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Author: Joel Kristenson
Last Updated: 2015-05-15
Overview
This article explains how to first delete a payment for an invoice, and then how to delete the entire invoice. This would normally take place if there was an error in the data entry of the initial invoice or payment record. Primarily the financial tools are used by our political customers since most nonprofits usually use QuickBooks to track their expenditures.
Tip: Trail Blazer doesn’t allow you to delete an invoice until you first delete the payments that are attached to it. If the data you’re manipulating falls under a previous reporting period (federal PACS/campaigns only) you’ll likely need to file an amended report. And you’ll need to record the deletion of a payment/invoice as a *return* vs. just purging it, which is covered at the end of this article.
Steps
There are a few ways you can accomplish this task, for this article I go through the shortest amount of steps possible.
Navigate to your Invoices list.
From here you can quickly see details about your current invoices in the grid such as date created, invoice amount, open balance, and if it’s been paid off or not. (My example screenshot below).
Search for the invoice you need to delete. In this example I used Invoice ID #794, and found it by searching by date range. This invoice was previously paid off.
Open the invoice record by clicking on the Invoice ID hyperlink.
Under the Payments tab click on the Payment ID to open the payment record. In this example I clicked on Payment ID 816.
Click the red [x] at the top to delete the payment record.
IMPORTANT! You’ll be prompted with a warning message that states if the payment was previously reported you’ll want to record the transaction as a returned check along with a deduction vs. just deleting the payment and invoice records.
Click [OK] to proceed.
After clicking [OK] you’ll be returned to the invoice record, and the payment will be gone as shown in this screenshot:
Once *all* payments are removed from the invoice record you can click the red [x] at the top to purge the invoice.
You’ll be prompted with a warning, click [OK] to finish.
This completes the steps to purge your payments, and invoice records. Continue reading to learn how to record a payment as having been refunded which is typically how you should record this transaction if you’re working on a political campaign.
Open the invoice record (in my example #791), and this time click on the Refunds tab.
Click [+ New], fill out the refund form, and Save and Close. My example below was for the full amount of the invoice. If you’re a federal campaign make sure you put in a description, as well as the Refund Use type as Federal.
Once you’re finished with this step, you’ll need to enter a Deduction for the same amount as the refund so that the transaction properly reflects on your FEC report.
Navigate to the Deductions tab, and click [+ New].
Fill out the form, and click Save and Close.
The majority of the time the deduction amount would equal the refund amount, but there are of course certain exceptions to this scenario.
You’re now finished with these steps.
Tip: To get a quick overview on the invoice you can view the full details under the Summary tab:
Back in the list view the Amount will display as zero if a refund/deduction has been recorded:
Related Resources
Articles: FEC Reporting
Article: How to Enter a New Payee
Video: Enter Invoice and Make Immediate Payment
Video: Enter an Expenditure Refund
Video: Quick Reports and Export
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