How to reverse a journal entry

What is it for?

A posted journal entry cannot be deleted. To undo its effect, Odoo creates a reversal: a journal entry with the same accounts and the same amounts, with debit and credit swapped. The original and the reversal are linked to each other, and the reason is written in the reversal's reference and in the history of both.

When to use it?

• A manual journal entry was posted with the wrong account, amount or date. Reverse it and then make the right journal entry.
• A month-end estimate has to be removed at the start of the following month, when the real invoice arrives (this is the example in this article).
• A journal entry was posted twice.
• Do not use reversal for invoices, credit notes or receipts: an invoice is corrected with a credit note or cancelled, to keep the numbering and the signature.

Where to find it?

Open the journal entry in Accounting › Record › Journal entries and click Actions › Reverse Entry.

In the Journal entries list you can also tick the journal entry on the left and choose Actions › Reverse Entry.

Before you start

• Your profile is Accountant.
• The journal entry is Posted and has not been reversed yet.
• Decide the reversal date. It must be the same as or later than the original's date: the reversal enters the reports of the month of its date. The window proposes today's date and accepts a date earlier than the original's without warning (see “Common problems”).

How to use it

1. Open the journal entry you want to reverse, in the example MISC/2026/00110 (“Eletricidade de setembro por faturar”, €150.00 on 30/09/2026, made in How to make a manual journal entry), and click Actions › Reverse Entry. The Reverse Entry window opens.
2. In Reason, choose the reason from the list. For a manual journal entry, the ones that fit are Cancellation of the operation (duplicated journal entry or one with no reason to exist) and Other (describe). The others (Return of goods, Price error, Quantity or item error, Discount or rebate granted) are those for credit notes.
3. If you chose Other (describe), write why in Describe the reason, up to 50 characters, for example Estorno da estimativa de eletricidade de setembro. The counter below shows how many characters you used (in the example, 49/50).
4. Check the Journal (by default, the original journal entry's) and type the Reversal date: in the example, the first day of the following month, 01/10/2026.
5. Click Reverse. The reversal journal entry opens.

Expected result

• With a Reversal date of today or earlier, the reversal is Posted straight away, with a number: in the example MISC/2026/00111, dated 01/10/2026.
• The reversal has the same lines as the original with the sides swapped: in the example, €150.00 credit on 6241 Eletricidade and debit on 2722 Credores por acréscimos de gastos. September keeps the estimate and October starts with the reversal, waiting for the real invoice.
• The reversal's reference is, on today's screen, “NC de MISC/2026/00110: Estorno da estimativa de eletricidade de setembro”. The “NC de” does not mean a credit note was issued: it is just the text Odoo puts on all reversals of manual journal entries.
• On the reversal, Original entry opens the reversed journal entry. On the original, the history records “Reversed by MISC/2026/00111 (…). Reason: …”, and Actions no longer shows Reverse Entry.

Important notes

• Reversal date in the future. If you type a date later than today, the reversal stays in Draft, with the banner “This move is configured to be posted automatically at the accounting date: …”. Odoo has a daily job that posts these drafts when the date arrives (in the demonstration it is active, once a day). Until then the reversal does not count in the reports. Pending validation on screen: posting on the date cannot be seen in the demonstration, because the calendar does not move forward; the daily job that does it was confirmed active.
• A journal entry can only be reversed once. To correct a wrong reversal, first reverse the reversal; only then can the original be reversed again.
• Back to draft. The same Actions menu shows Back to draft. In the demonstration, a posted manual journal entry went back to draft without asking for a reason and kept its number, and this option is still in the menu of a journal entry that has already been reversed. A reversal leaves the error and the correction visible, with the reason; when in doubt about which to use, decide with the certified accountant. Pending validation by a certified accountant: when it is acceptable to set a posted journal entry back to draft instead of reversing it.
• Invoices and receipts are not reversed here: see How to issue a credit note and How to cancel an invoice.

Common problems

“already has a reversal and cannot be reversed again”

• Symptom: Invalid Operation window with “The entry MISC/2026/00110 (Eletricidade de setembro por faturar) already has a reversal and cannot be reversed again. Why: A second reversal would cancel the first and leave the accounts wrong. How to fix it: To correct the journal entry, first reverse the reversal (the original can then be reversed again) or record a new journal entry with the right amounts.”
• Cause: the journal entry has already been reversed. From the journal entry form the option no longer appears; from the list it still does, and Odoo refuses.
• What to do: open the original and look in the history for the line “Reversed by …”, which gives the reversal number. If the reversal is correct, there is nothing to do. If it is wrong, reverse the reversal and repeat.

The reversal got a date earlier than the original's

• Cause: the window proposes today's date and accepts any date, even one earlier than the original's. The reversal then cancels, in that month, an amount that did not exist yet.
• What to do: reverse the reversal (with its same date) and reverse the original again with the right date. Check the trial balance of both months.

The reversal stayed in Draft

• Cause: the Reversal date is later than today.
• What to do: nothing, if the date is right: the daily job posts it on that date (see “Important notes”).