How Do I Void a Client Invoice

Voiding a client invoice permanently cancels it and reverses all of its financial effects. It is the preferred correction method when a sent invoice contains an error and a credit memo is not the right fit. Once voided, an invoice cannot be edited, paid, or transitioned to any other status.

Prerequisites

Before you can void a client invoice, the following conditions must be met:

  • The invoice must have been sent. Voiding is only available on invoices in a sent status — Sent      , Delinquent      , Paid      , or similar. Invoices that have not been sent can simply be deleted.
  • The fiscal period must be open. You cannot void an invoice that belongs to a closed fiscal period.
  • A reason is required. You must provide a reason for voiding before the action can be submitted.

How to Void an Invoice

1. Open the Invoice

Navigate to Revenue > Invoices and open the invoice you want to void. The Void button appears in the top right corner of the page when the invoice is in an eligible status.

2. Click Void

Click the Void button. A confirmation dialog will appear.

3. Enter a Reason and Confirm

Enter a reason for voiding in the Reason field. This is for internal use and will be stored on the invoice record. Once a reason is entered, the Void Invoice button becomes active. Click it to confirm.

What Happens After You Void

The page reloads showing the updated invoice. The status changes to Voided, a Voided At timestamp is recorded, and the Void Reason you entered is displayed in the Invoice Information section. The Total Due is reduced to zero.

The line items remain visible for reference but can no longer be edited.

What Else Changes When You Void

Applied Payments and Credit Memos

Any payments or credit memos that were applied to the invoice are automatically unapplied. Those funds or credits become available to apply to another invoice.

Charges Are Released for Rebilling

All charges that were on the voided invoice are released and become available to include on a new invoice:

  • Service charges — The service's billing dates are rolled back so the charges reappear in Billable Revenue and can be invoiced again.
  • Billable expenses — Status resets to Ready to Bill.
  • Rebates — Status resets to Ready (see below for more detail).
  • Client account fees, location fees, and client service fees — Last billed dates are updated accordingly.

Accounting Integration

What happens depends on how the invoice reached your accounting system.

Invoices synced to QuickBooks Online (Sync Client Invoices With Quickbooks):

  • The invoice is also voided in QuickBooks Online. There are no journal entries to adjust.
  • If QuickBooks Online can’t void it, nothing is voided. The invoice stays as it was in Discovery and you’ll see an error.

Journal entries (QuickBooks Online or QuickBooks Desktop):

  • Journal entries that haven’t been sent to QuickBooks yet are deleted.
  • Journal entries that were already sent, or included in a QuickBooks Desktop export, get reversing entries instead. Each reversing entry:
    • is dated the same as the entry it reverses;
    • is numbered INVVD-… (ADJVD-… for adjusting entries);
    • is described “Void Discovery Client Invoice #…”.
  • Like other journal entries, the reversing entries aren’t sent automatically. Use Send Unposted Entries To Accounting System (QuickBooks Online) or the journal entry export (QuickBooks Desktop).

Notifications and Activity Log

  • An email notification is sent to the email addresses on the client account.
  • The activity log on the invoice is updated with the void event.

Finding Voided Invoices

Voided invoices remain accessible on the Client Invoices index. Open Filters, expand the Statuses dropdown, and select Voided to filter the list to voided invoices only.

Voided Invoices Are Terminal

A voided invoice cannot be edited, have payments or credit memos applied to it, or transition to any other status. It does not factor into any financial reports.

Rebates on Voided Invoices

When an invoice containing a rebate is voided, the rebate's status is reset to Ready and the link to the voided invoice is removed. The rebate is then available to include on a future invoice.

If you have additional questions or need more in depth information, please feel free to send us a message using the help beacon in the lower right-hand corner.

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