Commerce Sync can save your business 5 hours or more a week, a number that only grows as your business grows. Our goal, however, is not just to save you time, but to completely eliminate the task of manual entry from the point of sale device into accounting software. With that in mind, we are pleased to announce upcoming support for the automated transfer of Credits and Subsequent-Day Refunds, or Returns, from Clover into QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Desktop and Xero.

About Clover Credits and Returns

What do we mean when we say Credits and Returns? Broadly speaking, it is the opposite of a sale. This might mean giving store credit to a customer that you like, or taking back an item that was defective from the manufacturer. There are a few ways on the Clover station to issue Credits and Returns. The native Clover Manual Transactions app allows you to perform a manual Refund, or a Credit, for a given amount that is not tied to any previous purchase. There are two other ways to issue Refunds on the Clover station, both of which are performed using the Orders app: either on Payments, or on Items.

For more information on how to issue credits and returns, consult this article in Clover help: https://help.clover.com/article/retail/refunds-credits-voids/. As of today, Commerce Sync transfers Clover same-day Order Refunds by netting out the amount of the refund from the sales total. In mid-to-late April, we are adding the ability to transfer manual Credits, Payment Refunds and Item Refunds. This means Clover merchants will no longer have to enter them manually into QuickBooks and Xero.

Feature Setup

For new users, support for Credits and Returns will be enabled automatically. Once activation is completed, Commerce Sync automatically creates an Account (and in the case of QuickBooks, an Item) called "Clover Credits and Returns." This will be a Sales Income Account separate from Sales, Tips or any other such entry in your Chart of Accounts.  You are able to change the Account (or turn Credits and Returns off) in your Commerce Sync Dashboard Settings at any time:

Those who have been using Commerce Sync on Clover prior to the Credits and Returns feature launch will need to log on to the Commerce Sync Dashboard, visit the Settings tab and simply turn on the feature. Account creation will occur automatically upon save and, again, you can change Commerce Sync settings at any time.

How It Works

Clover Credits are transferred into QuickBooks as a Credit Memo and Xero as a Credit Note. Here is an example from QuickBooks Online:

The Clover Credit, by ID and Date, is entered into the Clover Credits and Returns account. While a Sales Invoice increases an Income account, a Credit Memo or Credit Note decreases an Income account. From an accounting perspective, what is a credit to the customer is actually recorded as a debit to the business.

So Clover Credits and Returns, or whichever account you choose in your Dashboard Settings, will have a negative amount reflective of all Credits (and Subsequent-Day Refunds) transferred.

Commerce Sync transfers Clover Subsequent-Day Refunds the same way as Credits. Here is an example from Xero:

Both the Payment and the Order to which the Refund was applied in Clover are presented in the line description. This applies to both full and partial refunds, so you could have multiple refunds for the same Order. Otherwise, same principles apply for applying Subsequent-Day Refunds to the Credits and Returns account.

Daily Credits Summary

If Commerce Sync transfers your Clover Sales as a Daily Summary, the same will occur for Credits and Returns, only separately - a "Daily Credits Summary." Here is how it will look in QuickBooks Online:

Here we see the following provided in a single Credit Memo (or Credit Note for Xero):

  • All Credits issued for the previous day
  • All full Refunds issued for the previous day
  • All Partial Refunds (in this case, two for the same order) issued for the previous day

What we also see depicted in the Credit Memo above are Taxable lines. If Sales Tax is included in either Credits or Subsequent Day Refunds on Clover, Commerce Sync transfers the appropriate amounts into QuickBooks and Xero. The Tax amounts are then subtracted from the associated Tax liability accounts, just as they were previously added for Sales.

What's On Deck

Just a few days away from Opening Day! In the spirit of America's pastime, here's what's in the on-deck circle for Clover Credits and Returns:

  • Applying Refunds to Payments. When Refunds have been associated with specific Payments taken, we can tie them together in QuickBooks Online and Xero (this association may only be performed manually in QuickBooks Desktop). This provides a more accurate representation of customer Refunds in your books.
  • Returns by Category. Clover Inventory decorated with Labels and Categories can be tracked in specific Sales Income accounts using our Sales by Category feature. When Refunds have been associated with specific Items sold, we can track Returns by debiting these Inventory Categories as well. Please contact us if you'd like to learn more about Sales by Category or have any questions about Clover Credits and Returns!