The supplier promised a credit. Did it reach your account?
A promised credit can disappear between a phone call and the next statement. Match it to the original charge and confirm how it will be applied before paying.
Corporate Recovery Partners
01 / 06
The conversation and the statement do not match
A supplier agrees to credit an overcharge. You note the conversation and expect next month’s statement to be lower. The statement arrives with the original balance still showing.
Treat the credit as an open item until its amount and application are confirmed. A note in your diary is useful evidence of the discussion, but it does not explain the supplier’s current account.
Find the invoice number, line item, quantity and amount involved. Keep the supplier’s written acknowledgement or your dated call note.
If the agreement was only verbal, ask the supplier to confirm what it agreed. Do not substitute a different amount because that is what your own estimate suggests.
Request the credit reference, issue date and invoice against which it will be applied. Check whether the proposal is an account credit or a cash refund; these have different effects on your immediate bank balance.
Where tax treatment or adjustment documents need correction, ask your bookkeeper or accountant to check them rather than making an unsupported entry.
business.gov.au includes expense and bank records among the records businesses need to retain. Store the original charge and its correction together so the adjusted balance can be explained.
Do not let an expected credit hide another overdue amount
Reconcile the rest of the supplier account separately. If a payment is due before the credit is resolved, discuss the specific amount with the supplier and record the arrangement.
Avoid assuming you can deduct a disputed credit from any invoice you choose. If there is disagreement, get advice on the documents and the payment position.
Check that the credit appears once, against the correct account, and that any refund matches the bank receipt. Close the follow-up only when the records agree.
If unexplained supplier balances are making the business’s debts hard to assess, reconcile them before approaching CRP about a repayment problem. A smaller figure is useful only when it is supportable.
