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Correct or cancel unpaid sales invoices

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You can correct or cancel an unpaid posted sales invoice, provided that it hasn't been fully shipped. This is useful if you make a mistake or if the customer requests a change before the shipment is complete. In all other scenarios, we recommend that you create a corrective sales credit memo directly. For more information, see To create a sales credit memo from a posted sales invoice.

Note

After a posted sales invoice has been partially or fully paid, you cannot correct or cancel it from the posted sales invoice itself. Instead, you must manually create a sales credit memo to void the sale and reimburse the customer, optionally managed with a sales return order. For more information, see Process Sales Returns or Cancellations.

The difference between canceling or correcting a posted sales invoice that isn't paid or shipped is described in the following table.

Action Description
Cancel The posted sales invoice is canceled. A corrective sales credit memo is automatically created and posted to void the initial posted sales invoice. On the initial posted sales invoice, the Canceled and Paid checkboxes are selected.
Correct The posted sales invoice is canceled. A new sales invoice with the same information is created, unless the posted sales order was posted from a sales order. In that case, we suggest you cancel the posted sales invoice instead and then make the correction and continue the sales process from the original sales order.

The new sales invoice has a different number than the initial sales invoice. A corrective sales credit memo is automatically created and posted to void the initial posted sales invoice. On the initial posted sales invoice, the Canceled and Paid checkboxes are selected.
Create Corrective Credit Memo A new sales credit memo is created with the same information. You can adjust the new sales credit memo before posting, and it will be applied to the original invoice when you post it.

When you correct or cancel a posted sales invoice, the corrective sales credit memo is applied to all general ledger and inventory ledger entries that were created when the initial sales invoice was posted. This reverses the posted sales invoice in your financial records and leaves the corrective posted sales credit memo for your audit trail.

Tip

If you have posted a prepayment invoice for a sales invoice that you then correct or cancel, you must correct or cancel the prepayment as well. For more information, see Correct Prepayments.

To cancel a posted sales invoice

  1. Choose the Lightbulb that opens the Tell Me feature. icon, enter Posted Sales Invoices, and then choose the related link.

  2. Select the posted sales invoice that you want to cancel.

    Note

    If the Canceled checkbox is selected, then you cannot cancel the posted sales invoice because it has already been canceled or corrected.

  3. On the Posted Sales Invoice page, choose the Cancel action.

    A sales credit memo is automatically created and posted to void the initial posted sales invoice. The Canceled field on the initial posted sales invoice is changed to Yes.

  4. Choose Show Corrective Credit Memo to view the posted sales credit memo that voids the initial posted sales invoice.

Partial invoice posting also supported

If the cancellation is related to a partial invoice posting, then the originating sales order line is updated to reflect the canceled invoiced quantity. The Qty. to Invoice and Qty. Invoiced fields on the related sales order line are reset to the values before the partial posting.

To correct a posted sales invoice

  1. Choose the Lightbulb that opens the Tell Me feature. icon, enter Posted Sales Invoices, and then choose the related link.

  2. Select the posted sales invoice that you want to correct.

    Note

    If the Canceled checkbox is selected, you can't correct the posted sales invoice because it has already been corrected or canceled.

  3. On the Posted Sales Invoice page, choose the Correct action.

    Note

    If the sales invoice was posted from a sales order, we recommend that you cancel this sales invoice and then process the correction from the original sales order. If the original sales order has been deleted, such as if it has been fully shipped, you can create a new sales order by using the Copy Document action. For more information, see To create a sales credit memo by copying a posted sales invoice.

  4. A new sales invoice with the same information is created where you can make the correction. The Canceled field on the initial posted sales invoice is changed to Yes.

    A sales credit memo is automatically created and posted to void the initial posted sales invoice.

  5. Choose the Show Corrective Credit Memo action to view the posted sales credit memo that voids the initial posted sales invoice.

See also

Sales
Setting Up Sales
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