Common How-Tos

Quick solutions to frequently asked questions from QOBooks clients.

Interface Overview

1. How to record a sale for a past date?

Question: I missed recording a sale yesterday. Can I record it today with yesterday's date? Solution:

1. Open the Sales > Invoices form.
2. In the Date field, click the calendar and select the past date.
3. Fill in the items and Post as usual.
4. Cons/Effects: While it's safe to do this, it will affect your historical reports and inventory history. Ensure the stock was actually available on that past date to avoid negative inventory calculations.

2. How to fix a mistake on a posted Bill?

Question: I entered the wrong price for an item on a bill that I've already posted. How do I fix it? Solution:

1. Go to Purchases > Bills and open the specific Bill.
2. Click "Void Bill" from the "More" menu to reverse the accounting and stock impact.
3. Click "Clone" on the voided bill to create a fresh draft with all the same items.
4. Correct the price on the new draft and Post it.

3. How to move stock between my shop and warehouse?

Question: I just received items at my warehouse, and I need to send 50 pieces to my retail shop. Solution:

1. Go to Inventory > Transfers.
2. Click Add Transfer.
3. Set Source to "Main Warehouse" and Destination to "Retail Shop".
4. Add the items and click Save & Post.

4. How to handle a customer return?

Question: A customer brought back an item they purchased last week. Solution:

1. Go to Sales > Credit Notes.
2. Link the original Invoice (optional but recommended).
3. Select the item being returned.
4. Effect: This puts the item back into your inventory and reduces the customer's debt.

5. Sales Receipts Return

To process a return against a sales receipt in QOBooks, use Credit Notes — that's the correct document for reversals:

1. Go to Sales → Credit Notes
2. Click New Credit Note
3. In the form, link it to the original Receipt (or Invoice) you're reversing
4. Add the returned items/amounts
5. Save — this creates a credited balance against the customer

If you want to refund cash directly, you'd then:

• Apply the credit note against an open invoice, or
• Record a cash refund via a Payment record linked to the credit note

6. How do I edit a Posted Transaction (Adding/Removing Items)?

Question: If a transaction is posted, how does editing work when modifying items or quantities? Solution: When you edit an active receipt or invoice to change items or quantities, Qotrack uses a robust "Reverse & Replace" mechanism behind the scenes to maintain strict accounting and stock integrity:

1. Reversal Phase: The system first identifies all the old line items. It automatically adds the old stock back to inventory and completely reverses/deletes the old accounting journal entries associated with that sale.
2. Re-creation Phase: It then processes your newly submitted cart as if it were a fresh transaction. It accurately deducts the new stock quantities and generates entirely new, accurate accounting journals.
3. Result: All of this happens instantly under the exact same Transaction ID. You do not need to manually calculate differences; the system perfectly aligns the physical stock and the financial ledger to match your new edit.

7. How are Write-Offs and Stock Adjustments accounted for?

Question: Are write-offs accounted for physically and financially? Solution: Yes, write-offs are fully accounted for. They are managed through the Stock Adjustments module (Inventory > Adjustments):

• Physical Stock Impact: When you write off an item (e.g., due to damage, expiration, or inventory variance), the system immediately reduces the physical quantity in the item's branch stock.
• Financial Accounting Impact: The system calculates the exact value of the written-off stock based on its original Cost of Goods (COGS) at the time of the adjustment. It then automatically generates a journal entry that Credits (reduces) your Inventory Asset account and Debits (increases) an Expense account (like "Inventory Shrinkage" or "Write-Offs"). This ensures your Balance Sheet and Profit & Loss statements remain perfectly balanced in real time.

8. How to fix a structural typo on a Posted Transaction without Voiding?

Question: If I entered the wrong Customer or Branch on a posted and locked invoice, how do I fix it without voiding? Solution: In strict accounting compliance, once a transaction is locked, core financial anchors (like the Customer) are sealed to maintain an immutable audit trail. However, you have options:

1. The Accounting Route (Manual Journals): If you accidentally selected "Customer A" instead of "Customer B", you can go to Finance > Manual Journals and create a simple entry to move the Accounts Receivable balance from Customer A to Customer B. This fixes your ledgers perfectly without having to touch, edit, or void the original invoice.
2. The "Clone & Void" Fast Path: While you may want to avoid voiding, the fastest and most compliant way to fix a structural typo is actually to Void the incorrect transaction, and then immediately click the Clone button. Cloning duplicates the entire transaction exactly as it was, allowing you to just change the Customer dropdown to the correct person and hit submit. This takes seconds, prevents human error from re-entering large item lists manually, and keeps your audit trail flawlessly compliant.

9. How do I delete an item linked to transactions?

Question: When attempting to permanently delete an item, I see the error: "Cannot permanently delete this item because it is linked to X transaction(s). Use soft-delete (archive) instead." How do I resolve this, and what are my options?

Why this happens: To preserve financial ledger and double-entry accounting integrity, Qotrack prevents hard-deleting item records that are referenced by historical sales receipts, customer invoices, supplier bills, stock transfers, or stock adjustments. Erasing an item row from the database would break foreign keys, corrupt transaction line items, cause historical financial statements to fall out of balance, and ruin audit trails.

Solutions & Workarounds:

Workaround 1: Use "Soft-Delete (Archive)" — Recommended Standard Practice

If your goal is simply to remove the product from daily operations and free up its name, SKU, or barcode:

1. Click the item's action menu (⋮) and choose Delete.
2. When the dialog appears, select Soft-Delete (Archive) instead of "Permanent Deletion".
3. What happens:
   • The item immediately disappears from your items list, POS cashier search, invoices, and purchase forms.
   • The system cleanly releases the original item name, SKU, and barcode, making them immediately available for reuse without duplicate conflicts.
   • You can immediately create or import a brand-new item using the same name or codes.
   • Your historical sales records, P&L reports, and audit logs remain completely intact and balanced.

Workaround 2: Delete or Void the Linked Transaction(s) First — Clean In-App Permanent Deletion

If you specifically need to permanently erase the item from the database (for example, if it was created during testing):

1. Go to Inventory > Items and click on the item to open its Details View.
2. Open the History or Transactions tab. Here, you will see the exact transaction(s) linked to this item (e.g. a Stock Adjustment, Sales Receipt, Invoice, or Bill).
3. Navigate to that corresponding module (e.g. Inventory > Adjustments or Sales > Receipts).
4. Locate and Void or Delete that transaction (or remove the specific line item containing this product).
5. Once all linked transactions are removed and the transaction count drops to 0, return to Inventory > Items.
6. Click Delete and choose Permanent Deletion. The system will now permanently delete the item without any errors.

[!TIP] Can't find an answer? If your issue isn't covered here, check the Troubleshooting page or contact our support team directly.