Bulk void approved invoices and bills, or delete drafts: a guide for Xero users

Xero can't void approved sales invoices in bulk: its help page says to void them individually, and its Product Ideas reply says bulk void isn't planned at this stage. What it does in bulk is delete drafts and awaiting approval documents, and void bills. This guide sets out where the line is, then shows how to void a whole batch of approved invoices and bills when the native tools stop.

Checked against Xero Central on 12 October 2026 (the delete-or-void invoice page again on 24 October) and Xero Product Ideas on 24 October 2026.

Delete or void: which one applies

Xero's rule follows the status of the document (Delete or void an invoice, Delete or void a bill):

• Draft or awaiting approval: you can delete it.
• Awaiting payment (approved): you can void it. Delete is not available.
• Paid: remove the payment first, then void it.

Voiding a bill could have tax implications, so Xero advises checking with your accountant or bookkeeper first.

The native way

Delete drafts and awaiting approval documents in bulk

1. In the Sales menu, select Invoices (or in the Purchases menu, select Bills).
2. Open the Draft or Awaiting Approval tab.
3. Tick the checkbox for each document and click Delete, then confirm.

Xero describes the same bulk delete for customer credit notes (Delete or void a customer's credit note) and supplier credit notes (Delete or void a supplier's credit note).

Void bills in bulk

Xero added bulk void for bills and credit notes in May 2024 (May 2024 product releases). This applies to eligible bills and supplier credit notes; it does not mean approved sales invoices can be voided in bulk. If your selection is unpaid bills only, try Xero's built-in option first:

1. In the Purchases menu, select Bills, then the Awaiting Payment tab.
2. Tick each bill you want to void and click Void.
3. Click "Continue to void [number] items".

Supplier credit notes can be voided the same way.

Void sales invoices: one at a time

1. In the Sales menu, select Invoices and open the invoice.
2. Click the menu icon, select Void, and click Void to confirm.

Xero's invoice article is blunt about it: you can't void awaiting payment invoices in bulk, you need to void them individually. Its article on customer credit notes also describes voiding one at a time. If you want a corrected draft rather than a void, see the guide to unapproving an invoice or bill.

Where the native way runs out

• No bulk void for approved sales invoices. That is the gap. Xero's reply to the bulk void request (255 votes, "Accepted"), Xero's reply of 28 November 2025 confirms that draft invoices can be deleted in bulk, says bulk void of approved invoices isn't planned at this stage, though it might be explored as a longer-term list view enhancement, and points technical users to the API.
• Paid documents are a manual job (voiding paid invoices). The payment must go first, and Xero's bill article says you can remove only one payment from one bill at a time. Payments deleted with Remove & Redo can't be restored; if you remove one in error you have to recreate it. The bank statement line stays, so you reconcile it again (Delete an invoice or bill payment).
• Voided numbers are used up. You can reuse the number of a deleted draft. To reuse the number of an approved invoice, change it before you void it (how).
• Voids are permanent. Voided invoices can't be reinstated or restored.
• Lock dates stop edits. Once a lock date is set, users can't add or edit transactions dated on or before it (Set up or remove lock dates). An administrator can remove a lock date temporarily, which is a decision about your books, not a shortcut.
• Delete is not an option for approved documents. If a document has been approved, sent or paid, void is the route. And if you have already sent an invoice and need to correct it, Xero recommends a credit note, so there is an audit trail for you and your customer.

The faster way: Unapprove

Unapprove is a web app that works with Xero. For this job it has two runs, built on the same safety checks as everything else it does.

Void-only run. Select a batch of approved sales invoices and bills, preview, confirm, and they are voided in batches of 50 per request. No copies are made. Documents are snapshotted and checked during the run before batching, then read back after voiding. Each voided document gets a history note.

Remove payments and void. For paid or part-paid documents, a separate run removes the payments and credit note allocations, then voids the document. You choose it and type the count to confirm. Reconciled and batch payments are never touched, and the run lists every payment it removed, with date, amount, account and reference.

What it does not do: delete. Unapprove has no delete run. Xero already deletes drafts and documents awaiting approval in bulk, as above, so use Xero for that.

Need a corrected draft or an attachment archive? The unapprove run creates a draft copy first, then voids the original and gives the draft the original number, where copying is supported. It does not reverse the original's approval. The attachment export downloads supported files as ZIP parts with a manifest, without changing your books.

How a run goes

1. Connect: you sign in at Xero and pick the organisation.
2. Filter approved invoices and bills by date, contact, number or reference.
3. Preview. Nothing is written. Documents that will be skipped are listed with the reason.
4. Type the confirmation, for example VOID 120. A CSV backup of the selection is offered on the preview first.
5. Watch it run. Download the results and the audit trail. If it stops halfway, resume from where it stopped.

Skipped, with a reason: documents with a payment applied or a credit note allocated, in the void-only run (why), documents inside a locked period (why), and documents for an archived contact, because Xero refuses to void those (why).

What access it asks for: your name and email to sign you in, read and write on invoices and bills, read and write on attachments, and read-only on organisation settings and contacts. The payments permission is requested only if you choose "Remove payments and void".

What it never does: see your Xero password, store your attachments, write anything before you confirm, or remove a reconciled or batch payment. It cannot undo a void, and nobody can.

Price: free for 14 days, with unlimited previews and three documents processed in total. After that, $29 per month per connected organisation, or a one-off $49 Clean-up Pass for 7 days and up to 500 documents. Prices are in US dollars and exclude VAT and sales tax (added at checkout); the pricing page has the details. Skipped documents don't count towards the total.

Connect and preview free See pricing

By connecting, you agree to the Terms of service and the Privacy policy.

Questions

Related guides

• Unapprove an invoice or bill, one or many: a guide for Xero users
  No unapprove button: the void, copy and re-attach routine, where it stops being practical, and running it on a whole batch.
• Download all attachments and receipts: a guide for Xero users
  The one-file-at-a-time routes, what they leave out, and how to get every attachment as dated ZIP folders.
• Bulk unapprove bills: a guide for Xero users
  No unapprove for bills: when to edit instead, the manual route back to draft, and running it on a whole selection.
• Export all receipts and attachments before you cancel: a guide for Xero users
  The notice period, what the exports leave out, a checklist, and how to get every file out with an index.
• Year-end clean-up checklist for duplicate and misposted invoices: a guide for Xero users
  Find duplicates and misposted lines before the lock date, then void or redo a large batch.
• Void paid invoices in bulk: a guide for Xero users
  Remove the payment, then void: the manual steps, what to check first, and doing it for a batch.
• Undo a bad CSV import of invoices: a guide for Xero users
  No undo button: delete the drafts, void or unapprove the approved ones, and what happens to the numbers.
• Write off many invoices and bad debts at once: a guide for Xero users
  The credit-note method, its tax and lock-date catches, and clearing a whole selection with an undo.
• Send invoices and bills from awaiting approval back to draft: a guide for Xero users
  What Xero offers for documents stuck in awaiting approval, and sending a batch back to draft.
• Invoice number already exists? Reuse the number of a voided invoice: a guide for Xero users
  Find which invoice holds the number, why a voided number stays used, the rename-first order, and keeping numbers across a batch.
• Should you void an invoice or issue a credit note? A guide for Xero users
  Edit, void or credit: what Xero says for each case, and what can be done in bulk.
• Repeating invoices approved or sent by mistake: a guide for Xero users
  Fix the template first, then clear what it created, and why a sent email cannot be recalled.
• Duplicate invoices after a Shopify, Amazon, A2X or Link My Books sync: a guide for Xero users
  Why sales syncs post twice, removing the copies by hand, and voiding a whole batch of approved ones.
• Invoices posted twice after a migration or conversion: a guide for Xero users
  Conversion balances, open invoices that came across twice, and clearing the extra copies.
• Duplicate bills from Dext, Hubdoc or the bills inbox: a guide for Xero users
  Xero's duplicate bill review, where it stops with paid bills, and clearing a large batch.
• An app sent invoices or bills in as approved instead of draft: a guide for Xero users
  Change the app setting first, then take what it approved back to draft with the same numbers.
• Delete all invoices, or start over: a guide for Xero users
  No reset button: delete the drafts, void the approved ones, or start a new organisation.
• Move invoices entered in the wrong organisation: a guide for Xero users
  Export from one organisation, import into the other, carry the files across, void the originals.
• Wrong tax rate on approved invoices and bills: a guide for Xero users
  Edit, find and recode, credit note or return adjustment for a wrong VAT or GST rate, and redoing a batch as drafts.
• Wrong contact on an approved invoice or bill: a guide for Xero users
  What can be edited after approval or payment, what to do when Edit is blocked, and redoing a batch as drafts.
• Void an invoice that has a credit note allocated: a guide for Xero users
  Why the void is blocked, taking the allocation off by hand, what to do with the credit note, and doing it for a batch.
• POS daily sales posted twice: a guide for Xero users
  What Square, Lightspeed, Zettle, Epos Now and SumUp say they post, how a day goes in twice, and how to void the copies.
• Redo a migration whose open invoices and bills landed as approved: a guide for Xero users
  Why migrated documents arrive approved, what the conversion balances need, the manual redo, and redoing a batch with the same numbers.
• Export receipts and supporting documents for an audit: a guide for Xero users
  What Xero exports for an auditor, what it leaves out, and pulling every attached file for a period with a manifest.
• Move bills back to draft, whatever their status: a guide for Xero users
  Awaiting approval, approved or paid: which way back to draft applies, what Xero offers, and moving a batch.
• Pricing · Support