Invoices (Basic): Modify paid invoices

If an invoice has already been paid fully or partially, you won’t be able to edit or delete it. After the payment has been posted, the invoice is linked to it and must remain the same for record-keeping. In this article, you'll learn which workarounds are available to you.

This article handles modifying paid invoices. Learn about modifying unpaid invoices here.

When you need it

Sometimes, you might need to edit a paid or partially paid invoice, for example, in cases when:

Error in entering the amount on a paid invoice. You made a typo while entering the invoice amount, which was paid using the offline payment. For example, instead of '1000$', you billed your client for '10,000$'. If not corrected, this would ruin your revenue reports.
Updating a deposit invoice after providing additional services. You issued an invoice in advance and requested a partial payment. After that, you wanted to provide some additional services and update the invoice.
Adding more details to the invoice description. You want to add more details to the invoice description so that you can keep records better.
Forgetting to bill your client for one/some of the provided services. For example, if you forgot to bill your client for a phone consultation.

Modify paid invoices

If you need to modify a paid invoice, you must refund it and issue a new one:

1. Go to the Invoices tab in the client’s profile or in Billing > Invoices. Paid invoices have the Paid or Partially paid status. Click three dots and View invoice at the right of the paid invoice. Click the payment link in the Payment history section of the Invoice sidebar.

2. The payment information is displayed in the View payment sidebar on the right. Click Refund payment at the top right. More on processing refund.

3. In Reason, specify that you'll need to issue another invoice to make corrections. The best practice is to calm your clients down so they don't think something is wrong with their payment. Don't clear the email notification checkbox. Let your clients see the full history.

4. Click Issue refund. Note that this will not change the payment or invoice status; they will remain Paid.

5. Open the invoice from the client's account or Billing > Invoices, click the three dots at the top right, and select Duplicate. It will create a new identical invoice but Unpaid. Make the required corrections and send it again. Note that the invoice number will be different.

6. If you initially logged the refunded payment as an offline payment (meaning that the client paid with cash, check or transfer), create an offline payment and settle the invoice with it. If the client paid in the client portal, kindly ask them to pay again.

Modify partially paid invoices

Partially paid invoices can't be edited. So, if you need to modify a partially paid invoice, you must issue a new one and reduce it by the partial payment amount. The most convenient way to do it is by duplicating the initial invoice and adjusting its subtotal:

1. Open the invoice you want to correct from the client's account or Billing > Invoices, click the three dots at the top right, and select Duplicate. It will create a new identical invoice.

2. Reduce the invoice amount by the partial payment amount, make the required corrections and send the invoice. Note that the invoice number will be different.

If your revenue and performance analytics depend on the accurate invoice amount (e.g., you want to understand how many invoices are under the desired amount), then you should issue a refund and send a duplicate invoice without adjusting the amount, as you would for an invoice paid in full.

Delete paid invoices

After the payment has been posted, it must remain the same for record-keeping. That's why we don't allow deleting credit card payments. You can delete only bank debit payments (for example, if Stripe or CPACharge declined it). Read the details in the article.

For credit card payments and offline payments, you can issue a refund.

1. Go to the Invoices tab in the client’s profile.

2. In the Payments list, find the one you want to be refunded, then click three dots and View invoice to its far right. You can also find a payment in the invoice’s payment history.

3. In the View payment sidebar, click Refund payment at the top right. For more details about this, go here.

4. Specify the reason for the refund, then click Issue refund.

What happens when you issue a refund, depending on the payment type:

Payments made through Stripe/CPA Charge: The payment is marked as refunded. The client receives a refund in the credit card account they used for the payment. Stripe/CPA Charge immediately submits the refund to that account. Depending on the bank, it takes 5 to 10 business days to show up in the client’s account.
Offline payments: The payment is marked as refunded.
All payment types: The invoice and payment status remain Paid.

To learn more about client credits and issuing a refund, go here.

A client paid an invoice from the wrong profile

You might need to move a payment from one account to another if:

The client already has an account but used a newly created one to pay an invoice.
The client has several accounts and paid from the wrong one.

To fix these issues:

Delete the secondary account: Delete the account (for more details, go here); this will delete the prepayment made as well. Then add an offline payment to the correct account (for more details, go here).
Add a credit: Add a promotional credit to the correct account (for more details, go here). Adding a promotional credit doesn’t affect your firm’s revenue, and you’ll see the money linked to the correct account.