Should I cancel and reissue, or issue a credit note?

Cancel when the whole invoice is wrong and nothing has been paid on it, such as the wrong customer. Issue a credit note when only part is wrong, or when money has already been received.

Do I need a credit note to fix a wrong PO number?

No. The Customer PO number, Invoice name, Terms and conditions and Remark stay editable after issue; the contact, currency, lines, dates, tax and exchange rate are locked.

Does a credit note pay the customer back?

No. It reduces what the invoice charges. Money goes back only when you record a refund; otherwise apply the credit to another invoice. See Refund a customer.

Fix a wrong invoice the right way

Copy for AI

A wrong invoice is fixed in one of four ways, and two questions decide which: has it been issued, and should any of it stand? Answer them first and the fix takes a minute.

How to do it

Still a Draft? Select Edit, correct it and select Save invoice, or remove it with Delete draft in the ··· menu. A draft has only a proforma number, so nothing is left behind.
Issued, and only a reference is wrong? The Invoice name, Customer PO number, Terms and conditions and Remark can still change. Select Edit, correct them and select Save invoice.
Issued, and none of it should stand? For the wrong customer, a duplicate or a sale that fell through, select Cancel invoice in the ··· menu. easySales issues a credit note for the whole invoice with the reason Reversal, and the invoice becomes Cancelled. If the work still needs billing, Copy the cancelled invoice and correct the copy.
Issued, and only part is wrong, or money has been received? Select New credit note under Payments and credits on the invoice and credit only the difference.

Cancel invoice is greyed out while payments, credit, another issued credit note or a bad-debt write-off stand on the invoice; pointing at it says which.

Why it helps

An issued invoice may already be in your customer’s books and in your tax return. A dated credit note corrects it without rewriting it, so both sets of books still agree and your invoice numbers have no gaps. Picking the smallest fix keeps the record clean too: a credit for one wrong line leaves the rest of the invoice standing, and a wrong PO number needs no credit note at all.

Example

Mei Tan issued INV-10000362 to Harbour Café for 5 pendant lights at SGD 180.00 instead of the agreed SGD 160.00: 5 × 180.00 = SGD 900.00, plus GST 9% of SGD 81.00, SGD 981.00 in all. The café has already paid, so cancelling is closed to her.

She selects New credit note and credits 5 × SGD 20.00 = SGD 100.00, plus GST of SGD 9.00, SGD 109.00 in all. The café’s charge is now 981.00 − 109.00 = SGD 872.00, which is 5 × 160.00 = SGD 800.00 plus GST of SGD 72.00. The SGD 109.00 stays as credit for the café’s next invoice, or Mei refunds it.

Common questions

Should I cancel and reissue, or issue a credit note? Cancel when the whole invoice is wrong and nothing has been paid on it, such as the wrong customer. Issue a credit note when only part is wrong, or when money has already been received.
Do I need a credit note to fix a wrong PO number? No. The Customer PO number, Invoice name, Terms and conditions and Remark stay editable after issue; the contact, currency, lines, dates, tax and exchange rate are locked.
Does a credit note pay the customer back? No. It reduces what the invoice charges. Money goes back only when you record a refund; otherwise apply the credit to another invoice. See Refund a customer.