Understanding invoice locking rules

Timether locks time entries after they are added to an active invoice.

This helps protect your billing records and prevents accidental changes that could create mismatches between tracked time and invoice totals.

Why time entries become locked

When a time entry is added to an invoice, it becomes part of a billing record.

If that time entry was changed later, the invoice amount, project details, or billing history could become incorrect.

For example, changing a time entry after invoicing could affect:

• The total duration billed

• The project connected to the work

• The hourly rate

• The billable amount

• The invoice subtotal or total

• Reports connected to invoiced work

To prevent these issues, Timether locks time entries that are connected to active invoices.

The core locking rule

Any time entry associated with an active invoice cannot be edited, moved to another project, or deleted.

This applies to invoices with these statuses:

• Draft

• Sent

• Paid

As long as the invoice is active, the time entries attached to it stay locked.

What you cannot do with a locked time entry

When a time entry is locked by an invoice, you cannot:

• Edit the description

• Change the duration

• Change the date or time

• Move it to another project

• Change its billable status

• Change its rate

• Delete the entry

This keeps the invoice and the tracked time consistent.

Draft invoices also lock time entries

Even if an invoice is still in Draft status, the time entries included in that invoice are locked.

This is because the invoice is already using those entries to calculate its totals.

If the entries were edited while the draft exists, the invoice could become inaccurate or inconsistent.

Sent and paid invoices

Time entries connected to Sent or Paid invoices are also locked.

A sent invoice may already have been shared with a client, and a paid invoice has already been settled.

For this reason, Timether protects the original billed time from being changed after the invoice has moved forward in the billing process.

How to unlock time entries

To edit a locked time entry, it must first be released from the invoice.

There are two main ways this can happen:

1. Delete the invoice, if it is still a draft.

2. Change the invoice status to Void.

Once the time entry is no longer attached to an active invoice, it is released back to the uninvoiced pool.

After that, the time entry can be edited, moved, or deleted again.

Deleting a draft invoice

If the invoice is still in Draft status and was created by mistake, you may be able to delete it.

Deleting the draft removes the invoice record and releases the attached time entries.

Those entries can then return to the uninvoiced pool and become available for editing or future invoicing.

Voiding an invoice

If an invoice has already been sent, paid, or should no longer be used, you can change it to Void.

Voiding cancels the invoice and releases the locked time entries.

Once voided, the entries can be corrected and included in a new invoice if needed.

Use void when an invoice needs to be cancelled, replaced, or recreated with corrected details.

What happens after entries are released

After locked entries are released from a deleted draft or voided invoice, they return to the uninvoiced pool.

This means they can be:

• Edited

• Moved to another project

• Deleted

• Included in a new invoice

This gives you a safe way to correct mistakes while still protecting active billing records.

Why this matters

Invoice locking helps keep your records reliable.

It prevents invoicing mismatches, billing disputes, and data discrepancies between tracked work and client-facing invoices.

If you need to make changes, first release the time entries by deleting the draft invoice or voiding the active invoice. Then make the required corrections and generate a new invoice if needed.