What is a debit note?

A debit note is a document that a purchaser uses to give his vendor information about the quantity and dollar amount of returned goods. The purchaser either requests a refund for the returned goods or asks that the vendor gives him a credit.

The vendor, in return, issues a credit note to the purchaser. The credit notes indicates the amount of goods received and either the amount of the credit or the amount refunded.

A debit note is also known as a debit memo. It is most often seen in business-to-business transactions where the goods are sent before the goods have been paid for.