Cancel an incorrect draft and create a replacement
Where: invoice detail → Cancel draft invoice.
Who: sales.invoice.cancel; creating a replacement also needs sales.invoice.create and an eligible source order.
There is no invoice edit form. Cancellation abandons a Draft while keeping its history; it does not delete the document or restore it later.
Cancel the draft
- Confirm the invoice number, source order and Draft status.
- Ensure cancellation, rather than posting, is intended.
- Select Cancel draft invoice.
- Read Cancel this draft invoice? This action cannot be undone. and confirm.
- Check status Cancelled after reload.
The invoice cancellation dialog does not ask for a reason. Do not confuse it with a credit-note cancellation reason field. Record any required business explanation through your organisation's approved audit/support process.
Example A: wrong due date
Farah creates a draft on 07/11/2026 and leaves Due date blank, producing 07/12/2026. The agreed date is actually 21/11/2026.
- Confirm the invoice is still Draft.
- Cancel it.
- Create a new invoice from the same eligible order, entering Due date 21/11/2026 explicitly.
- Check the new invoice number and dates before posting.
The old draft remains Cancelled. Filter the register by Sales order ID to see both and identify the non-cancelled replacement.
Example B: wrong order price
Cancellation does not change the sales order. If the source order itself needs correction, the authorised Sales colleague must use its supported lifecycle/editing process and approvals. Only create the replacement when the correct source values are saved and its state is invoiceable.
Do not assume cancelling a draft invoice automatically reopens an order for editing, changes prices or releases stock reservations. Those are Sales concerns. Recreating from an unchanged order simply copies the same wrong prices again.
What the retained balances mean
Cancelled invoices may retain their old Total, Paid/credited and Amount due values. Cancellation is a state change, not a reset of all numeric fields. Exclude Cancelled drafts from a collections queue; a non-zero retained Amount due is not by itself a live posted receivable.
The cancellation service does not provide a corresponding journal-cancellation action here. If a draft accounting journal was prepared, have Accounts verify its retained state; do not assume invoice cancellation deleted or reversed it.
Replacement and duplicate protection
Only non-cancelled invoices block another invoice for that order. After a Draft is successfully cancelled, a replacement can be created if the order is still eligible. Its number/ID are new; the cancelled record is not renumbered or reused.
| Situation | Recovery |
|---|---|
| Invoice is already Posted | Draft cancellation is refused; refer to Accounts |
| Invoice is already Cancelled | Do not cancel again; verify whether a replacement exists |
| Replacement says invoice already exists | Search all statuses by source order; another active draft/replacement may exist |
| Cancel request was uncertain | Reload and check state before replacement creation |
| Want to restore a cancelled invoice | No undo/reopen action is provided; use the supported replacement workflow |