Can you delete an approved invoice in Xero? What to do instead

The short answer

No. Xero Central's article Delete or void an invoice says you can delete an invoice that is in draft or awaiting approval status, and that you can only void an invoice that is awaiting payment. An approved invoice is awaiting payment, so voiding is the route. A voided invoice can't be reinstated or restored.

What each status allows

• Draft or awaiting approval: delete. From the Sales menu choose Invoices, open the invoice, click the menu icon, select Delete and confirm. You can also delete in bulk: on the Draft or Awaiting Approval tab, tick each invoice and click Delete. The number of a deleted draft or awaiting approval invoice can be reused.
• Awaiting payment (approved): void. Open the invoice, click the menu icon, select Void and click Void to confirm.
• Paid or part-paid: remove the payment first, then void.

Before you void

1. Ask whether an edit is enough. The same article says that if you have not sent the invoice and need to correct an error, you should edit it instead. If you have sent it, issue a credit note, so there is an audit trail for you and your customer.
2. Change the number if you want to reuse it. To reuse the number of an approved invoice, change the number before you void the invoice. A deleted draft keeps no such restriction.
3. Remove any payment. Open the paid invoice, click Less payment, then Options and Remove & Redo. According to Delete an invoice or bill payment, a payment deleted this way can't be restored, the bank statement line stays so you can reconcile it with something else, and the invoice returns to awaiting payment.
4. Download its files. If you plan to rebuild the invoice from the voided one, note that the copy steps Xero describes do not mention attached files, so download what is attached and add it to the new draft.

After the void

The voided invoice is not gone. It can be viewed from the All tab of the Invoices screen: when you search, select Include Deleted & Voided. If you voided too soon, read can you undo a void in Xero; if you need a separate draft copy, read how to unapprove an invoice in Xero.

Where doing it by hand stops

The article is plain about it: you can't void awaiting payment invoices in bulk, you need to void them individually. Bulk delete exists, but only for drafts and invoices awaiting approval. A clean-up after an import or a duplicated run, with dozens or hundreds of approved invoices, is a loop of open, menu, Void, confirm, and for every paid one a Remove & Redo first.

Option: Unapprove

Unapprove is a web application for Xero users that handles the loop for a selected batch. You connect an organisation, filter the approved invoices and bills and see a preview of every result before anything changes. Three of its job types apply here: void only, for a batch where no copy is needed, remove payments and then void, and unapprove to draft, which creates the copy before it voids the original.

• It voids, it does not delete. The result is the same voided document Xero would give you, found again with Include Deleted & Voided.
• Payments. The remove-payments run never touches a reconciled payment or one that is part of a batch payment. Documents with an allocated credit note, in a locked period or whose contact is archived are skipped and listed with the reason.
• Safeguards. You type the number of documents to confirm, a CSV backup of every selected document is made first, and an interrupted run can be resumed.

Disclosure. Atesen Software, which publishes this guide, makes Unapprove. The steps above work without it, one invoice at a time.

Price. Preview is free. The free trial costs $0, needs no card and processes 3 documents within 14 days. Monthly is $29 per connected organisation. The Clean-up Pass is a one-off $49 for 7 days and up to 500 documents. Checkout is by Paddle on the Unapprove site.

About Unapprove Preview free on its own site

Which route fits

• A draft or an invoice awaiting approval: delete it, singly or in bulk from the list.
• One or two approved invoices: edit, credit note or void by hand.
• A paid invoice: remove the payment, then void.
• Dozens of approved invoices: a batch tool such as Unapprove, with a preview and a backup.

Atesen Software is independent. Xero is a trademark of Xero Limited, and this page is not affiliated with or endorsed by Xero. Xero Central was checked on 22 October 2026; menus and options can change.

Questions about this guide: support@atesensoftware.com.