Adjustments in BuildOps are used to modify outstanding invoice balances and handle situations like refunds, discounts, and write-offs. This article covers how to apply adjustments to invoices, handle refunds, and resolve the most common issues that come up during the process.
What Are Adjustments?
Adjustments function as credit memos that can be applied to invoices or payments. They are commonly used to:
Reduce an outstanding invoice balance
Issue a refund to a customer
Write off a balance that cannot be collected
Sync credit activity with QuickBooks
Applying Adjustments to Invoices
Reopening a Closed Adjustment
If an adjustment is in Closed status, it cannot be applied to an invoice until it is reopened.
Contact BuildOps Support or your Customer Success Manager (CSM) to request that the adjustment be reopened.
Once reopened, apply the adjustment to the appropriate invoice.
Tip: To avoid this situation in the future, select Save instead of Save and Export when creating an adjustment that has not yet been applied to an invoice. This keeps the adjustment editable until you are ready to finalize it.
Applying an Adjustment When Using QuickBooks Integration
If a credit memo created in Adjustments is not appearing when you try to apply it to an invoice, the Property field on the adjustment may be the cause.
Open the adjustment record in BuildOps.
Locate the Property field and make sure it is left blank.
Save the adjustment.
Return to the invoice and attempt to apply the adjustment again — it should now appear in the list.
Note: The Property field is not required on adjustments. Leaving it blank allows the adjustment to be applied to any invoice regardless of property.
Applying a Credit Using a $0 Payment Workflow
Adjustments cannot be applied directly to invoices through the standard payment workflow. One option is to use the $0 payment method:
Navigate to the Payments section and create a new payment with an amount of $0.
Select the relevant accounts receivable invoice.
Apply the adjustment credit memo to offset the invoice balance.
Document the adjustment amount being consumed.
Save and Post the payment. The adjustment will sync to the invoice as a $0 transaction.
Note: Depending on your accounting setup, your team may prefer to leave the adjustment unapplied in BuildOps and manage the application directly in QuickBooks instead. Coordinate with your accounting team on which approach fits your workflow.
Syncing Adjustments to QuickBooks
To ensure an adjustment syncs correctly as a write-off in QuickBooks:
Go to Accounting Settings > Adjustment Types and create a new Adjustment Type.
Set the GL Account to Accounts Receivable and the GL Offset Account to a Bank Ledger Account.
Use this Adjustment Type when creating the adjustment you want to write off.
Apply the adjustment to the target invoice.
Verify that the adjustment appears on the invoice and has synced to QuickBooks.
Important: Items used in adjustments must have both a GL Income Account and a GL Expense Account assigned in BuildOps. If either is missing, the sync will fail. Open the affected item, assign the missing account from your QuickBooks chart of accounts, save it, and retry the sync.
Handling Refunds
Issuing a Refund on a Fully Paid Invoice
If a customer has already paid an invoice in full and a refund is needed:
Do not unapply the existing payment.
Adjust the invoice by removing the returned items or reducing the balance.
Reapply the payment to the updated invoice total.
Use an overpayment adjustment to clear any remaining credit balance on the account.
Handling a Negative Credit Balance
Invoices with a negative (credit) balance cannot have payments applied to them directly.
To resolve this:
Include any credits or discounts within the same invoice rather than creating a separate credit invoice.
If a separate credit invoice already exists, void it and reopen the associated job to make the necessary adjustments.
Why Don't Invoices Appear When Applying an Adjustment?
If the list of invoices does not appear — or is empty — when you try to apply an adjustment or credit, one of the following is usually the cause:
1. Property field is not selected Each invoice is tied to a specific property. If the Property field on the adjustment is filled in but does not match the invoice's property, the invoice will not appear.
Make sure the Property field on the adjustment either matches the invoice's property exactly, or is left blank to show all available invoices.
2. Wrong adjustment type Adjustments created as Overpayment type do not allow invoice selection. Only Write-Off or Refund adjustment types support applying to an invoice.
If the wrong type was selected, void the adjustment and create a new one with the correct type.
3. General Information fields are incomplete The Billing Customer and Property fields in the adjustment's General Information section must be filled in before invoices will populate.
Review the adjustment and ensure both fields are completed, then try applying again.
Common Sync Errors Related to Adjustments
GL Account Missing on an Item
If an item used in an adjustment is missing a GL Income or Expense Account, the sync will fail with an error like: "GL Income Account is required" or "GL Expense Account is required"
Open the item referenced in the error in BuildOps.
Add the missing GL Income Account and/or GL Expense Account from your QuickBooks chart of accounts.
Save the item, allow it to sync to QuickBooks, then retry the adjustment sync.
GL Account Mismatch Between BuildOps and QuickBooks
If the GL accounts on an item in BuildOps don't match the accounts on the corresponding item in QuickBooks, the sync will be rejected.
Open the same item in both BuildOps and QuickBooks.
Decide which system has the correct GL mapping and update the other to match.
Save and retry the sync.
Closed Accounting Period
If an adjustment is dated in a closed accounting period in QuickBooks, it will be rejected with a period-lock error.
To resolve this, your accounting admin has two options:
Option 1: Temporarily open the closed period in QuickBooks, re-sync the adjustment, then re-close the period.
Option 2: Change the adjustment date in BuildOps to a date outside the closed period and re-sync.
Option 3: If neither option is appropriate, keep the record in BuildOps as-is and bypass the sync for that transaction.
Troubleshooting Checklist
If you are experiencing issues with adjustments, run through the following before contacting Support:
Is the adjustment in Open status? Closed adjustments must be reopened before they can be applied.
Is the Property field blank or correctly matched to the invoice?
Is the Adjustment Type set to Write-Off or Refund (not Overpayment)?
Are the Billing Customer and Property fields in General Information filled in?
Does the item have both a GL Income Account and a GL Expense Account assigned?
If using QuickBooks, do the GL accounts match between BuildOps and QuickBooks?
Is the adjustment dated within an open accounting period in QuickBooks?