How do I edit an invoice has the wrong customer listed and payment already applied?

Resolving this concern is easy peasy, @lxsgreen.

You can simply edit the invoice and change the mistakenly selected customer to the correct one. This won't affect the invoice and payment transactions since you'll only change the customer. Here's how to do it:

1. Find and open the invoice transaction.
2. In the Invoice window, simply change the customer to the correct one.
3. Click Save and close.

Just in case you apply this payment to the wrong invoice, you can check out this article to learn how to fix it: How to fix a payment applied to the wrong customer invoice.

Please keep in touch if there's anything else I can do to help you succeed with QuickBooks. I've got your back. Have a great day!

Mark,

Thank you for your response.

So when I change the customer and click save I get the message below. 

If I select yes the invoice moves to the correct customer but the payment stays listed under the wrong customers account and the status is "unapplied". How do I move that payment to the correct customer account so it can then be applied to the invoice?  

Happy to see you back, @lxsgreen.

You can apply it to another customer by unlinking the payment. Once done, change the name of the customer. Then, link the Invoice to the correct one.

Base on the screenshot you've shared, click the Yes button. Once done, apply the payment to the correct customer.

I've added this article to know more about the process: Record invoice payments in QuickBooks Online.

 You may consider checking this reference for your future task when you're ready to assess your business financials: Reconcile an account in QuickBooks Online.

I'll be here if you have other questions. Don't hesitate to let me know in the comment section. Have a good one.

Thank you for your response. I'm so sorry, I feel like this should be so simple but I can't seem to fix it as easily as the instructions make it. So I'm going to layout step by step what I am doing and seeing and you tell me where I am going wrong. 

Step 1: Edit Invoice - Change customer name on invoice to the correct customer

Step 2: Message pops up - The transaction you are editing is linked to others. Are you sure you want to modify? I Select Yes

Step 3:  I verify invoice is now showing under the correct customer

Step 4: I go back to the wrong customers account and the payment looks like this:

Step 5: When I select the payment to edit it and change the customer name I receive the following message:

Step 6: I select yes

Step 7: Then a screen appears with the amount received zero'd out:

Step 8: I'm not sure what to do from here and I'm scared i will make a mess of this, so I just exit out without saving the changes. Which then keeps the payment where it is at under the wrong customer.

I can see the invoice that needs to be credited. It's the first line item on the zero'd out screen. When I check the box for that line it applies the the amount in the "Amount to Credit" area as $-38,229.24 and the amount to apply area stays at $0.00. I don't want to select save and close because I don't want to mess this up further. Suggestions?

Thank you!

I can't thank you enough! This response helped to solve the issue. The invoice and payment are now showing in the correct customer account!

Thank you!

As soon as i start to change the name of the costumer, my transaction goes to 0.  My problem is that i invoiced the costumer instead of invoicing my actual project. Can i add the invoice to my project? 

Greetings, @Chantal787. 

It's great to see a new face on this thread. Let's work together to help you add an existing invoice to a project within your QuickBooks Online account. 

If the invoice is unpaid, review the steps below to add the invoice to the project: 

1. Go to Get paid & pay and select Invoices.
2. Find and select the unpaid invoice.
3. Select Edit invoice.
4. Select the Customer dropdown. Then select the project.
5. Select Save.

For further details, check out this guide: Add existing invoices to QuickBooks Online Projects. 

I hope this helps and does the trick for your business. I'm only a reply away if you need me. Take care! 

Good morning

I have tried that many times and my invoice goes to zero every time. Could it be because the invoice is linked to an estimate? 

Hey again, @Chantal787. 

I appreciate you coming back with additional information about your problem. 

To clarify, is there a payment linked to this specific invoice that you're trying to add to a project? If so, this could be the reason this is occurring in your QuickBooks Online account. 

In this article, it states that, "When you add a paid invoice to your project, the invoice disconnects from attached payment and then invoice status changes to unpaid. After you edit the invoice, you'll need to avoid accidentally charging your customer twice. "

I'll be waiting for your response. I'll be back around shortly! 

Thank you for your quick reply. No payment is linked to this invoice, just an estimate. When i try to change the client, it puts my invoice at zero right away and all my descriptions and prices disappear. 

Thanks for providing some updates about this concern, Chantal.

I'm joining this thread to share additional insights about this automation in QuickBooks.

If you're editing an existing invoice that is linked to an estimate, it is a default action of the system to remove the details. This is after you select a different customer name and click the prompt that says "This will remove any link transactions".  This signals the system that you want to start with a clean slate for the a new client.

This doesn't happen to invoices that were created without an estimate, as all the details are retained when the name is changed.

So, in order for you to correct this, you can delete the incorrect entries and create an estimate or invoice with the correct name on it. Also, you can use the projects feature to create invoices and keep track of your jobs.

See the following links to get started with projects in QBO:

• Set up and create projects in QuickBooks Online
• Add existing invoices to QuickBooks Online Projects
• How to set up and use projects in QuickBooks Online Tutorial

Please visit us anytime if you have other questions or concerns with sales and projects. I'll be right here to help you further.

Thank you, it was done quickly and a mistake slipped in. We'll wait for payment then adjust

Thank you for your help

I'm still trying to figure this out.  So I have an invoice linked to an estimate.  The only way to change the customer on the invoice withouot losing everything is to create a new estimate and new invoice with the correct customer?

Thank you for reaching out to the Community, pbel. 

Yes, you're correct. Creating a new estimate and new invoice is the best option to change the customer on your invoice. Once you change the customer in your invoice, the estimate that is linked to the previous customer will be unlinked.

I'll add this article for more information on who to customize your sales forms in QBO:  Customize invoices, estimates, and sales receipts in QuickBooks Online

After you process a payment from a customer, you can refer to our article in recording invoice payments in QBO to mark it as paid.

Don't hesitate to comment if you have more concerns about managing your sales forms. I'm always here to lend a hand.

If we delete the invoice that has already been sent out to the customer and is awaiting payment, we will have to create a new invoice number and that will confuse everything, creating a higher chance of error. 

Is there any way to change the default option to delete everything in an invoice when the customer is changed? I changed the estimate to the project customer and had no issues. 

Thanks for joining us here in the thread. Let me give insights about changing the customer to a sent invoice.

Yes, once you delete an invoice, it will make all the items on that invoice show up as not billed, causing confusion and clutter in your books. In your case, I suggest not deleting the sent invoice and wait for the payment. Once paid, you can fix the applied payment to the wrong invoice in QBO. You can create a journal entry and apply the payment to the correct invoice. Follow the steps below to proceed:

Make a Journal entry
Create a journal entry, and on the first line, enter the following:

• Account: Accounts Receivable (A/R)
• Debits: payment amount to transfer
• Name: name of the customer you’re transferring payment from

For the second line:

• Account: Accounts Receivable (A/R)
• Credits: payment amount to transfer
• Name: name of the customer you’re transferring payment to

If done, click Save and Close.

After that, you can now apply the payment to the exact invoice

1. Select + New.
2. Select Receive payment.
3. Select the name of the customer.
4. In the Credits section, note that the journal entry number and open balance amount are listed and checked.
5. Select Save and Close.

On the other hand, you may also see this link as a help when you need to void or have a refund to your customer payments in QBO: Void or refund customer payments in QuickBooks Online.

If you have follow-up questions about modifying an invoice when changing the customer to a sent invoice, let me know by leaving a comment below. I'm here to help you again. Keep safe!