Q: If I void an invoice, does it actually come out of my books, and what date does it come out on?
When you void an invoice in Octabiz, you want the sale to come back out of everything it touched (your stock, your discount counts, your cost figures), so your month end looks as if that sale was never rung up.
The word "void" sounds final. It's easy to assume the whole sale is gone, when in some tools a void mostly marks the invoice and leaves you to check the rest yourself. It also helps to know when a void is the wrong tool. An earlier post of ours on store credit vs refund put the rule plainly:
"If the sale really happened and something changed afterwards, do not void it. Record a credit or a refund instead, so the sales history shows what actually took place."
A void is for a sale that should never have been recorded. A refund or credit is for a sale that happened and then changed.
For this post I went through the Octabiz release notes from October and November 2026, our Goods on approval post, and the help pages for Xero, Stripe, Deltek Vantagepoint and QuickBooks. Below I'll walk through what voiding does in those other tools, the five changes in Octabiz that affect a void, and a short checklist you can run on a test sale.
In short
Key takeaways
Voiding a sale in Octabiz gives the discount use back; a refund keeps it.
A void or part refund of a weighed sale puts back exactly what the sale took.
Voiding a done job was fixed on 2 November 2026.
Use a refund or credit, not a void, when the sale really happened.
What voiding does in other tools (so you know what to check)
If you have used another system before, here is what their own pages say a void does. The rules differ more than you might expect:
- Xero: you can only void an invoice that is awaiting payment, and if it is paid you have to remove the payment first. Voided invoices can't be restored, but you can still find them in search (Xero Central).
- Stripe: voiding marks a finalized invoice as void, it can't be undone, and it keeps a paper trail. Stripe also says to check your local rules, because you might need to issue a credit note instead (Stripe API reference).
- Deltek Vantagepoint: a void creates a transaction file that reverses the original entries, and your general ledger only changes once you post that file (Deltek help).
- QuickBooks: a community post explains that voiding keeps a record in the system and returns any linked items to your stock (QuickBooks Community).
What changed in Octabiz when you void an invoice
There are five changes in the release notes that affect what a void or refund does to your records:
1. Voiding a done job works properly (v1.20.1525, 2 November 2026)
The 2 November release fixed payment receipts, payment dates and the void of a done job, along with the wording on credits. Job items now stay in step with invoice edits.
2. A weighed sale puts back exactly what it took (v1.20.1514, 2 November 2026)
If you sell by weight, a void or part refund of a weighed sale now puts back exactly the amount the sale took out of stock.
3. A void gives the discount use back (3 November 2026)
The 3 November notes say: "Voiding a sale gives the discount use back. A refund keeps it." This matters if you run discounts with a limited number of uses, because a voided sale no longer eats one of them.
4. Refunds reverse cost of goods sold (v1.20.408)
As we covered in the Goods on approval post, refunding an invoice puts the units back in stock at the cost they left at and reverses cost of goods sold. Voiding that refund reverses it too.
5. A clear message before you void the invoice behind a closed slip (v1.20.344)
Octabiz shows a clear message before you void the invoice behind a closed slip, so you know what you are about to change before you go ahead.
About the posting date
The release notes don't say which ledger lines a void reverses or which date the reversal posts on, so I'm leaving that out of this post rather than guessing. After any void, check your own reports for the period before you close your month.
How to check a void in Octabiz, step by step
The safest way to see all of this for yourself is to run it once on a test sale. Then look at each thing the void should have put back:
Test a void before you need one
- 1
Note the starting numbers
Write down the stock count of one test item and, if you use one, how many uses a discount has left.
- 2
Make a test sale
Sell the item with the discount applied; use a weighed item if you sell by weight.
- 3
Void the sale
If the invoice sits behind a closed slip, read the message Octabiz shows before you confirm.
- 4
Check stock
The count (or the weight) should be back to what you wrote down.
- 5
Check the discount
The discount use should be back too; if you had refunded instead, it would stay used.
- 6
Decide void or refund next time
If the sale really happened, record a refund or credit so your sales history shows it.
If you run rug jobs in Octabiz, add one more test. Mark a job done, void it, and check that the payment receipt and the job items match what you expect after the 2 November fix.
If you take refunds at the till, the 2 November release (v1.20.1511) also added refunds by tender, which you can read about with the EBT Food (SNAP) and EBT Cash changes on the releases page.
Try it
The quickest next step is one test void today using the checklist above. You'll know what your stock and discounts do before a real mistake lands at month end. For related reading, see how to email a refund receipt in Octabiz and how sales tax per item works.
P.S. If your void didn't put back what you expected, tell us what you saw, because that is exactly the kind of case that ends up in the next release notes.
Run one test void today
Where this came from
The research, methods, and photos behind this article.