Correct an Invoice with a Debit Memo

Last updated: 2026-07-09 Summary:

A debit memo increases what a customer owes — use it for an additional charge or to correct an under-billed invoice upward.
A Correction debit memo links to the original invoice; if that invoice was transmitted to BIR EIS you must choose a correction reason.
Voiding an original invoice warns you when non-voided debit memos still reference it.

When to use a debit memo

Reach for a debit memo when the customer owes more than the original invoice showed — extra services, freight, or an under-billing you’re correcting upward. (To reduce a balance, issue a credit memo instead.)

Create it

Go to Accounts Receivable → Debit Memos → Create Debit Memo.
Pick the customer, dates, currency, and AR account, then add the line items for the additional charge.
Choose the Debit Memo Type:
- Standalone — a brand-new charge (e.g. additional services or freight) not tied to a prior invoice.
- Correction — increases an existing invoice’s balance and chains to it for BIR EIS.

Linking a correction to the original invoice

When you choose Correction:

Select the Original Invoice from the customer’s sent/partial/paid/overdue invoices — this is required, and it sets the reference linkage the correction chains to.
If that invoice was transmitted to BIR EIS (accepted), an EIS Correction Reason field appears and must be filled. The choices are Error, Duplication, Addition / Reduction, Cancellation, Return, and Other. eKapital sends this reason with the correction so BIR can match it to the original document.

Voiding the original later

If you void an invoice that still has non-voided debit memos pointing at it, eKapital warns you first (it does not block the void). Review those debit memos before you proceed — voiding the original doesn’t void its corrections. See Void an invoice.

Where people get tripped up

Using a debit memo to give input VAT. A debit memo is a supplementary document — the buyer cannot use it to claim input VAT. For a material VAT-able adjustment, eKapital warns you and a replacement invoice is the cleaner route.
Correction with no original invoice picked. The original invoice is required for a correction — you can’t save without it.
Missing the correction reason. If the original was EIS-transmitted, the reason is mandatory before you can save.