Sometimes an invoice needs to come off the books. LessonLoop gives you two tools, and they are not the same thing: Void cancels an invoice that should never have existed, and Mark as uncollectible (a write-off) records money that was genuinely owed but you’ll never collect. Both are finance-only and both ask for a reason, so your history always explains itself.
Both live on the invoice itself: open it from Billing & Finance → Invoices, then use the ”…” menu.
Void — “this invoice shouldn’t exist”
Use Void for an error: a duplicate, a wrong family, an invoice raised by mistake.
- It’s only available on an unpaid invoice. If any payment has been taken, refund it first, or write the invoice off instead.
- Voiding is permanent — there’s no un-void — and the family can no longer pay it.
- A voided invoice drops off Outstanding straight away.
Mark as uncollectible — “owed, but we’ll never collect it”
Use a write-off when the charge was legitimate but the money won’t come in — a family moved away, a debt you’ve decided to stop chasing.
- It works on a fully unpaid or part-paid invoice — LessonLoop writes off the remaining balance.
- Behind the scenes it issues an offsetting credit note for that balance, so the amount clears from Outstanding and the family’s balance nets to zero.
- The original invoice stays on the record (with its payment history intact) — a write-off documents the loss rather than hiding it, which is what keeps your accounts honest.
Which one? If the invoice was a mistake, Void it. If it was real but won't be paid, Mark as uncollectible. The quick test: would your accountant expect to see this on the books? A mistake shouldn't be there at all (void); a bad debt should be recorded as a loss (write-off).
What your families see
Neither action emails the family. A voided invoice simply can’t be paid any more; a written-off invoice and its credit note sit in your records. If you took a card payment and want to return money, that’s a refund — separate from voiding or writing off.
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