This invoice voids another invoice and cannot be voided" in Sage 50
Sage 50 refuses to void an invoice because that invoice is itself the voiding entry for another invoice.
You are trying to void an invoice, and Sage 50 stops you with:
This invoice voids another invoice and cannot be voided.
In plain terms, the invoice you have selected is not a normal invoice. It is a voiding entry: a transaction Sage 50 created to cancel out an earlier invoice. Because it exists only to reverse that earlier document, Sage 50 will not let you void it in turn. Doing so would leave the original invoice active again, with no record of why it was cancelled.
Why Sage 50 works this way?
When you void an invoice in Sage 50, the software does not simply delete it. Depending on how your file is set up and whether the invoice has been posted or paid, Sage 50 may create a reversing entry instead. That reversing entry is linked to the original invoice. The link is what the message is protecting.
If you could void the reversing entry, the accounting would become contradictory: the original invoice would appear both cancelled and outstanding. Sage 50 blocks that rather than let the books drift.
How do you undo the original void?
The clean route is to reverse the whole sequence, not just half of it. If the void was a mistake and the original invoice should stand, you generally need to remove both the reversing entry and the void itself, restoring the original invoice. How you do this depends on the file, the posting period, and whether payments or deposits are attached.
Check the original invoice first. Open it and see whether it now shows as voided. If it does, the pair of transactions is consistent, and the message is simply Sage 50 telling you to work from the original invoice rather than from the reversing entry.
What if the period is closed?
A common trap is timing. The original invoice sits in a closed fiscal period, so the voiding entry landed in a later one. You cannot delete either transaction without reopening the period, and many firms are unwilling to do that after reporting is done. In that situation the practical fix is usually a manual adjusting entry in the current period, leaving the linked pair untouched. Your accountant should decide the amounts.
When the link itself is wrong?
Occasionally customers report this message on an invoice that should never have been linked to anything. That points to damaged transaction links inside the data file. If voiding behaves strangely across several invoices, or the original invoice shows inconsistent status, the file itself may need attention. Our engineers see this pattern in Sage 50 (Peachtree and Simply Accounting) databases after interrupted posting or failed updates, and we repair it directly through our Sage 50 database repair service.
A useful next step
Before anything else, make a fresh backup of your company file. Then look at the original invoice this voiding entry points to. If the two documents tell a consistent story, adjust in the current period and move on. If they contradict each other, or the message appears on invoices that have no voiding history at all, send us the file for a free evaluation. We will tell you what is wrong and what a repair involves, with no obligation.