# Invoice statuses: what they mean and what you can do Source: https://lucanto.eu/guides/invoice-statuses Published: 2026-09-13 Updated: 2026-09-14 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. 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. **Image:** An invoice with four badge segments (Sent, Partially paid, a bank-matched icon and a padlock) and the panel open, where Cancel and Reopen are greyed out with their reason and Issue credit note remains. ## 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_. **Image:** A draft invoice: no number, a Draft badge, Issue as the primary action, and a panel whose only next step is Issue, which assigns a number from the number series. **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. **Image:** An issued invoice with its number and an Issued · Due badge, panel open: Mark as sent, a greyed-out Cancel with its reason, Lock, and Issue 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. **Image:** An overdue invoice with a red Overdue · 12 days segment and a panel where Cancel is greyed out with its reason, leaving Lock and Issue credit note. **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." **Image:** A paid and locked invoice: Sent and Paid segments, a bank icon and a padlock, an empty primary slot, and a panel where only Issue credit note remains. **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_. **Image:** A reopened invoice with an amber Issued · editing segment, Re-issue as the primary action, and a panel offering Re-issue and Lock. ## 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. **Image:** The open status panel: a timeline of Created, Issued and Marked as sent at the top, and the next steps below with a greyed-out Cancel. ## 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](/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 **Image:** The open "…" menu with two groups: Distribution with four download and send entries, Document actions with clone, add payment and create recurring document, and a separated red Delete.