Refunds & Notifications · Article 6.5
Storno vs Berichtigung vs Gutschrift: three documents, three jobs
Three German VAT documents commonly confused with each other, each with a specific legal job and a specific moment when Clozo issues it. EU equivalents have similar names and identical purposes. Mixing them up is a frequent topic in support tickets — and a frequent cause of accountant pushback.
"Gutschrift" in particular is overloaded in German business language — colloquially it can mean "credit memo," "credit on an account," or "client-issued invoice" (Gutschriftsverfahren under §14 (2) UStG). In Clozo, Gutschrift specifically means a credit note that announces a refund to the client, generated on Δ_REFUND amendments. Storno is the cancellation of a final invoice; Berichtigung is the correction of a deposit invoice. Each has its own legal authority and its own role in the audit trail.
Step by step
On Δ_REFUND, expect three new documents.
Storno + Berichtigung + Gutschrift. Plus a cancelled (Δ_REFUND full) or active-at-smaller-amount (Δ_REFUND partial) FinalInvoice.
On non-refund branches with a prior INV, expect two.
Storno + new active FinalInvoice. The new INV carries
revision = v2(or higher).On non-refund branches with no prior INV (Window A), expect one.
Just the new active FinalInvoice — there was nothing to void.
All documents accessible from the Documents dropdown
on the proposal detail page, with status badges and downloadable PDF links. Each carries its own immutable R2 storage key and 10-year retention.
Why this works this way
#### Stornorechnung (Cancellation Invoice — STR-NNNN)
Generated whenever an amendment voids a previously active FinalInvoice (any Δ branch where there was an active invoice). It's a negative-amount document that mirrors the original final invoice but with reversed signs, references the voided invoice via voids_invoice FK, and explains the void reason (typically "Voided by amendment AMD-NNNN — [reason]").
Legal basis: §14 UStG, §14a UStG (Germany — invoices must be sequentially numbered, corrections are themselves invoices). EU VAT Directive Art. 220 (general). Per-country: BTW Art. 35a Wet OB (Netherlands), CGI Art. 289-V (France), Art. 6 Reglamento de Facturación (Spain), Ustawa VAT Art. 106j (Poland — "faktura korygująca"), DPR 633/72 Art. 26 (Italy — "nota di variazione").
Document type by language (StornoInvoice.DOC_*):
- DE: Stornorechnung
- FR: Annulation
- NL: Creditfactuur
- ES: Rectificativa
- PL: Korekta
- EN / default: Cancellation Invoice
When it's NOT generated: when no previous active FinalInvoice existed. Window A (no INV ever issued before this amendment) skips the Storno because there's nothing to void.
#### Berichtigung der Anzahlungsrechnung (Deposit Invoice Correction — DCR-NNNN)
Generated only on Δ_REFUND amendments. It formally corrects the original deposit invoice (Anzahlungsrechnung) by booking back part or all of its VAT. Two correction types:
- partial_refund — revised total > 0 but < deposit_paid; corrects the over-collected portion.
- full_cancellation — revised total = 0; corrects the entire deposit amount.
Legal basis: §17 UStG (Germany — explicit obligation to correct VAT when payment is reduced). EU VAT Directive Art. 90 (general principle). Per-country: BTW Art. 29 Wet OB (Netherlands), CGI Art. 272 (France), Art. 89 LIVA (Spain), Ustawa VAT Art. 106j (Poland), DPR 633/72 Art. 26 (Italy).
This is the document your accountant uses to reverse the input/output VAT entry from the original deposit invoice. Without it, the original VAT line stays on your books at the original amount, you remit too much VAT, and the client (if VAT-registered) loses the corresponding input deduction. Tax-office disputes about deposit refunds almost always trace back to a missing Berichtigung.
When it's NOT generated: on non-refund branches (Δ+, Δ−, Δ=0 where deposit isn't exceeded). The deposit's VAT entry stays valid because the deposit cash position hasn't changed.
#### Gutschrift (Credit Note — CRN-NNNN)
The document the client actually receives announcing the refund. Generated only on Δ_REFUND amendments alongside the Berichtigung. It references both the original deposit invoice (per Art. 219 EU VAT Directive — corrections must cross-reference the original) and the Berichtigung that legally enables the refund.
Legal basis: Art. 219 EU VAT Directive (cross-references mandatory). National terms vary: Gutschrift (DE), facture d'avoir (FR), creditnota (NL), nota de crédito (ES), nota di credito (IT), nota kredytowa (PL).
The credit note carries the refund amount (gross + net + VAT split), the bank account or card used for the refund (where applicable), and the Stripe refund reference (when Stripe-driven). Its refund_status field tracks the cash leg progress (article 8.4).
When it's NOT generated: on non-refund branches.
### Document combination matrix
| Branch | Storno | Berichtigung | Gutschrift |
|---|---|---|---|
| Δ+ (active INV existed) | ✓ | — | — |
| Δ+ (no prior INV) | — | — | — |
| Δ− (active INV existed, total ≥ deposit) | ✓ | — | — |
| Δ=0 (active INV existed) | ✓ | — | — |
| Δ_REFUND partial (active INV existed) | ✓ | ✓ (partial_refund) | ✓ |
| Δ_REFUND full (active INV existed) | ✓ | ✓ (full_cancellation) | ✓ |
Troubleshooting
Keep reading
Proposals & Invoices
Why a signed amendment issues two new documents (Storno + new INV)
Every signed amendment that touches the financial side of the contract generates at minimum two new documents: a Stornorechnung (cancellation invoice) for the old final invoice, and a fresh active FinalInvoice with revised numbers. This is required by GoBD §147 AO and parallel EU rules — never an arbitrary Clozo choice.
Refunds & Notifications
The Credit Notes page
A first-class section in the freelancer dashboard that lists every credit note across all your proposals, with status, refund amount, linked proposal, and action buttons. Use this when you want to manage refunds without drilling into each proposal individually.
Refunds & Notifications
When refunds happen: the Δ_REFUND amendment branches
A refund in Clozo is always tied to a Δ_REFUND amendment branch — partial (revised total smaller than deposit paid) or full (revised total at zero). The amendment is the legal trigger; the refund is the cash consequence.
Proposals & Invoices
The 4 delta branches: Δ+, Δ−, Δ=0, Δ_REFUND
Every signed amendment falls into one of four branches based on (a) the sign of the cost change and (b) whether the proposal was already paid. Each branch fires a different document chain. This is the central conceptual map for the entire amendment system.