Invoiced & locked time

When a time entry is added to an invoice it locks. Editing or deleting it errors until you release it by cancelling or deleting the invoice.

Once time has been billed, Hoursmith protects it. An entry that's on an invoice is locked so your invoices and your timesheet can never drift apart.

What "locked" means

When an entry is added to an invoice, it becomes locked. From then on:

You can't edit it (project, task, date, duration, note, or billable status).
You can't delete it.
Trying either returns the error "Invoiced time entries are locked".

This keeps a sent invoice and the time behind it perfectly in sync.

Locking is automatic and applies to everyone, including Owners and Admins. It's not a permission — it's a safeguard on time that's already been billed.

To change a locked entry, you first have to take it off its invoice. Cancelling or deleting the invoice releases the entries back to your timesheet, where they become editable again and available to invoice once more.

Open the invoice

Find the invoice the entry is on and open it.

Cancel or delete it

Cancel the invoice, or delete it. Its time entries are released.

Edit the entry

Back on the timesheet, the entry is unlocked. Make your change, then re-invoice if you need to.

What happens next

Released entries return to your pool of billable, un-invoiced time, ready to be corrected and pulled into a new or rebuilt invoice.

Troubleshooting

"Invoiced time entries are locked". The entry is on an invoice. Cancel or delete that invoice to unlock it.
I cancelled the invoice but still can't edit. Make sure you're editing the released entry on the timesheet, and that it isn't on a different invoice as well.

Was this page helpful?