Verify the Tax Code and tax rate are correct
4. Check for rounding differences in multi-currency transactions Prevention: Review tax settings and rounding rules in Application Settings.

Intercompany Transaction Not Created

Problem: Approving a refund note does not create the corresponding intercompany transaction. Symptoms: The receiving entity shows no matching transaction. Solution:

1. Verify the customer is mapped to the correct intercompany entity
2. Check that intercompany settings are enabled in Application Settings
3. Ensure the receiving entity has the corresponding applet installed Prevention: Test intercompany setup with a small transaction before processing in bulk.

File Import Validation Errors

Problem: Uploaded file shows validation errors during import preview. Symptoms: Red error indicators on specific rows in the import preview. Solution:

1. Download the latest import template to ensure the correct format is used
2. Verify all mandatory columns are populated (Customer, Item, Quantity, Price)
3. Check that customer codes and item codes match existing master data
4. Remove any special characters from text fields Prevention: Always use the latest template and validate data before upload.

Best Practices

Operational Best Practices

• Always reference the original invoice — Link refund notes to the original sales invoice for complete audit trail
• Use reason codes consistently — Standardize return reason codes across all branches for accurate reporting
• Review before finalizing — Once finalized, refund notes cannot be edited
• Process refunds promptly — Delayed refund processing impacts customer satisfaction and aging reports

Configuration Best Practices

• Set approval thresholds — Auto-approve small refunds (e.g., below RM 500) to reduce bottleneck
• Configure printable formats — Professional refund note documents build customer confidence
• Branch-specific numbering — Use branch prefixes in numbering for easy identification (e.g., KL-RFN-0001)

Security Best Practices

• Segregation of duties — Ensure the refund creator and approver are different people
• Access control — Restrict settings to Owners and Admins only
• Regular audit — Review refund note reports periodically for unusual patterns

Related Documentation Links

Related Applets

• Sales Invoice Applet — Original sales invoice management
• Sales Credit Note Applet — Credit note processing
• Sales Return Applet — Physical goods return handling
• Receipt Voucher Applet — Payment and refund settlement
• Customer Applet — Customer master data management

Core Documentation

• BigLedger User Guide — Overall system documentation
• Sales Module — Sales module overview
• Guides — Getting started and implementation guides