Journal entry, bill, and invoice statuses

What each journal entry, bill, and invoice status means and which actions are available in it.

The three documents that drive the books each have their own lifecycle. The status controls what you can do and whether the document has posted to the ledger.

Journal entry statuses

Status	Meaning	What you can do
Draft	Created but not posted. Nothing has hit the books.	Edit, delete, or post.
Posted	Posted to the general ledger and counted in the trial balance.	Void.
Voided	Reversed. Removed from the trial balance.	None.

The following diagram shows how a journal entry moves between statuses:

Journal entry status flow: Draft to Posted to Voided

A draft must balance (debits equal credits, total greater than zero) before it can post. Only a draft can be edited or deleted; a posted entry is corrected by voiding it and posting a new one.

Bill statuses

Status	Meaning	What you can do
Draft	Entered but not posted.	Edit, add or remove lines, match, open, delete.
Open	Posted to the books as a payable.	Record payment, void.
Partial	Partly paid; an open balance remains.	Record payment, void (if no payment is applied).
Paid	Settled in full.	None.
Voided	Cancelled; posting reversed.	Delete.

The following diagram shows how a bill moves between statuses:

Bill status flow: Draft to Open to Partial to Paid, with a Void branch available before any payment is applied

A bill must have at least one line item to open. Opening posts the payable; a bill with applied payments cannot be voided until those payments are reversed, and a paid bill cannot be voided.

Invoice statuses

Status	Meaning	What you can do
Draft	Created but not sent.	Edit, add or remove lines, send, delete.
Sent	Emailed and posted as a receivable.	Record payment, void, cancel.
Partially paid	Partly paid; an open balance remains.	Record payment, void, cancel.
Paid	Settled in full.	None.
Voided	Reversed; posting reversed.	None.
Cancelled	Withdrawn from the workflow.	None.

The following diagram shows how an invoice moves between statuses:

Invoice status flow: Draft to Sent to Partially paid to Paid, with Void and Cancel branches from Sent

Only a draft invoice can be edited. Sending posts the receivable and requires at least one line item; voiding a sent invoice reverses its posting.

Where to go next

For the steps behind these, see Post a journal entry, Manage accounts payable, and Manage accounts receivable.