How to Void or Delete An Invoice In QuickBooks?

Mistakes are very much a part and parcel of life, right? They may happen while using such a user-friendly software like QuickBooks as well. Sometimes, you may discover that you have actually attached an invoice with a wrong account or you have billed a customer twice inadvertently. This is the reason why we keep getting queries such as How Do I Delete an Invoice in Quickbooks. The frequency of such questions tells us that this mistake is a pretty common one.

 You do not need to worry though, if you are using QuickBooks. It has provided a feature with which you can effortlessly correct such mistakes. Yes, you can delete or void any unwanted invoices, whenever you wish, in QuickBooks. Go through this blog. We will tell you the step-by-step procedure to delete an invoice in QuickBooks. But before that, let’s get to know a related matter.

What Is The Difference Between Deleting An Invoice And Making An Invoice Void?

When you delete an invoice, you erase all information related to the invoice (invoice number, customer name etc) from the system. By deleting an invoice, you delete it permanently from the QuickBooks Company File.  However, when you make an invoice ‘void’, you just make the amount of the invoice to be nil or zero. In this case, all the other information related to the invoice remains in the system and can be used later on. You just prevent that particular payment from being realized by QuickBooks. Now let’s move over to the main topic.

How Do I Delete an Invoice in Quickbooks?

We highly recommend that you should delete those invoices only that are yet to be printed or distributed to the customers. Else, you will not get any previous records of the said invoice in QuickBooks.

Here are the steps to delete an invoice from QuickBooks-

• Go to the QuickBooks homepage
• Go to ‘Transactions’ and select ‘Sales’
• From the list of transactions made, click and open the particular invoice you want to delete
• While the invoice is open, click ‘More’ at the bottom
• Examine the transaction and decide if you want to delete or void it.
• If you want to enter the date of your action (Delete or Void), attach a note to the ‘Message’ or ‘Memo’ section.
• You will see the options named ‘Delete’ and ‘Void’. If you want to delete the invoice permanently, select the ‘Delete’ option.
• A pop-up window will come up on your screen, asking if you would like to confirm your action. Click ‘Yes’ to confirm and proceed. 

Points To Consider While Deleting or Voiding an Invoice in QuickBooks

Keeping in mind the following points would help you decide if it is beneficial for you to delete or void an invoice in QuickBooks.

• When you want a record of the transaction  ( such as Vendor name, reference number etc) to be there in QuickBooks, Void’  would be a better option than ‘Delete’. In ‘Void’ the transaction will not contribute to your account balance.
• When you make an invoice ‘void’, you can attach the payment to another invoice later on, if you wish.
•  You are not allowed to ‘Void’ some transactions in QuickBooks. These include deposits, estimates, purchase orders, supplier credits, delayed credits, late fees etc.
• Only delete those transactions where you are sure that the concerned records will not be needed by you in the future. ‘Delete’ is a better option when you want to eliminate these records from your books.
• When you delete a transaction, you cannot recover it from the QuickBooks system later. At best, you will be able to retrieve some items from your audit log.
• Unlike ‘Void’, you can delete all types of transactions in QuickBooks.

How to Void an Invoice in QuickBooks?

Please follow the below-mentioned procedure to make an invoice ‘Void’ in QuickBooks.

• Go to the QuickBooks homepage
• Click the ‘Create Invoice’ button
• From the list of transactions made, click and open the particular invoice you want to void
• Click ‘Edit’ from the menu bar
• At the bottom, check for the option to ‘Delete’ or ‘Void’.
• Click on the ‘Void’ button
• Click the tab named ‘Save & Close’ to apply your changes.

How to Void an Invoice From the Previous Year?

Please follow the below-mentioned procedure to ‘Void’ a QuickBooks invoice from the previous year-

• Click the ‘+’ icon
• Now click the ‘Credit Memo’ option
• Choose the customer or vendor whose invoice you wish to Void
• Enter the details of the customer or vendor
• Enter the amount you want to void
• Click the tab named ‘Save & Close’ to create a credit memo for the transaction
• Now you will be able to void the invoice by following the procedure mentioned above.

Please Note:

If you void an invoice from the last year directly, the income generated would be removed on the invoice date ( last year itself).
If you want to remove the income from the books of the current year, you will need to first create a credit memo as shown above, before being able to void the invoice

Conclusion

In the discussion above, we have shown you the step-by-step procedure of both deleting and voiding an invoice in QuickBooks. We have also differentiated between both these processes and informed when you should decide in favor of one or the other. Hope you will be able to take just the right decision in this regard.