Before using a QuickBooks receivables export for forecasting, separate active open invoices from voided records, deleted records, and any replacement invoices. A voided invoice remains as a zero-value record for history, while a deleted transaction is removed from the books and must be traced through the audit log. Neither should contribute expected cash.
Intuit's void-or-delete guidance distinguishes the two actions and recommends voiding when retaining a transaction record matters. Intuit's audit-log guidance explains how deleted invoices and other changes can be located in the activity history. The finance team should use those records to validate the source population, not to recreate accounting entries inside a forecast.
Start from the current open population
Run a dated invoice-level report with customer, invoice number, transaction date, due date, original amount, open amount, and status. Exclude zero-balance voids from expected receipts. Deleted invoices should not appear in the current open export, but their absence may need explanation when a prior forecast contained the row.
Preserve the prior export before generating a new one. This creates a reviewable difference between the former and current populations rather than a silent disappearance.
Use a four-way status test
Classify each changed invoice as:
- **Active open invoice:** supported open balance remains eligible for forecast review.
- **Voided invoice:** record retained at zero; expected cash must be zero.
- **Deleted invoice:** no current transaction; require audit-log context when it existed in a prior snapshot.
- **Replacement invoice:** new identifier or amount replaces the old record; link the relationship and forecast only the current supported balance.
Do not add the old and replacement invoices together. Do not keep the old collection assumption attached to a zeroed or deleted row.
Review the change evidence
For every material removal or replacement, retain the old invoice identifier, current identifier if any, action date, actor or approved owner, reason category, prior open amount, current open amount, and source reference. The reason can stay concise: duplicate, incorrect customer, incorrect amount, canceled billing, or another documented internal category.
The forecast does not determine whether voiding or deletion was the correct accounting choice. If the source change is unsupported, escalate it to the finance owner or accountant and mark the forecast row blocked until the books are resolved.
Reconcile downstream controls
After the source is corrected:
- rerun the open-invoice report for the same scope;
- reconcile the report total to the AR control balance;
- compare the new and prior invoice populations;
- confirm replacement rows are not double counted;
- update expected weeks only for active open balances;
- preserve the change record with the forecast snapshot.
The QuickBooks AR reconciliation guide covers the control-total check. The report-date checklist keeps the before-and-after snapshots comparable.
Decision rule
Forecast from the current, reconciled open receivables population. A voided invoice contributes no expected receipt. A deleted invoice requires traceability when it disappears from a prior forecast. A replacement invoice enters once, under its current identifier and supported open amount.
AR Pulse works from an authorized QuickBooks receivables export and does not change the books or request accounting credentials. A finance owner can view the example report after the source population passes the void, delete, and replacement review.