After updating an invoice, how do I show, on the invoice, what changed?

bf4 · ‎January 29, 2019

I have an invoice that I created some months ago.

We found a problem in it.

We updated the invoice in quickbooks.

We delivered the invoice via quickbooks.

We were asked what changed from the last version of the invoice.

Quickbooks doesn't appear to have any sort of way of changing an invoice that is visible outside of the audit log. I find it hard to be that's true and am wondering if Quickbooks somewhere says not to update invoices that have been delivered, but to instead do something else.

In the meantime, here's what I've been doing:

1. Add a custom field: version

1. On invoice creation, set the version to 1 and save a copy of the quickbooks response

1. On invoice update, get the current version of the invoice from the API, bump the version, update the invoice in quickbooks, and compare the response fields for: balance, total amount, and the line items, and manually diff it, then tell the recipient in a separate communication what's changed.

Are we doing something wrong here? This is a lot of work for something that quickbooks should make a first-class concern: showing what changed. And we know quickbooks has internal versioning because we can see them in the audit log (via the private audit/getTxnAuditHistory API request).

Whatever the answer this deserves to be highlighted. I can't imagine we're the only company that has to update an invoice after it is delivered.

qbteachmt · ‎January 29, 2019

When you did this: "We updated the invoice in quickbooks."

You just changed your Financial History, your Sales, and if that is a tax year already reported, you just changed All of it. If that included changes to inventory items, you just affected inventory.

Here's what you should have done:

If the invoice is Paid and done, you make a Credit Memo (return/refund) dated now for what was Wrong. Your refund that, or are going to use it to apply to the New Invoice dated now for what was overlooked. If the invoice was not paid at all, a credit memo dated Now would be used to reverse everything on the invoice and you apply them to each other. Then, the New invoice dated now is, "Let's start from the beginning, and correctly."

Or the original invoice is not paid in full, and you list on a credit memo dated Now, what was wrong, to reverse those and end with a Value that is you Apply to the rest of the unpaid value.

In other words, what you want to be able to show the customer is the Credit Memo you should have made, how it affects the previous invoice is from the perspective of Value applied if that previous invoice was not already paid, if they get a Refund, and/or if there is a New Invoice to get your sale to them on track, all dated Now.

Not editing historic transactions.

Run your reporting to see what you affected. You can put it all back how it was, then make that credit memo and take the proper action moving forward, dated Now.

View solution in original post

Anonymous · ‎January 29, 2019

Hello, bf4.

Any changes made in your invoices would only show in your QuickBooks’s Audit log (Gear icon> Audit log). In the audit log window, the invoices you’ve changed would be tagged as Edited under the EVENT column. You can click the View link under History and select Compare at the upper right corner to view what information has been changed. In this page, you’ll also know the original invoice details prior from editing it.

Moreover, you can share your preferred way of tracking this information with our developers through feedback. Just click the Gear icon at the top and select Feedback.

Keep posting your questions every time you have further concerns about QuickBooks.

qbteachmt · ‎January 29, 2019

When you did this: "We updated the invoice in quickbooks."

You just changed your Financial History, your Sales, and if that is a tax year already reported, you just changed All of it. If that included changes to inventory items, you just affected inventory.

Here's what you should have done:

If the invoice is Paid and done, you make a Credit Memo (return/refund) dated now for what was Wrong. Your refund that, or are going to use it to apply to the New Invoice dated now for what was overlooked. If the invoice was not paid at all, a credit memo dated Now would be used to reverse everything on the invoice and you apply them to each other. Then, the New invoice dated now is, "Let's start from the beginning, and correctly."

Or the original invoice is not paid in full, and you list on a credit memo dated Now, what was wrong, to reverse those and end with a Value that is you Apply to the rest of the unpaid value.

In other words, what you want to be able to show the customer is the Credit Memo you should have made, how it affects the previous invoice is from the perspective of Value applied if that previous invoice was not already paid, if they get a Refund, and/or if there is a New Invoice to get your sale to them on track, all dated Now.

Not editing historic transactions.

Run your reporting to see what you affected. You can put it all back how it was, then make that credit memo and take the proper action moving forward, dated Now.

bf4 · ‎January 29, 2019

Hi MikiD

I wrote:
> Quickbooks doesn't appear to have any sort of way of changing an invoice that is visible outside of the audit log.

You wrote:

> Any changes made in your invoices would only show in your QuickBooks’s Audit log

So, I'm a little frustrated here. I'm a developer so sometimes I wonder if I'm not communicating clearly. I *thought* I asked 'how do show the invoice recipient something because obviously I cannot send them to the audit log?' and I feel like I got a response 'Did you know about the audit log?'. I would have accepted "Here's how to use the audit log from the API to get what you want", but it's not a public API so obviously I don't expect that response. Or even "here's how to enable 'show changes' on the customer-view of the invoice page". Or even "here's how to add a whole bunch of free text to an invoice that is specific to that invoice".

Could you help me by pointing out where I was unclear that I was asking how to communicate to the Invoice *customer* what changed and *not* asking if there was a way for the the *company* (me) to see what changed? I'd much appreciate the feedback.

I asked:

> Are we doing something wrong here?

You wrote:

> Moreover, you can share your preferred way of tracking this information with our developers through feedback. Just click the Gear icon at the top and selectFeedback.

So, what you're saying is

1. This is an unsolved problem that hasn't even been documented anywhere; I'm not doing anything wrong.

1. This question doesn't count as a request for help and my description of what we do won't be seen by developers

1. This is an interesting request, and seems like a *new* idea (hard to believe), and the developers haven't considered someone would be interested in see what changed even on an invoice page

1. I should have perhaps opened a ticket or shared feedback instead of posting in the community? Or that in any case, the ball is back in my court.

Sorry, kind of annoyed by all the work I'm having to do here around what I'd think is a key part of the service.

Because there's no free text field big enough for us to add our own diff, we're thinking of adding a text attachment to the invoice with description of the changes on it. But first I need to investigate how attachments might be versioned.

It's my opinion that invoice changes should have the option of 1. being displayed to the customer 2. have a 'change reason' associated.

bf4 · ‎January 29, 2019

This looks useful. Thanks for taking the time to share. I'll investigate this.

Rose-A · ‎January 29, 2019

Glad to have you here, bf4.

I appreciate you taking the time to post here in the Community. Allow me to share a little more information about updating an invoice in QuickBooks Online.

Thank you for taking the time to let us know about the difficulties you have been experiencing with our product recently. I want you to know that your feedback will give us the chance to resolve any problems that may occur and assist us in making our services better.

I'll be sure to submit feedback on your behalf. This will notify the Product Development Team that the option for new emails in even more detail would be beneficial to running your business.

We aren't able to tell when a feature will be available. We share recent happenings and future developments on our blog. Through this, you're able to get the latest news about QBO and what our Product Care Team is working on.

For further assistance with QuickBooks, you can call our dedicated team who will be happy to assist you. Our contact details can be found here along with our opening hours:

Go to: https://help.quickbooks.intuit.com/en_US/contact.
Choose your QuickBooks Product.
Select your QuickBooks version.
On the Contact Us page, click a topic.
Click on the Get Phone Number button to see the support number.

Fill me in if you need anything else. I'll be more than willing to lend you a hand.

Malcolm Ziman · ‎January 29, 2019

@bf4 wrote:

I have an invoice that I created some months ago.

We found a problem in it.

We updated the invoice in quickbooks.

We delivered the invoice via quickbooks.

We were asked what changed from the last version of the invoice.

Quickbooks doesn't appear to have any sort of way of changing an invoice that is visible outside of the audit log. I find it hard to be that's true and am wondering if Quickbooks somewhere says not to update invoices that have been delivered, but to instead do something else.

Once issued an invoice should not be changed. This is an accounting system, not an invoice evolution tracker

Hi3301 · ‎June 19, 2020

These instructions don't exists anymore. There is no contact page. Thus I can't get to the phone number.

Thanks for selling us short. Quickbooks online has no phone support

ZackE · ‎June 19, 2020

Thanks for joining the Community, Hi3301. You've come to the right place.

I'd be more than happy to help, that's what I'm here for. To verify my understanding, what do you need assistance with inside of your books?

At the same time, I can see you're requesting to get in touch with our phone support. There's actually a way callbacks can be requested inside QuickBooks Online. I'll guide you through how it's done:
1. Use the ? Help icon located in the top right corner. A QB Assistant chat window will display, offering assistance.
2. In the Here are some ways to get started. section, choose Talk to a human.
3. The automated system will respond, providing you with two options. Pick Talk to a human.
4. Next, you'll be asked about what you need help with. Enter the appropriate response.
5. Support articles will be displayed relating to the information you provided. Ignore these and hit the I still need a human option.
6. An "OK. Here’s a shortcut to connect with my humans." message will be displayed. Click Contact us.
7. The chat will forward you to a new page. Scroll down to the Choose a way to connect with us area and find where it says We'll call you. Press the Get a call button.
8. You'll be asked to enter your First name, Last name, Email address, and Phone in the available fields. Fill in the requested information.
9. Select Confirm my call.

Once you've put in a callback request, you'll see a confirmation page and be provided with an estimated time frame for you to receive the requested call. You can close your chat window at this point.

I've also included an animated image which shows the steps above in action:

Here's a link to the support article database page, which has a lot of helpful resources you may find useful: QuickBooks Online Help Articles

Please feel welcome to respond in this thread if you have any other questions or would rather get assistance here in the Community. Have a great weekend!

DerkDiggler · ‎March 23, 2021

I've been using this online QB program for a few days from the desktop version 2018 which our files go all the way back to 2004. i have to say this program has something seriously wrong with it. there are so many issues that outweigh any benefits it has. There is little to no support. Questions are unanswered. Customizations and basic features that are on the desktop are missing or changed. I have to say dont know who developed this program but why would you change everything from the desktop version? this program actually SUCKS. i believe we will be changing back to desktop

liz3 · ‎March 08, 2023

Has this been resolved? Would also like to know how changes I (seller) made to the invoice (usually unpaid) can be easily seen/ highlighted by the customer. Example, I often add tracking a day or 2 after invoicing.

Thanks,

JaeAnnC · ‎March 08, 2023

Thanks for joining in on this discussion, liz3.

Let me share the details about updating your invoices in QuickBooks Online (QBO).

When you edit an invoice, your customers won't notice any changes. However, you can notify them about the updated one when you email the invoice again.

When sending an updated invoice, you'll be prompted with this message:

Moreover, you'll have to record the payments in QBO if your customer pays an invoice. This way, it ensures your accounts are balanced and accurate.

Keep in touch if you have further clarifications about managing your invoices. We're always here to assist you further. Keep safe!

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After updating an invoice, how do I show, on the invoice, what changed?