There are many ways to revert a finalised invoice that was issued in error. However, each action affects the invoice differently. Read on to find the best course of action for your situation.
Waive the Remaining Balance of an Invoice
Waiving an invoice is an option for finalised invoices, where you mark the entire remaining balance due on the invoice as paid in full. Waived amounts are kept separate from payments in Billing reports.
Learn more about waiving an invoice.
Apply a Discount to an Invoice
You can apply a discount to unfinalised invoices. Choose to apply a discount by dollar amount or as a percentage discount to time and fees on the invoice. You cannot apply discounts to disbursements on an invoice.
Learn more about applying discounts to individual invoices.
Issue a Credit Note
Use credit notes to give your client credit on their account. The credit will then be applied to future invoices, and credit can be applied to an invoice that is before or after finalisation. You can use credit to account for mistakes on prior invoices or to reward clients who make expedited payments.
Credit will be separated from your income on Billing reports.
Learn more about applying credit notes.
Write Off or Mark Invoice Items as Non-Billable
The write-off (W/O) tick box allows you to remove line-item entries from a draft invoice before it is finalised. You can use a write-off to show your clients the value of the time you are making free.
Marking an item as non-billable is similar to a Write-off in that it's also applied to line items on a draft invoice prior to finalisation. There are two differences:
- Non-billable entries can be hidden from the invoice
- If you make non-billable entries visible, they show a value of $0.
It is best practice to use the Non-Billable action when you want to account for all the time spent on a matter for productivity tracking purposes.
In the example below, both fees are identical, but unticking 'Billable' changes the total of the first fee to $0.00.
When to Edit or Void a Finalised Invoice
Editing an invoice returns the invoice to draft status and retains the original invoice number. Edit an invoice when you need to make a correction while keeping the original invoice number.
Voiding an invoice keeps a record of the original invoice, and all time billed on the voided invoice will be marked as “unbilled” again. The invoice number will not be reusable. Void when you need to track an invoice sent to a client that needed to be recreated due to client or court specifications.
Learn more about editing or voiding an invoice.
When to Reverse a transaction
In order for transactions to reconcile properly, transactions cannot be deleted. However, you can use Reverse on a payment entry to start over with re-entering it. Examples include reversing chargebacks or funds that may have been physically deposited into an incorrect bank account (e.g., trust instead of operating).