Correcting an invoice that has gone out

The invoice is wrong and the customer already has it. There are exactly three correct moves, and which one you want depends on what is wrong — not on what is convenient.

Wrong amount, wrong item, wrong tax

Issue a credit note against the invoice, then a new, correct invoice. Open the invoice and choose Credit note — the lines are copied over so you can credit all of it or part of it. The credit note gets its own number from its own series, and it reduces what the customer owes immediately: it shows up on their statement and on your aged receivables without you touching anything.

The invoice should never have existed

Void it. The number stays with it, the document is clearly marked, and the reason you type is kept in the audit trail with your name and the timestamp. Voiding also puts the goods back if the invoice moved any — from the stock movements we actually wrote, not from the current lines, because the lines may have been corrected since.

Only the wording is wrong

Notes, terms, reference, PO number, due date, document language and template can still be edited on an issued document. The customer's copy and the portal page update, and the PDF is re-rendered. The figures are not touchable, which is the point.

A partial credit

Credit one line, or part of a line. The invoice stays open for the rest, reminders keep running on the remainder only, and the amount outstanding is the difference. You do not need to cancel and re-issue the whole thing to take ten units off a delivery of a hundred.

If it already went to the tax authority

In countries with real-time reporting, the correction has to be reported too. Oltrano sends the credit note through the same channel, referencing the original — see the e-invoicing guide for what each country does with it.

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