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Workflow Template

Credit Note Approval Workflow

Manages customer credit note requests end-to-end: intake, finance validity/tax check, tiered approval by amount, credit note issuance, and notifications to requester and customer at each stage.

Credit note requests often stall between finance validation and manager sign-off, leaving customers waiting and requesters chasing updates. This workflow captures the request through a public form, runs a finance validity and tax check, routes approval to a team lead or manager based on the credit amount, and issues the credit note with automatic notifications throughout. Finance staff and approvers work through assigned tasks while requesters and customers get email updates at each stage without needing an account.

Business Outcomes

  • Faster turnaround on credit note requests with automatic routing to the right approver
  • Fewer status-chasing emails since requesters get automatic updates at each stage
  • Clearer audit trail with every status change and comment logged on the record timeline
  • Reduced risk of incorrect credits going out thanks to a built-in finance validity and tax check step
  • Consistent approval thresholds applied automatically based on credit amount

Workflow Steps

Steps

  1. 1
    Create Credit Request Recordcreate record

    Registers the submitted credit request as a record.

  2. 2
    Set Status to Submittedupdate record

    Marks the record status as Submitted.

  3. 3
    Acknowledge Requestersend email

    Emails the requester an acknowledgement with the reference number.

  4. 4
    Set Status to Finance Checkupdate record

    Updates the record status to Finance Check.

  5. 5
    Finance: Check Validity & Tax Treatmentcreate task

    Assigns finance a task to check the validity and tax treatment of the credit request.

  6. 6
    Save Finance Check Resultupdate record

    Persists the finance validity result and comments to the record.

  7. 7
    Route on Validity Result

    Routes the request based on whether finance found it valid.

    finance_validity_result: "Not valid"→Set Status to Returned
    finance_validity_result: "Valid"→Route by Credit Amount
    Default→End
  8. 8
    Set Status to Returnedupdate record

    Marks the record status as Returned because the request failed the validity check.

  9. 9
    Email Requester - Returnedsend email

    Emails the requester finance's comments explaining why the request was returned.

  10. 10
    Route by Credit Amount

    Routes to the appropriate approver based on the credit amount.

    credit_amount: "1000"→Set Status to Pending Approval (Team Lead)
    credit_amount: "1000"→Set Status to Pending Approval (Manager)
    Default→Set Status to Pending Approval (Manager)
  11. 11
    Set Status to Pending Approval (Team Lead)update record

    Marks the record status as Pending Approval before routing to the finance team lead.

  12. 12
    Set Status to Pending Approval (Manager)update record

    Marks the record status as Pending Approval before routing to the finance manager.

  13. 13
    Finance Team Lead Approvalrequest approvalrequires approval

    Requests approval from the finance team lead for credit amounts under $1,000.

  14. 14
    Route Team Lead Approval Outcome

    Routes based on the finance team lead's approval decision.

    approval_status: "approved"→Set Status to Approved
    approval_status: "rejected"→Set Status to Rejected
    Default→End
  15. 15
    Finance Manager Approvalrequest approvalrequires approval

    Requests approval from the finance manager for credit amounts of $1,000 or more.

  16. 16
    Route Finance Manager Approval Outcome

    Routes based on the finance manager's approval decision.

    approval_status: "approved"→Set Status to Approved
    approval_status: "rejected"→Set Status to Rejected
    Default→End
  17. 17
    Set Status to Rejectedupdate record

    Marks the record status as Rejected.

  18. 18
    Email Requester - Rejectedsend email

    Emails the requester that the credit request was not approved.

  19. 19
    Set Status to Approvedupdate record

    Marks the record status as Approved.

  20. 20
    Finance: Issue Credit Notecreate task

    Assigns finance a task to issue the credit note and record its number and date.

  21. 21
    Save Credit Note Detailsupdate record

    Persists the credit note number and date to the record.

  22. 22
    Set Status to Issuedupdate record

    Marks the record status as Issued.

  23. 23
    Email Customer - Credit Note Issuedsend email

    Emails the customer their credit note number and amount.

  24. 24
    Email Requester - Credit Note Issuedsend email

    Emails the requester confirming the credit note has been issued.

Fields

Show all 13 fields

FormCustomer Credit Request Form

  • Requester Name*· Text
  • Requester Email*· Email
  • Customer Name*· Text
  • Customer Email*· Email
  • Original Invoice Number*· Text
  • Credit Amount*· Number
  • Reason*· Choice
  • Supporting Attachment· File upload

TaskFinance: Check Validity & Tax Treatment

  • Validity & Tax Check Result*· Choice
  • Finance Comments*· Long text

TaskFinance: Issue Credit Note

  • Credit Note Number*· Text
  • Credit Note Date*· Date

Other fields

  • Credit Status· Choice
  • Requester Name*
  • Requester Email*
  • Customer Name*
  • Customer Email*
  • Original Invoice Number*
  • Credit Amount*

Forms

Customer Credit Request Form

8 fields

Data Views

Credit Requests Overview

customer_name, invoice_number, credit_amount, reason +1 more

Dashboard Widgets

Credits by Status

Recommended integrations

Setup the following integrations to extend workflow capability.

  • Send email in the workflow

    AWS SES logoAWS SES
credit note approvalcredit memocustomer creditinvoice adjustmentfinance approval

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FAQs

How do I set up this credit note approval workflow for my team?

Publish the template in your workspace and it's ready to run immediately, with no installation or development work needed. You'll want to assign your finance staff and the finance team lead and manager as workspace members so tasks and approvals route to the right people. The public request form is live as soon as you publish, so customers or requesters can start submitting credit requests right away.

How do I change the $1,000 approval threshold or add another approval tier?

You can describe the change in plain English, such as raising the threshold or adding a third tier for larger amounts, and the workflow updates accordingly. Alternatively, you can edit the routing step directly in the workflow editor. Earlier versions of the workflow are kept, so you can review what changed.

Who is involved in approving a credit note request?

Finance first checks the validity and tax treatment of the request as an assigned task. Depending on the credit amount, either the finance team lead (under $1,000) or the finance manager ($1,000 and above) is then asked to approve or reject the request. Finance completes one more task to issue the credit note once approved.

What happens if finance finds the request is not valid?

If the validity and tax check comes back as 'Not valid', the record status is set to Returned and the requester is emailed finance's comments explaining why. This happens automatically as soon as finance completes their task, so no request sits unresolved.

What happens if the team lead or manager rejects the request?

If either approver rejects the request, the record status is set to Rejected and the requester receives an email letting them know the request was not approved. The decision and any comments are saved to the record timeline for reference.

Does the customer need to create an account to submit a credit request?

No account is needed. Customers or requesters submit their request through a public form, and all later communication happens by email, including acknowledgements, rejection notices, and the final credit note confirmation.

What information gets saved on the record versus staying with a task?

Because the workflow waits on the finance validity check and the credit note issuance task, the values entered there — the validity result, comments, credit note number and date — are saved directly to the record. Approval decisions from the team lead and manager also drive the record's status and timeline as the request moves through each stage.

Can I track where a credit request is at any point?

Yes. Each request is a record with a reference number, a status such as Submitted, Finance Check, Pending Approval, Approved, Rejected, Returned, or Issued, and a full timeline of what happened. Table views and dashboards let you see all requests grouped by status.

How does the customer find out their credit note has been issued?

Once finance issues the credit note and records its number and date, the record status is set to Issued and the customer is emailed their credit note number and amount automatically. The requester also gets a separate confirmation email at the same time.

Can we send these notifications from our own email address?

Yes, a workspace can connect its own AWS SES account so acknowledgements, rejection notices, and credit note confirmations send from your organisation's email domain rather than a default one.

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Credit Note Approval Workflow | assess.one