In Optix, credit appears as an invoice line item with a negative amount. If the invoice total becomes negative, it turns into a credit note, which can then be used to help pay for future invoices for the same user or team.
Note: Creating a credit note in Optix does not automatically refund a user or a team. If a user is not intending to use their credit towards a future invoice and you would like to refund them, you will need to process your refund via your payment gateway.
Credits help you:
Offset future charges: Unused credit is automatically applied to upcoming invoices (if enabled)
Automate refunds from cancellations: Credit is generated when bookings or plans are cancelled or shortened (based on your policies)
Manage billing adjustments: Issue manual credit for special cases or service adjustments
Track and control application: Choose whether credit is applied automatically or manually during invoicing
How is credit generated?
How is credit generated?
Credits can be created automatically by Optix or manually by an admin. When credit is generated in Optix, the credit line item will appear on the User’s or Team’s pending invoice.
Important: Credit is only created for paid bookings once they have been paid – not for paid bookings that are unpaid, or free bookings.
Example: Booking made May 1 (invoiced June 1), cancelled May 15 → No credit generated (booking not yet billed) vs. booking made May 30, paid June 1, cancelled June 2 → Credit is generated (booking was finalized)
Automatic credit generation
Optix will automatically generate a credit when:
A user cancels or shortens a booking via the app
A user cancels a booking via the widget booking confirmation email link
Credit generated manually by an admin
Optix will generate a credit when:
An admin cancels or shortens a booking on behalf of a user or team and selects Create invoice credit
An admin cancels a user or team plan and opts to Create a credit invoice item for unused plan periods
How is credit applied?
How is credit applied?
Credit can be applied automatically or manually, depending on your invoice policy settings.
Automatically apply credit to new invoices
You can configure Optix to automatically apply available credit to newly finalized invoices. To do this:
Go to Settings in the left-hand menu
Under Features, select Invoicing
Click Invoice Policy
Toggle “Automatically use available credit to pay off newly finalized invoices”
Click Save Changes
Note: This setting does not affect credit applied during manual invoice finalization.
How do I manually apply credit?
How do I manually apply credit?
If the automatic credit application is off to move a credit line item from a pending invoice to a specific upcoming/due/overdue:
Remove the credit line item from the pending invoice
What invoice is the Credit applied to?
What invoice is the Credit applied to?
1. If the invoice is pending/unfinalized: If the Pending/Unfinalized invoice already contains other upcoming charges (like existing bookings): Credits will simply be added to that same Pending invoice to offset
Example: The user has an April 1 pending invoice that already includes charges for existing room bookings. On March 10, the user cancelled a booking, and the system automatically issued a $20 credit. The $20 credit will be added to the April 1 pending invoice to offset.
2. If the invoice is finalized: If the user’s last invoice is already finalized: Any new credits become separate, new finalized invoices
Example 1: The user’s March 1 invoice is already finalized. On March 10, the user books a meeting room (or the admin adds a $15 credit). Optix will create a new finalized invoice containing that charge or credit, because previous finalized invoices cannot be modified (unless an admin manually updates them)
Example 2: The user has a finalized invoice from March 10 that already includes charges for earlier bookings. On March 20, they check into a day pass. In this case, the new day-pass charge is placed on a new finalized invoice, separate from the March 10 invoice, because previous finalized invoices cannot be modified (unless an admin manually updates them)
Note: Credit creation and application are closely tied to your Invoice Policy settings — different invoicing rules may change when credits are generated or where they are applied. Learn more about invoice settings here.
Note: Credit from finalized invoices is applied starting with the oldest outstanding invoice first (if the setting Invoicing → Control if/when credit is applied to other invoices is set to “Automatically use available credit to pay off newly finalized invoices”).
FAQs
FAQs
Why didn’t Optix generate credit when a booking was canceled?
Credit is only generated when:
The booking had been invoiced AND paid, AND
You canceled/shortened it after that point
Common reasons credit is not generated:
Booking had not yet reached the invoicing date
Booking was unpaid
Booking was free ($0 resource price)
Why did the credit go to a different invoice than I expected?
Credit follows your Invoice Policy, which determines where new charges/credits land.
Credit may appear on:
The next pending invoice
A new invoice due today
A new finalized invoice (if previous invoice was finalized)
Can credit be refunded directly to a user’s card?
No. Credit only offsets future Optix invoices.
Refunds must be done manually through your payment gateway.
Does credit expire?
Credit does not expire, unless manually removed by an admin.
Does removing credit from an applied invoice delete it?
No — it simply becomes unassigned credit that you can reapply to another invoice.
Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting
A booking was canceled, but no credit was generated
Check:
Had the booking already been billed?
Was the booking paid? (Credit only appears after payment)
Was the booking free ($0 resource)?
Did an admin select “Do not create invoice credit” during cancellation?
Does your Invoice Policy apply additional charges differently?
Credit was created but not automatically applied
Confirm:
“Automatically use available credit to pay off newly finalized invoices” is toggled ON
Credit is not stuck on a pending invoice
The invoice eligible for credit is finalized
The invoice belongs to the same user/team
A user still owes money even though they have credit
Possible causes:
Credit is attached to a pending invoice and is not free to apply
“Automatically use available credit to pay off newly finalized invoices” is toggled ON is OFF
The invoice is older than the credit’s invoice (credit applies oldest-first)
Credit is assigned to the team invoice, not the personal invoice (or vice versa)
Credit is showing on the wrong date
This may happen when:
The user canceled a booking tied to a future pending invoice
Invoice Policy was set to “New invoice due today”
The cancellation happened at 11:59 PM but invoice finalized at midnight that the credit's “date” appears to fall on the following day, not the day the user canceled.
Credit appears as a negative invoice — is this normal?
Yes. In Optix:
Line items with negative amount = credit
If invoice total < $0 → it becomes a credit note
A credit note disappeared from the invoice list
It may have been automatically applied. Check:
Invoicing → All invoices → filter by Status
The target invoice in that date range
Want to apply allowance to a user's account rather than credit?
Need more info on Invoices?