Unapprove in Xero by creating a draft copy and voiding the original

The short answer

Xero has no Unapprove button for invoices. The request Invoices - Unapprove option on Xero Product Ideas is marked Not in pipeline. In a reply dated 11 August 2025, Xero's community manager said there are no plans to build it in the foreseeable future, and suggested adding a note to the invoice history, or voiding the invoice and copying it to a new draft.

First, check whether you need a draft at all

An edit is often enough. Xero Central's article Edit an invoice says an invoice that is awaiting payment can be edited: in the Sales menu choose Invoices, open the invoice, click the menu icon, select Edit, change what you need and click Update. With no payment applied, any field can change.

On a part-paid or paid invoice only some fields can change without removing the payment: To, Due date, Invoice number, Reference, Branding theme, Description, Account, Tracking and Project. Xero does not tell your customer about an edit, so send a new PDF if they have the old one. If the invoice has already gone out, Delete or void an invoice advises a credit note, so you and your customer have an audit trail.

If you need a separate draft: void and copy

This is the route Xero's reply points to. A void cannot be reversed, so go in order.

1. Remove any payment. A paid invoice must lose its payment before it can be voided. Open the invoice, click the payment line, then Options > Remove & Redo. A payment deleted this way cannot be restored, and its bank statement line stays so you can reconcile it again (Delete an invoice or bill payment).
2. Change the invoice number. To reuse the number of an approved invoice, edit it before you void, for example by adding a suffix.
3. Void it. Open the invoice, click the menu icon, select Void and confirm. Only invoices awaiting payment can be voided. A voided invoice can be found again on the All tab with Include Deleted & Voided ticked.
4. Copy it to a draft. Open the voided invoice, click the menu icon and select Copy to draft invoice (Create an invoice for your customer). Xero warns that some details can change because of the defaults on your organisation, contacts or items, so compare the draft with the original, then save it.
5. Restore the number, check files, leave a note. Put the original number on the draft. That article does not list attached files among what is copied, so check them and re-attach what is missing. Then add a note to the history of both invoices.

What can get in the way

• A lock date. Once one is set, users cannot add or edit transactions dated on or before it, though drafts can still be created. If your invoice is that old, an administrator can remove the lock date temporarily under Accounting settings > Financial settings (Set up or remove lock dates).
• An emailed invoice. A void does not change what your customer already received, so settle that with them.

To avoid the next accident, use Save & close, which keeps a new invoice as a draft. Xero's reply names its shortcut: Alt-Shift-C on Windows or Opt-Shift-C on a Mac.

Where doing it by hand stops

Each invoice means up to five steps, and Xero says awaiting payment invoices cannot be voided in bulk. After an import, a sync or an app approves dozens at once, you repeat the same sequence for each one and can lose a number or a file along the way.

Option: Unapprove

Unapprove is a web application for Xero users that runs this void-and-copy routine on a selected batch. You connect an organisation, choose approved invoices and bills, and see a preview of every result before anything changes. For each eligible document it creates a separate draft copy and copies the supported attachments before voiding the original. To reuse a sales invoice number, it renames the original with a -V suffix and gives that number to the draft. If the copy cannot be made, the original is left as it was.

• Checked before it runs. Documents with a payment applied, an allocated credit note or a date inside a locked period are skipped, each listed with the reason. You type the number of documents to confirm, and a CSV backup is made first.
• Not a restoration. The draft is a new, separate document. A void still cannot be undone.

For the same routine across a batch, with more detail, see the Unapprove guide Bulk unapprove invoices and bills.

Disclosure. Atesen Software, which publishes this guide, makes Unapprove. The manual steps above work without it.

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 wrong detail and nothing paid: edit the invoice.
• An invoice the customer already has: a credit note.
• One or two invoices that must be drafts: void and copy by hand.
• A batch: Unapprove.

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

Questions about this guide: support@atesensoftware.com.