How to Find Credit Memos in QuickBooks Online

Can’t seem to put your finger on a specific credit memo in QuickBooks Online? Whether you need to apply it to an open invoice, verify a customer’s balance, or simply confirm a transaction, digging for a misplaced credit memo can bring your workflow to a halt. This guide will show you four distinct methods for locating any credit memo in your books, from quick searches to detailed report generation.

What is a Credit Memo and Why You Need to Find It

Before jumping into the "how," let's quickly review the "what" and "why." A credit memo is a financial document issued to a customer to reduce the amount they owe you. In QuickBooks Online, it’s a specific transaction type that creates a credit on a customer’s account. This credit can then be applied to one or more of their outstanding invoices or, in some cases, refunded.

You’ll typically create a credit memo in these common business situations:

• Product Returns: A customer returns a damaged or unwanted item they previously purchased on credit.
• Service Cancellations: A client cancels a prepaid service, and you need to credit their account for the unused portion.
• Pricing Errors: You realize you accidentally overcharged a customer on an invoice that has already been sent.
• Post-Invoice Discounts: You offer a customer a discount for a large order or early payment after the original invoice was finalized.

Finding an existing credit memo is an everyday bookkeeping task. You might need to locate one to confirm it was applied correctly, answer a customer inquiry about their account balance, or gather documentation for year-end reporting. Knowing the right way to search can save you a significant amount of time.

Method 1: Check the Customer’s Transaction List

If you know which customer the credit memo belongs to, the fastest way to find it is by going directly to their customer profile. This view collects all transactions associated with that specific customer in one place.

Use this method when: You know exactly which customer's credit memo you're searching for.

Here are the step-by-step instructions:

1. From your QuickBooks Online dashboard, look to the left-hand navigation menu. Click on Get paid & pay and then select Customers. (This menu might also be labeled "Sales" depending on your account view).
2. This will open your customer list. You can scroll through the list or use the search bar at the top to type in the customer's name. Click on the correct customer to open their profile page.
3. Once on the customer's page, you’ll see an overview of their account and a tabbed list of their activities. Click on the Transaction List tab.
4. You will now see a chronological list of every invoice, payment, estimate, sales receipt, and credit memo associated with this customer. To isolate just the credit memos, click the Filter button (often represented by a funnel icon).
5. In the filter options, find the Type dropdown menu and select Credit Memo.
6. Click Apply. The list will now refresh to show only the credit memos for this specific customer. You can see their dates, numbers, and amounts at a glance. Clicking on any entry will open the credit memo for you to view or edit.

A major benefit of this method is that it also clearly shows the status of each credit memo. An "Open" status means the credit is still available to be applied. A "Closed" or "Paid" status indicates the credit has already been fully applied to one or more invoices.

Method 2: Use the "All Sales" Transaction Center

What if you remember creating a credit memo but aren't certain which customer it was for? Or maybe you want to review all credit memos issued in the last quarter. For these situations, the "All Sales" transaction center is your best tool.

Use this method when: You want to see all credit memos across all customers, or when you aren't sure which customer a credit memo belongs to.

Follow these steps:

1. Navigate to Get paid & pay (or "Sales") in the left-hand menu. This time, choose All Sales.
2. This page provides a comprehensive list of all your sales-related transactions. By default, it often shows invoices first. Notice the blue filter bar at the top with buttons for Estimates, Invoices, Payments, etc. If "Credit Memos" is an option here, you can click it for a quick view. However, for a more refined search, it’s better to use the main filter tool.
3. Click the main Filter button. This opens a panel with multiple searchable criteria.
4. In the Type dropdown menu, check the box next to Credit Memo. This will tell QuickBooks to only show this type of transaction.
5. Now you can add other filters to narrow down the search:
   • Date: Use the Date dropdown to specify a time frame, such as "This Month," "Last Quarter," or a custom date range. This is the most common filter you will use here.
   • Status: You can filter by "Open" status to find all unapplied credits, or "Closed" to see those already used.
   • Customer: Even if you don't know the exact customer, you can still select one from the dropdown if you've narrowed it down.
6. Once your filters are set, click Apply. QuickBooks will update the list to display only the credit memos that match your search criteria. From this list, you can see details or click to open any credit memo directly.

Method 3: Run and Customize a Transaction Report

For more formal reviews, audits, or when you need data in a spreadsheet, running a report is the superior method. Reports in QuickBooks are highly customizable, allowing you to pull exact information and present it in a clean, professional format.

Use this method when: You need a formatted list of credit memos to print, export, or share, or when you need more advanced sorting and filtering options.

Here’s how to build a credit memo report:

1. From the left-hand navigation panel, click on Reports.
2. In the "Find report by name" search bar, type "Transaction List by Customer" and press Enter. Click on the report name to open it.
3. By default, this report shows all transactions sorted by customer. It will look very busy at first. The key is in the customization. Click the Customize button in the top-right corner.
4. This opens the "Customize report" panel. First, set the Report period to the time frame you want to investigate (e.g., "This Year").
5. Next, scroll down and expand the Filter section. This is where you’ll tell QuickBooks to only show credit memos.
6. Check the box next to Transaction Type. A new dropdown menu will appear. Click it and select Credit Memo from the list.
7. Scroll down and click Run report. The report on the screen will instantly update to show only credit memos issued within your chosen date range, neatly organized by customer.

From here, you can print the report, export it to Excel or as a PDF, or email it directly from QuickBooks. If this is a report you'll need regularly, you can click Save customization so you can run it again later with just a few clicks.

Method 4: Use the Global Advanced Search Function

Sometimes, you only have a small piece of information, like a credit memo number or an approximate dollar amount. In these "needle in a haystack" situations, the global search box is an incredibly powerful, but often overlooked, tool.

Use this method when: You have a specific detail (like a transaction number or a monetary value) but not much else.

Here’s how to use it effectively:

1. Look at the very top right of your QuickBooks Online screen. You'll see a magnifying glass icon. This is the global search bar. Click it.
2. A search box will appear. Don't just type in it; instead, look for the Advanced Search link at the bottom of the box and click it.
3. A new, detailed search window will pop up. Your first step is to tell QuickBooks what kind of record you’re looking for. In the first dropdown menu labeled "Search for," select Credit Memos.
4. Now you can add search parameters in the sub-fields. For example:
   • If you have the exact credit memo number, select Credit Memo No. from the second dropdown, choose "Equals" in the third, and type the number in the final field.
   • If you only remember the amount, you could select Total, choose "Equals" or "Greater than" or "Less than," and enter the value. This is perfect for when a client says, "I was supposed to have a credit for about $100."
   • You can even combine a date range and a dollar amount to narrow it further. Simply click Add Filter to include more search lines.
5. Click the Search button. QuickBooks will then scan all of your records and present a list of every credit memo that matches all of the conditions you set.

Final Thoughts

Knowing where to look is half the battle. Whether you go directly to the customer's profile, use the filters in the Sales Center, generate a custom report, or perform an advanced search, QuickBooks Online provides multiple reliable paths to find any credit memo. Choosing the right method depends simply on what information you have to start with.

While finding existing transactions is one part of the puzzle, accounting professionals also face the harder task of researching the correct tax treatment for credits, returns, and sales tax adjustments. That’s why we built Feather AI, an AI-powered assistant designed for tax and accounting pros. Ask complex questions about revenue recognition or state tax implications in plain language and get instant, citation-backed answers, so you spend less time searching for regulations and more time applying your expertise.