How to correct an invoice after you have sent it
By Clear Bill · Published
Sending the wrong quantity, price or customer detail on an invoice is fixable. The important part is leaving your customer with one clear payment request and keeping enough history to explain what changed.
Start by comparing the invoice with the agreed work and any money already received. A correction to the invoice and a correction to a recorded payment are different tasks.
Identify what needs correcting
| What happened | What to check first |
|---|---|
| The invoice is still a draft | Correct the details before sending it. |
| The invoice was sent with an incorrect quantity or amount | Compare it with the agreed work, then decide which document should replace it. |
| The customer disputes the work or price | Resolve that disagreement before treating the invoice as a simple typing error. |
| The invoice is right, but a payment was recorded incorrectly | Review the payment entry rather than replacing the invoice. |
| Money has already been received | Match the receipts and remaining balance before changing the invoice records. |
For a payment-entry mistake, use our partial-payment and balance guide. For a disagreement about new work or scope, return to the estimate and agreed scope.
Preserve the original before replacing it
Keep the PDF that was sent, its invoice number, the recipient and the sending date. Write down the exact mistake and the agreed correction. Save the relevant approval or email alongside those records.
The CRA's business-records guidance lists sales invoices, receipts and contracts among the original documents supporting income records. Keeping the original and its explanation together also makes a later bookkeeping review easier.
A small correction log is enough to start: original reference, replacement reference, reason, agreed amount, date corrected and date the customer was told. This can be a separate document; it does not have to be printed on the invoice.
Replace an unpaid sent invoice in Clear Bill
Clear Bill lets you edit a Draft invoice. A sent invoice cannot be edited or returned to Draft. Resend sends the existing invoice again; it does not open it for corrections.
For this sequence, first confirm that no money has actually been received and that the original has no active recorded payments. If a send or resend is still pending, or its result is uncertain, resolve that delivery before voiding the invoice.
- Open the original invoice and select Duplicate before voiding it. This creates a new draft with a new invoice number. The Duplicate action is not available on a voided invoice.
- Open Edit on the new draft, correct the details and select Save as Draft. Review the client, currency, line items, taxes and total. Check the issue date and due date too; a copied invoice is not a reason to silently change the agreed payment terms.
- Keep the replacement as a draft while you compare it with the original and the agreement. Record both invoice numbers in your correction log.
- Return to the original, select Void, then confirm Void Invoice only when you have checked that it is the document being replaced. Voiding is permanent and preserves the original record.
- Open the replacement and choose Send Invoice. Tell the customer separately which reference to use: voiding does not send a correction notice. Check the delivery result before assuming the new invoice arrived.
An owner or staff member can perform these actions. Creating the replacement uses your plan's invoice allowance. Email sending requires Pro or an active trial, a client email address and a verified business email address.
Make the replacement clear to the customer
Here is a fictional example using final agreed amounts, with no payment received:
| Reference | Total | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| INV-0104 | CAD900 | Incorrect invoice, now voided |
| INV-0105 | CAD800 | Corrected invoice to use |
The correction reduces the payment request by CAD100. The customer should now have one current payment request: CAD800 on INV-0105. The references are illustrative; use the numbers actually assigned to your invoices. Confirm any related tax adjustment with your bookkeeper.
Send a short explanation from your normal business inbox, for example:
Subject: Corrected invoice INV-0105 replaces INV-0104
Hello [name],
The quantity on INV-0104 was incorrect. I have voided that invoice and attached corrected invoice INV-0105 for CAD800, matching our agreed total. Please use INV-0105 instead of INV-0104. The agreed payment due date remains [date].
Thank you, [business name]
Replace the placeholders and check the references, amount, due date and attachment before sending. This is a manual email example, not a customizable message field in Clear Bill.
When a payment or tax record is involved
If the customer has already paid, even partly, do not follow the unpaid replacement sequence without reviewing those receipts. Do not void a genuine payment simply to make an invoice easier to change. A bookkeeping reversal is not a refund to the customer.
Ask your bookkeeper how the original invoice, received money and any adjustment should connect. Check the treatment of any tax changes or amounts already reported before changing the records. Clear Bill's Duplicate and Void actions do not by themselves provide a complete credit-note, refund or tax-adjustment process.
If the invoice is correct and payment is simply late, use the overdue-invoice follow-up guide instead of creating a replacement.
Close the correction with a clear record
Keep the original PDF, corrected PDF, agreement and customer explanation together. Your log should show why the old reference was replaced and which invoice remains current. Clear Bill does not automatically link duplicated invoices as revisions, so keep that connection in your own records.
For the next accountant review, include both references and any outstanding question in your accountant handoff. For your next invoice, use the draft stage to check the details before sending. Try Clear Bill to keep clients, invoice drafts and payment history together.