> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://educontroldoc.pixelspectivetech.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Corrections, credit notes and refunds

> The four instruments for putting something right — and which one to reach for.

Nothing in EduControl's finance records is edited after the fact. An issued invoice keeps its total; a recorded payment keeps its amount. Putting something right means adding a new, recorded event that says what changed and why.

That is what makes the books defensible a year later. It also means choosing the right instrument.

## Which one do I need?

| Situation                                                  | Instrument           |
| ---------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------- |
| The family owes less than we billed                        | **Credit note**      |
| We recorded a payment that never happened, or got it wrong | **Void the payment** |
| We took money we have to give back                         | **Refund**           |
| The entire billing run was wrong                           | **Reverse the run**  |

<Warning>
  A credit note and a refund are not interchangeable. A credit note moves what is **owed**. A refund moves **cash**. Reaching for a credit note when money has to leave the building leaves your ledger saying you still hold cash you have handed over.
</Warning>

## Credit notes

A credit note reduces what a family owes on an invoice that has already been issued. Use it for a scholarship agreed after billing, a goodwill reduction, a sibling discount applied late, or a billing error in the school's favour.

Three kinds are recorded:

| Kind                      | For                                                  |
| ------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------- |
| **Waiver**                | A charge the school has decided not to pursue        |
| **Adjustment**            | A correction to something billed wrongly             |
| **FeedingReconciliation** | Settling prepaid meals against meals actually served |

A credit note is applied against specific invoice lines and carries a reason. Because it reduces what must be paid, a partly paid invoice can become fully **Paid** through a credit note without any further cash.

## Voiding a payment

Void a payment that should never have been recorded — keyed twice, entered against the wrong pupil, or a cheque that bounced.

Voiding unwinds every allocation the payment made and restores the invoices it had settled. The payment stays visible as a voided record; it does not vanish.

<Note>
  Voiding reverses the **receipt** of money. If the cash genuinely arrived and now has to go back to the parent, you want a refund, not a void.
</Note>

## Refunds

A refund records money leaving the school: an overpayment returned, a withdrawal mid-term, a duplicate payment that was genuinely banked.

Refunds have a request-and-approve lifecycle:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Someone requests the refund">
    With the amount and a reason. Its status is **Pending**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Somebody else approves or rejects it">
    Approving reverses the relevant allocations; rejecting closes it with the reason recorded.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Warning>
  **The person who requested a refund cannot approve it.** This is enforced by the system at any amount, not merely as school policy — an attempt to approve your own request is refused outright. Make sure at least two people hold `approve_refunds`, or refunds will stall the first time your bursar is away.
</Warning>

## Reversing a billing run

Where the run itself was wrong — billed against the wrong term, or built on a fee grid with a bad price — reverse the whole run with a reason, rather than issuing hundreds of credit notes.

Reversing is for systemic errors. For one pupil, use a credit note.

## Everything is recorded

Credit notes, voids, refunds and reversals all record who did it, when, and the reason given. They appear in the [audit log](/docs/reference/audit-log) and are the first thing an auditor will ask to see.

## Who can do this

| Action                                             | Permission        |
| -------------------------------------------------- | ----------------- |
| Credit notes, voids, reversals                     | `edit_finances`   |
| Approving a refund                                 | `approve_refunds` |
| Larger waivers, where the school requires sign-off | `approve_waivers` |