Making Changes to a Purchase Invoice: Editing, Unposting & Deleting a Purchase Invoice

Aedon allows us to correct mistakes subject to certain restrictions. Be reassured that the corrections and changes are recorded in the Audit History and the Ledger Entries.

Unwinding Changes

The basic principle is that you unwind in reverse order the accounting events that affect the transaction: be it the Lock Date, a Payment, Allocation, or a Reconciliation; these must be reversed in sequence before an item can be Unposted or Deleted.

Once a Transaction is included in a VAT return, it cannot be deleted; only the nominal and analysis codes can be changed but the main elements; the Date, Supplier, Tax Codes and Amounts are frozen.

Once a Transaction is deleted, it cannot be changed.

Types of Change
There are three types of change that you can make:
 

1. Editing – No new ledger entries are created, but certain fields are updated on the Transaction some which will change existing certain Ledger Entry fields.
2. Unposting – the Transaction is Unposted, which means that equal and opposite Ledger Entries are made against the original postings.
3. Deleting – Once a Transaction is Unposted, it can then be deleted.

Editing Status & Restrictions
Then there are the restrictions that prevent us from making changes, although certain fields which do not affect the Ledger Entries, or the Tax Return will remain editable:
 

1. Lock Date – The Lock Date is set by the Financial Controller to prevent any changes prior to a certain date. So that Management Accounts are not constantly changing once they have been distributed to the Directors for example.
2. Posting – Once a transaction is Posted, Ledger Entries are created and there will be a permanent record of in Aedon.  This is a vital part of the audit trail.
3. Payments – Once a Payment has been applied either through the Bank, or a Credit Note or Payment on Account, editing is restricted.
4. Reconciled – A Payment is further restricted if it has been Reconciled to the Bank Statement.
5. VAT – Once your return has been submitted to HMRC it cannot be changed (or at least not without a considerable fuss!). So, this also restricts the editing.
6. Deleted – Once a transaction has been deleted, no further changes can be made to it.

Removing the Editing Restrictions
The editing restrictions can be removed according to the table below. Refer to the relevant article on How to Remove the Restriction.  Once the restriction has been removed, make your changes.
 

Lock Date	Posting Status	Editing Status	Available for Editing	How to Remove the Restrictions
Before	Draft	Unrestricted	All fields. Cannot be Posted	Change the Lock Date
	Posted	All Statuses	Credit Control Fields1
After	Draft	Unrestricted	All fields. Can be deleted.	No restrictions.
	Posted	Limited	Credit Control Fields1 Non-VAT Fields2	Unpost the Purchase Invoice
		Payment Restricted		Unpost a Purchase Payment Unreconcile Matched to Payment Unallocate a Purchase Credit Note Unallocate a Purchase Payment on Account.
		VAT Restricted		Not possible: changes must be made via a new transaction.
No effect	Deleted	Locked	Nothing can be edited.	Cannot be changed.

 

No Entry Symbol Aedon displays a “No Entry” symbol if a field is locked, so you will quickly learn which ones can and cannot be changed.  If you need to change something that is locked, check the Editing Status, and then  “unwind” the relevant restrictions.

Purchase Invoice Editing Fields
 

1 Credit Control Fields Payment Method Due Date Promise Date On Hold On Hold Reason

2 Non-VAT Fields Nominal Code Analysis Codes

Make an Edit
You can always make an edit, but the fields that are available for Editing are determined by the Editing Status in the table above. If the field you wish to change is not available, remove the Editing Restriction according to the table.

Step-by-Step Process

1. Select the Transaction.
2. Make the changes.
3. Click Save.

Unposting
Unposting is only available when the Transaction Status is Limited. Refer to the table above on how to remove the Editing Restrictions.

Step-by-Step Process

1. Select the Transaction.
2. Click Unpost.

Deleting
Deleting is only available when the Transaction Status is Draft after the Invoice has been Unposted. Refer to the table above on how to remove the Editing Restrictions.

Step-by-Step Process

1. Select the Transaction.
2. Click Delete.