Free Shipping Overcharge Credit Note Template & Generator
A shipping overcharge credit note corrects the delivery line, not the goods. It sets the freight you billed beside the freight your agreement actually allows: the contract linehaul for that zone, the fuel surcharge percentage published for that week, and any accessorial such as a liftgate that the signed bill of lading shows was never used. The order, shipment and BOL numbers stay on the note so the corrected amount traces back to one delivery.
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| Description | Qty | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freight overcharge correction | 1 | $185.00 | $185.00 |
| Fuel surcharge correction | 1 | $34.00 | $34.00 |
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Use-case checklist
What to include in a shipping overcharge credit note
Freight is the line customers audit hardest, because it is the one they can check against their own dock paperwork. A delivery charge a couple of hundred dollars above the agreed rate does not just cost the customer that amount, it stalls the whole invoice: AP puts the full amount on hold, goods that are already installed sit unmatched, and your collections call turns into a rate argument. Correcting it with the components broken out, contract linehaul, the surcharge percentage that applied that week, and the accessorial the BOL disproves, lets their team release the rest of the invoice the same day. Netting the entire freight line away instead hides whether the delivery was billable at all, and a customer who notices that will re-audit every earlier shipment you sent them.
- seller, buyer, order, shipment, and tracking reference
- original invoice and freight line
- agreed versus billed shipping amount
- reason and credit calculation
- tax adjustment, total credit, and application
Example starting lines
| Description | Qty | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Freight overcharge correction | 1 | $185 |
| Fuel surcharge correction | 1 | $34 |
Complete it cleanly
Reference the order, shipment, tracking or bill of lading, original invoice, agreed freight basis, incorrect line, correct charge, tax impact, and how the credit applies.
How to make a shipping overcharge credit note in 6 steps
Open the credit note generator
Start from this page so the credit note opens with fields and sample lines already set up for product sellers, distributors, and freight-billing teams. No account is needed to create or preview.
Enter both parties
Add your business name, address and contact details, then the customer name and address exactly as they should appear on the record.
Add the shipping overcharge lines
Replace each sample line with the real work or goods. Make sure the document shows seller, buyer, order, shipment, and tracking reference, original invoice and freight line, agreed versus billed shipping amount.
Check the figures
Totals calculate as you type. Confirm quantities, rates, any tax line and the final total against your own records before you send anything.
Set the reference and dates
Give the credit note a unique number and the correct date so it can be traced later and matched to related documents.
Review and download the PDF
Reference the order, shipment, tracking or bill of lading, original invoice, agreed freight basis, incorrect line, correct charge, tax impact, and how the credit applies. Preview is free; a PDF download costs $4.99, or is included with Unlimited.
Worked example
Delivery billed at the counter rate with a liftgate that was never used
Cascade Surfaces delivered a countertop and tile order to Birchwood Design Build on August 12, 2026 and billed invoice INV-7734. Birchwood's PM pulled the signed bill of lading, BOL 88412, which shows a dock delivery at their shop with a leveler, and compared the freight line against the zone 3 schedule in supply agreement SA-2024-11.
- Invoice INV-7734 as billed (order SO-5521): goods $4,881.70, delivery $418.30, sales tax at an illustrative 6.25% $331.25
- $5,631.25
- Delivery charge as billed: linehaul $265.00 plus 22% fuel surcharge $58.30 plus liftgate $95.00
- $418.30
- Contract linehaul, zone 3 flat rate under agreement SA-2024-11: $185.00 against $265.00 billed
- $80.00
- Fuel surcharge at the 14% published for the week of Aug 10, applied to the contract linehaul: $25.90 against $58.30 billed
- $32.40
- Liftgate accessorial, not performed per BOL 88412 (dock and leveler at the receiving shop)
- $95.00
- Freight overcharge credited on credit note CN-7734-F (Aug 26, 2026)
- $207.40
- Sales tax reversed on the credited freight at the illustrative 6.25% the invoice used, rounded to the cent
- $12.96
- Total credit issued to Birchwood Design Build
- $220.36
- Revised balance on INV-7734, due Sep 11, 2026 (corrected freight $210.90, tax $318.29)
- $5,410.89
The common error is crediting the whole $418.30 delivery line because part of it was wrong. Credit the difference, keep the freight you did earn, and pursue any overbilling by the carrier as a separate claim against the carrier rather than through this note.
When this document is the right choice
Use this credit note to document a reduction or reversal against an issued invoice. A credit note changes the amount owed on an earlier invoice without deleting the original record. Reference the original invoice and state the exact reason for the adjustment.
Frequently asked questions
The carrier overbilled me for the same shipment. Should I wait for their correction before crediting my customer?
No. What you billed your customer sits under your supply agreement with them, and what the carrier billed you sits under your tariff with the carrier. Those two settle on different clocks, and the customer's invoice is aging now. Issue the credit for the difference between the agreed freight and the freight you charged, then chase the carrier separately. Referencing the same BOL number on both files keeps them linked without tangling the two settlements.
My customer already short-paid the freight they disputed. Is a credit note still worth issuing?
Yes, and it is the only thing that clears the balance. A short payment leaves an open receivable that no cash will ever arrive against, so it ages until someone writes it off. The credit note gives that gap a document and a date, and if your figure differs from what they deducted, the note is what surfaces the difference while the delivery is still recent enough to check against BOL 88412.
The fuel surcharge changes weekly. Which week's table applies when I correct a delivery a month later?
Whichever date your agreement names, and the note should print it. Most freight schedules key the surcharge to the pickup or ship date rather than the invoice date, so a correction issued in September still uses the table in effect for the week of August 10 in the example above. Quote the table and the date on the credit line, because a customer who accepts the percentage rarely argues the arithmetic.
Do I reverse sales tax when I credit a delivery charge?
Reverse what the original invoice actually charged on the amount you are crediting, at the rate the invoice used. In the example the invoice applied an illustrative 6.25% to goods and delivery alike, so $207.40 of credited freight carries $12.96 of tax back out. Both the rate and whether a delivery charge belongs in the taxable base at all differ by jurisdiction and by how the charge is stated on the invoice, and a credit landing in a later filing period is its own question, so confirm your own treatment with your accountant.
The original invoice showed freight as a single delivery line with no breakdown. Can I still correct it?
Yes, but you have to rebuild the components before you can credit a difference. Take the zone rate from the agreement, the surcharge table for the ship week and the accessorials the BOL actually supports, and show all three on the credit note even though the invoice showed one figure. The customer is checking your note against their dock paperwork, not against your invoice layout, so the breakdown is what makes the number verifiable to them. Then print those same three components on future invoices, because a delivery line that arrives already broken out is the one that does not come back as a dispute.
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