Accounting 101: Part 6

Mistakes happen — a check gets lost in the mail, a duplicate entry sneaks in, a deposit gets recorded twice. When that happens, don’t delete the transaction. Void it instead.

Why not just delete it?

Deleting erases the record entirely — no trace it ever happened. Voiding keeps the original entry visible, but adds a second entry that reverses it. Anyone looking at the ledger later can see exactly what happened and why the numbers changed, instead of wondering why a check number is just missing.

Example: a lost check

You wrote a $50 check to Costco for Event Expenses, and it was never cashed — it’s lost. The original entry:

Voiding it posts the reversal:

Checking goes back up, Event Expenses goes back down — net effect, zero. But both entries stay in the ledger, so the history is intact. You can write a new check afterward if the expense still needs to happen.

Next: Reconciling Your Accounts