How to void an invoice in Xero, step by step

Voiding is how you take an approved invoice out of your sales figures in Xero. This guide gives the short answer, the exact menu steps, the three things that stop a void, what you can still see afterwards and where doing it one invoice at a time stops being practical.

The short answer

Open the invoice, click the menu icon, select Void and confirm. Xero Central's article Delete or void an invoice says you can only void an invoice that is awaiting payment, that a paid invoice needs its payment removed first, and that a voided invoice can't be reinstated or restored.

Steps to void one invoice

In the Sales menu, select Invoices.
Find and open the invoice. Click Search if you know the contact's name or the invoice amount.
Click the menu icon, then select Void.
Click Void to confirm.

The article has separate Web, iOS and Android tabs for these steps.

When the Void option is missing or blocked

The invoice is a draft or awaiting approval. Those are deleted, not voided. Click the menu icon, select Delete and confirm. The full status table is in can you delete an approved invoice in Xero.
The invoice is paid or part-paid. Remove the payment first. Open the 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 another invoice, and the invoice returns to awaiting payment. Then void it.
An overpayment is applied. Xero Central describes removing it by opening the invoice, clicking Overpayment and clicking the remove icon next to the amount credited, then OK.

Check before you click

Can you edit it instead? If you have not sent the invoice to the customer and only need to correct an error, edit it. If you have sent it, Xero Central says to issue a credit note so there is an audit trail for you and your customer.
Will the customer simply not pay? That is a write-off, not a void. See how to write off a bad debt in Xero.
Do you want to reuse the number? To reuse the number of an approved invoice, change the number before you void it.
Do you need a copy? A void does not create one. If you want a draft with the same lines, read how to unapprove an invoice in Xero, which creates the copy before the original is voided.

What you can still see afterwards

The voided invoice is not erased. On the All tab of the Invoices screen, tick Include Deleted & Voided when you search and it appears. If you need to re-create it, Xero Central's next step is to create a new invoice or copy the voided one. For the full picture of what is and is not recoverable, read can you undo a void in Xero.

Where voiding by hand stops

The same Xero Central article says 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. After a bad import, a duplicated sync or a batch approved too early, each approved invoice means search, open, menu, Void, confirm, and for every paid one a Remove & Redo first.

Option: Unapprove

Unapprove is a web application for Xero users that runs the same steps for a selected batch. You connect an organisation, filter the approved invoices and bills and see a preview of every result before anything changes. It has a void-only job, a job that removes payments and then voids, and a job that unapproves to draft.

It voids, it does not delete. The result is the same voided invoice 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 30 days with unlimited documents and no renewal. Founding offer: the code FOUNDING40 takes 40% off your first payment until 30 November 2026, applied at checkout by Paddle.

About Unapprove Preview free on its own site

Which route fits

One invoice awaiting payment: void it from the menu.
One paid invoice: Remove & Redo on the payment, then void.
A draft or an invoice awaiting approval: delete it.
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 7 November 2026; menus and options can change.

Questions about this guide: support@atesensoftware.com.