How to write off a sale invoice?

This article covers writing off a sale invoice within the Sales Ledger - for example when a customer debt becomes uncollectable and needs clearing as bad debt. Writing off is sometimes called voiding, cancelling or clearing an unpaid invoice. For a sale order, see 'How to write off a sale order'. For a purchase invoice, see 'How to write off a purchase invoice'.

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Writing off a sale invoice in the Sales Ledger

To write off a sale invoice:

1. Open the sale invoice you want to write off
2. Select the three dots (⋮) menu at the top of the invoice, next to 'Copy'
3. Select 'Write off' from the drop-down menu.

Selecting 'Write off' opens a new invoice with the invoice type set to 'Sale: Write off', pre-filled with the same customer, period and line details as the original sale invoice.

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Completing the write-off invoice

Before submitting the write-off invoice, amend the transaction lines so the account is your write-off (bad debt) account – for example '14355: Write off - Bad debt'. This step in the Sales Ledger is what actually clears the debt to the correct nominal account, rather than simply cancelling the invoice.

• For a full write-off, leave the amount as shown
• For a partial write-off, amend the amount on the line to the value you're writing off.

Once the account and amount are correct, select 'Submit' or 'Create as draft'.

Once posted:

• The original sale invoice is marked 'Written off'
• The new write-off invoice shows a 'Posted write off' stamp and carries a negative net, tax and gross value equal to the amount written off.

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If 'Write off' is missing or opens blank

Two separate problems can stop write-off working correctly on a sale invoice:

• If 'Write off' does not appear in the three dots menu at all, the conversion between the sale invoice and the 'Sale: Write off' document type has not been set up
• If 'Write off' appears and opens, but the pop-up is empty, the 'Sale: Write off' document type has not been unlocked and assigned a document series.

Both are administrator tasks, not something you can fix from the invoice screen – see 'Setting up write off document types' to resolve either issue.