Lucanto

Invoice statuses: what they mean and what you can do

An invoice status in Lucanto lives in the badge beside the invoice number and carries two independent facts: where the document stands (draft, issued, sent) and how it is paid (due, paid, overdue). Clicking the badge opens a panel with the full history and the next steps — including the ones that are currently refused, each with its reason.

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The status of an invoice sits in the badge to the right of its number, and it is the densest piece of information on the screen. It carries two independent facts, and one click unfolds the document's whole history. This guide walks through what each segment means and what you can do with the invoice in that state. The same applies to every other document — advance invoices, credit notes, quotes — only the set of statuses that make sense differs.

One badge, two independent facts

An invoice carries two statuses that have nothing to do with each other:

  • Document status — where it is in its life: draft, issued, sent, canceled.
  • Payment status — how it is settled: due, partially paid, paid, overdue.

An invoice can perfectly well be issued and overdue, or sent and partially paid. That is why they sit side by side as separate segments — one combined status would have to drop one of the facts.

Two smaller segments can join them: an arrows icon when the bank matched the payment, and a padlock when the document is locked.

Four segments at once — and the panel shows what such an invoice can and cannot do.

The six statuses you will actually see

Draft. The document has no number yet — the number field is empty and reads "The number is assigned when you issue it". Numbers are assigned at issue, so drafts never occupy a slot in the number series and never leave gaps. The primary action is Issue.

Draft — no number yet, and issuing is the only step available.

Issued. The document has a number and legally exists. The primary action becomes Send by email, and "Mark as sent" leaves the header altogether: it is a status change, so it belongs in the panel on the left.

Issued — sending is the primary action; the panel also offers locking and a credit note.

Sent. The customer has it. The payment segment joins in; when only part of the amount has arrived you will see Partially paid, and Add payment becomes the primary action.

Overdue. The payment segment turns red and carries the number of days, not just a colour. Colour alone is not information — it says nothing to someone who does not distinguish it, or to anyone looking at a printed list.

Overdue — the badge carries the day count and the panel still offers next steps.

Paid and locked. Once the payment arrives the content freezes and a padlock joins the badge. The primary slot stays empty — there is nothing left to issue or send — and Follow-up document, the route to a credit note, takes on its look. Save stays enabled on purpose: the document's own fields are frozen, but the internal note can still be edited. Hover it and it explains itself: "This document is locked; correct it with a credit note."

Paid and locked — the panel leaves one way forward: a credit note.

Reopened. The status does not fall back to draft. The segment stays single and turns amber, reading "Issued · editing" — the number, and the fact that the customer received the document, cannot be taken back, so we do not pretend otherwise. The primary action is Re-issue.

Reopened — one amber segment, and the panel's way back to issued.

The panel: what happened and what can happen next

Clicking the badge opens a panel in two halves.

At the top, what happened — the document's timeline: when it was created, issued, sent, when the payment arrived, when it locked. Every step carries a date and the person who did it. When automation did the step — recurring invoicing, or a bank match — that is named instead.

Below, what can happen next — the available steps, each with one line stating exactly what it does. "Mark as sent", for instance, warns up front that it does not send the email itself.

The panel behind the badge — history above, next steps below.

Why an action is greyed out

This is the reason the panel exists. An action that is not possible in the current status does not disappear — it stays in the list, greyed out, with its reason.

The most common case is in the screenshot above: a VAT payer cannot void an issued invoice; it has to be corrected with a credit note. The panel says so right next to the greyed-out Cancel, not in a help page nobody opens. Before, such an action simply was not there, and you could not tell whether you were looking in the wrong place or it genuinely was not allowed.

What stayed in the "…" menu

With every status change moved into the panel, the "…" menu got shorter. What remains are the things that do not change the status, in two groups:

  • Distribution — Download, Download ISDOC, Download ISDOC.PDF, Send by email
  • Document actions — Clone, Add payment, Create recurring document
  • Delete — set apart at the bottom, because it cannot be undone
The "…" menu — nothing in it changes the document status.

Frequently asked questions

Why does an invoice carry two statuses at once?

Because they answer two separate questions. "Issued" says where the document is in its life — it has a number and legally exists. "Due" or "Overdue" is about money. An invoice can be issued and unpaid, sent and partially paid, or paid and locked. A single combined status would have to throw one of those facts away.

What does the arrows icon next to the payment status mean?

That the bank matched the payment, not a person. It is the difference between "I marked this as paid" and "the money actually arrived" — and in a dispute or an audit, that is the fact that counts. No icon means someone entered the payment by hand.

Why is an action greyed out in the panel?

Because it is not possible in the current status, and the panel says why right there. A VAT payer, for example, cannot void an issued invoice; it has to be corrected with a credit note. Previously such an action simply disappeared, and you could not tell whether you were looking in the wrong place or it genuinely was not allowed.

What happens when I reopen an invoice?

The badge turns amber and reads "Issued · editing" — it is not a trip back to draft. The number and the fact that the customer already received the document cannot be taken back. The history shows when it was reopened and by whom, and the primary action becomes "Re-issue".

Where did Cancel and Lock go in the "…" menu?

They moved into the status panel, because they change the document status. The "…" menu kept what does not: downloading a PDF or ISDOC, sending by email, cloning, adding a payment and deleting.

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