Charges & credits adjustments
Understand how charges and credits work as the building blocks of MyPetParlor invoices — when they apply to open invoices and when they generate new ones.
Charges and credits are the primitive line items that make up every invoice in MyPetParlor. Charges add to what a customer owes, credits reduce it, and both can be posted as one-off or recurring adjustments to an account.
Key Benefits#
- Granular billing control. Post charges and credits as line items that compose into invoices, giving you precise control over what customers see and pay.
- Flexible timing. Adjustments can apply to an existing open invoice or generate a new invoice, depending on the account's billing state.
- Audit-friendly. Every adjustment is recorded with a description, amount, tax treatment, and timestamp for clean reconciliation.
Charges vs Credits#
Charges and credits are the two opposite-direction primitives behind every invoice:
| Primitive | Direction | Typical Use |
|---|---|---|
| Charge | Increases what the customer owes | One-off fees, add-ons, late penalties |
| Credit | Decreases what the customer owes | Discounts, goodwill credits, refund-equivalent adjustments |
Charges and credits are line items, not invoices. They become visible on an invoice once they are attached to a draft or open invoice — or once a new invoice is generated for them.
One-off vs Recurring Charges#
One-off Charges#
A one-off charge applies to a single billing event. Examples include:
- Onboarding or setup fees
- Add-on services billed once
- Late-payment or no-show penalties
- Manual corrections after operational adjustments
Recurring Charges#
A recurring charge repeats on a fixed cadence (monthly, quarterly, annually). Examples include:
- Subscription line items
- Recurring add-ons tied to a plan
- Service-level surcharges on every renewal
| Type | Cadence | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| One-off charge | Single occurrence | Ad-hoc fees, corrections |
| Recurring charge | Repeats with subscription | Subscription line items, add-ons |
| One-off credit | Single occurrence | Goodwill, manual discounts |
| Recurring credit | Repeats with subscription | Long-term promotional discounts |
If you find yourself posting the same one-off charge every cycle, convert it into a recurring charge or a plan add-on to remove manual effort.
Posting an Adjustment from Account Details#
You can post a charge or credit directly from the customer's Account Details view:
- Open the customer account
- Open the Adjustments or Invoices tab (depending on your dashboard layout)
- Select Add charge or Add credit
- Enter description, amount, tax treatment, and recurrence (one-off or recurring)
- Confirm whether to attach to an open invoice or generate a new one
- Save the adjustment
Use clear customer-facing descriptions. Adjustments appear on invoices the same way subscription line items do, so the wording should make sense to your customer without internal context.
How Adjustments Affect Open vs New Invoices#
The outcome of an adjustment depends on the customer's current billing state:
Attached to an Open Invoice#
If the account has an open (draft or unpaid) invoice, an adjustment can be added directly to that invoice. This is common when:
- A subscription invoice has not yet been collected
- You are correcting a line item before payment is attempted
- You want to bundle multiple adjustments into a single billing event
Generating a New Invoice#
If there is no open invoice — or you explicitly choose to bill the adjustment separately — MyPetParlor creates a new invoice for the adjustment. This is common when:
- The account's latest invoice is already paid
- You want a separate, standalone audit trail for the adjustment
- The adjustment is unrelated to the current subscription cycle
| Scenario | Outcome | Customer Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Open invoice exists, adjustment attached | Invoice total updates | Customer sees a single updated invoice |
| Paid invoice, new adjustment posted | New invoice generated | Customer receives a new invoice for the adjustment |
| Multiple adjustments before issue | Bundled into one invoice | Single combined bill on send |
Once an invoice is issued and sent, attaching new adjustments may create confusion for customers. Prefer adding adjustments while the invoice is still in draft, or post them as a new invoice instead.
Tax Treatment and Accounting Integration#
Tax Treatment#
Each adjustment carries its own tax treatment that flows through to invoice totals:
| Setting | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Tax-inclusive | The adjustment amount already includes tax |
| Tax-exclusive | Tax is added on top of the adjustment amount |
| Tax-exempt | No tax is applied to this adjustment |
The default tax treatment for new adjustments comes from your business entity's invoice settings. Override it per adjustment only when there is a specific reason.
Accounting Integration Considerations#
If you sync MyPetParlor billing data to an accounting system, treat adjustments as first-class entries:
- Map charge adjustments to the correct revenue accounts
- Map credit adjustments to discounts, refunds, or contra-revenue accounts
- Ensure recurring adjustments are mapped consistently across cycles
- Confirm tax handling matches the accounting system's tax rules
Document your adjustment-to-account mapping alongside your invoice settings so finance and operations have a single source of truth.
Related Articles#
Images#
Placeholder images are used below. Final assets will be added in a future update.
