Void or cancel an invoice
Voiding is how you cancel an invoice that has already been issued. It reverses the invoice's effect on your accounts while keeping a permanent record of both the original and the reversal. A draft, which has no accounting effect, is simply deleted instead.
Before you begin
- Only an Issued invoice can be voided.
- The invoice must have no payments and no applied credit notes. If it does, undo those first (see Troubleshooting).
- To remove a Draft, don't void it — delete it instead.
Steps
- Open the issued invoice from Sales → Invoices.
- Select More, then Void Invoice.
- Enter a Reason for voiding (required — it is kept with the accounting record).
- Tick the confirmation box and select Void Invoice.
[Screenshot required: Void Invoice window with the reason field and confirmation checkbox]
What happens next
- The invoice status becomes Voided.
- A reversing entry is posted that exactly cancels the original — the receivable, revenue and VAT recorded when you issued the invoice are all reversed, along with any cost-of-goods-sold and inventory entries.
- Both the original and the reversal remain in your records for a full audit trail. Voiding cannot be undone.
Important notes
Warning: Voiding is permanent and reverses the accounting. If you only need to reduce or correct an invoice rather than cancel it entirely, consider a credit note instead.
Troubleshooting
- "Only Issued invoices can be voided" — the invoice is a draft (delete it) or already voided/written off.
- "… has payments. Delete or void payments before voiding the invoice" — remove or void the payments recorded against it first, then void the invoice.
- "… has applied credit notes. Unapply the credit note(s) before voiding the invoice" — unapply any credit notes from the invoice first. See Apply a credit note to an invoice.
- "the books are locked up to and including …" — the reversal carries the invoice's own date, so voiding an invoice in a locked period is a posting into that period and is refused. The invoice stays issued, unchanged. Raise a credit note in an open period instead, or ask someone with permission to post into a locked period. See Why can't I post into this date?.