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Credits Leftover Report Documentation

Menu Location: Reports > Financial > Credits Leftover

Access Level: Manager and above

Last Updated: 2026-03-01

Overview

The Credits Leftover report displays all customers currently holding unused account credit balances. This financial tool helps track outstanding credit liabilities, identify customers with expiring credits, encourage credit usage, and manage company cash flow obligations.

Primary Functions:

  • View all customers with account credit balances
  • Track total outstanding credit liability
  • Identify high-value unused credits
  • Find expiring credits requiring customer outreach
  • Monitor credit aging (how long unused)
  • Export for financial reporting

Page Layout

Header Section

  • Minimum Balance Filter: Show credits above threshold
  • Credit Age Filter: Credits older than X days
  • Customer Status Filter: Active, Cancelled, All
  • Sort Options: By credit amount, age, customer name

Main Content Area

Table of customers with credit balances, showing customer name, balance amount, credit age, last activity, and customer status.

Financial Summary

  • Total outstanding credits (liability)
  • Number of customers with credits
  • Average credit balance
  • Credits issued vs used (current month)
  • Expiring credits (if applicable)

Report Data & Columns

Column Description
Customer Name Customer with credit balance
Credit Balance Current unused credit amount
Credit Age Days since oldest unused credit issued
Last Order Date Most recent order
Customer Status Active, Cancelled, Paused
Credit Source Why credit issued (promotional, refund, etc.)
Expiration Date When credit expires (if applicable)
Actions View customer detail, send reminder

Common Use Cases

Use Case 1: Monthly Financial Reporting

Goal: Report total credit liability for accounting

Steps:

  1. Open Credits Leftover report
  2. Note "Total Outstanding Credits" figure
  3. Export full report for backup documentation
  4. Provide to accounting team
  5. Compare to previous month:
    • Growing liability = issuing more than being used
    • Shrinking = healthy credit usage
  6. Include in balance sheet as current liability

Example: End of month shows $47,850 in outstanding credits across 1,245 customers. Last month was $51,200. Positive trend - customers using credits.

Use Case 2: Expiring Credits Notification Campaign

Goal: Alert customers before credits expire to maintain goodwill

Steps:

  1. Filter to credits expiring in next 30 days
  2. Review customer list
  3. Export customer list with expiration dates
  4. Create email campaign: "Use Your Credits Before They Expire!"
  5. Include:
    • Current credit balance
    • Expiration date
    • How to use credits
    • Link to shop
  6. Send 2 weeks before expiration
  7. Send reminder 3 days before expiration

Example: 145 customers have credits expiring June 30. Email campaign sent June 15: "Don't lose your $15 credit! Expires June 30. Shop now!" Result: 78% of customers placed orders, used credits.

Use Case 3: Inactive Customer Re-engagement

Goal: Encourage dormant customers to return and use credits

Steps:

  1. Filter to:
    • Credit balance > $10
    • Last order date > 90 days ago
    • Customer status: Active or Paused
  2. These are customers with money on account but not ordering
  3. Create targeted win-back campaign:
    • Reminder of credit balance
    • "Come back" special offer
    • New product highlights
    • Easy reactivation link
  4. Track campaign effectiveness

Example: 312 customers have $10+ credits, haven't ordered in 90+ days. Email: "You have $25 waiting! We miss you. Here's what's new..." Result: 18% place orders, reducing outstanding liability by $1,400.

Use Case 4: Large Credit Balance Review

Goal: Investigate unusually high credit balances

Steps:

  1. Sort by credit balance (highest first)
  2. Review top 10-20 customers
  3. For each high balance:
    • Check customer detail for credit source
    • Verify credit amount is correct
    • Confirm not system error or duplicate
    • Review if credit should expire
    • Contact customer if very old and unused
  4. Correct any errors
  5. Document legitimate high balances

Example: Customer shows $450 credit balance (highest in system). Investigation reveals: 3 orders refunded due to delivery issues over 6 months. All legitimate. Call customer: "We see you have $450 credit. Can we help you place an order? What happened with the deliveries?" Resolve underlying issue, customer returns.

Use Case 5: Credit Aging Analysis

Goal: Understand how long credits sit unused

Steps:

  1. Export full report to Excel
  2. Create aging buckets:
    • 0-30 days
    • 31-60 days
    • 61-90 days
    • 91-180 days
    • 180+ days
  3. Calculate total $ in each bucket
  4. Analyze:
    • Recent credits (0-60 days) = normal
    • 61-90 days = consider reminder
    • 90+ days = likely forgotten, need outreach
    • 180+ days = may need expiration policy
  5. Create action plan for each bucket

Example: $47,850 total credits breakdown:

  • 0-30 days: $28,000 (59%) - healthy
  • 31-60 days: $12,000 (25%) - normal
  • 61-90 days: $5,000 (10%) - send reminders
  • 90+ days: $2,850 (6%) - aggressive outreach

Action: Email 90+ day old credits offering to apply to next order.

Troubleshooting

Total Doesn't Match Accounting Records

Check:

  1. Verify report date range matches accounting period
  2. Ensure report includes all customer statuses (active AND cancelled)
  3. Check if accounting includes pending credits not yet issued
  4. Compare to Credits Batches for issuance verification
  5. Export both reports for line-by-line reconciliation

Common Discrepancy Causes:

  • Report run mid-day, credits issued/used since morning
  • Cancelled customers excluded from report but included in accounting
  • Timing differences in batch processing

Customer Says They Have Credit But Not in Report

Check:

  1. Verify customer's claimed credit amount
  2. Check customer detail page for current balance
  3. If customer correct but not in report:
    • May be below minimum filter threshold
    • Report may have stale data (refresh/regenerate)
  4. Review customer transaction history
  5. May be confusion with future scheduled credit vs current balance

Credit Balance Negative (Customer Owes Money)

Explanation: This report typically shows positive credits only. Negative balances (owed) appear in different report (Accounts Receivable, Pending Payments). Filter may be including all balances; adjust to "Credit Balance > 0" if needed.

Can't Determine Credit Source

Solution: Click through to customer detail page, review:

  • Notes for credit issuance documentation
  • Credits Report for detailed transaction history
  • Credit may be from old batch before tracking improved
  • Credits Batches - Bulk credit issuance tracking
  • Credits Report - Individual credit transactions and usage
  • Customer Detail - Individual customer credit balance
  • Accounts Receivable - Customers owing money (opposite of credits)

Permissions & Access

Required Access Level: Manager or higher

Best Practices

Regular Monitoring

  1. Review report monthly for financial reporting
  2. Check total trend (growing or shrinking)
  3. Identify large balances requiring attention
  4. Monitor aging of credits
  5. Track expiring credits proactively

Customer Outreach

  1. Remind customers of credits periodically (quarterly)
  2. Alert before expiration (30 days, then 3 days)
  3. Offer assistance for customers with old unused credits
  4. Make credit usage easy (auto-apply to orders)
  5. Thank customers for their loyalty when crediting

Financial Management

  1. Set credit expiration policies (prevent indefinite liability)
  2. Limit credit issuance to sustainable levels
  3. Encourage credit usage with targeted campaigns
  4. Track credit issuance vs usage ratios
  5. Budget for credit redemption (cash flow impact)

Things to Avoid

  • Don't let credits age indefinitely without customer contact
  • Don't expire credits without adequate notice
  • Don't ignore high-balance outliers (investigate)
  • Don't issue more credits than being used (liability grows)
  • Don't make credits hard to use (reduces perceived value)

Quick Reference Card

Task Action
Monthly liability total Open report, note Total Outstanding Credits
Find expiring credits Filter: Expiration in next 30 days
Large balances Sort by Credit Balance (highest first)
Inactive customer credits Filter: Last Order > 90 days, Balance > $10
Credit aging Export to Excel, calculate age buckets
Send reminder Select customers, bulk email "Use your credit!"
Export for accounting Click Export, provide to finance team
Find specific customer Search customer name

FAQs

Is this a liability on the balance sheet?

Yes - outstanding customer credits are current liabilities. Company owes this value in future goods/services.

What if credits are very old?

Depends on policy. Some businesses expire credits after 1-2 years with notice. Others honor indefinitely. Check company policy.

Can credits be refunded for cash?

Usually no (would create tax/accounting complexity). Credits typically for products/services only. Check with administrator.

Why would I want customers to use credits?

Brings customers back, reduces liability, generates orders (often exceed credit amount - net revenue), builds goodwill.

Do credits count as revenue?

No - credits are deferred revenue (liability). Only becomes revenue when customer uses credit for purchase.

What's a healthy outstanding credit amount?

Depends on business size. Generally 2-5% of monthly revenue is normal. Higher may indicate over-crediting or poor usage rates.

Should I expire old credits?

Business decision. Pros: Reduces liability, encourages use. Cons: May anger customers. Best practice: Clear policy, ample notice, customer service exceptions.

Change Log

2026-03-01

  • Initial documentation created

End of Documentation

For additional help, contact your system administrator or Kiva Logic support.