---
title: Void a sale
summary: Cancel a sale or order that is not paid yet, take one item off a check already sent, or reverse a payment while the sale is open.
id: void-a-sale
type: how-to
audience:
  - cashier
  - manager
areas:
  - refunds
since: "2.0"
updatedAt: 2026-11-07T15:47:58.638Z
release: 2.5.0
url: https://help.omviq.com/refunds/void-a-sale/
markdown: https://help.omviq.com/refunds/void-a-sale.md
related:
  - refund-or-return-items
  - check-voids-refunds-and-cashier-activity
  - hold-and-resume-a-sale
  - split-a-payment-and-add-a-tip
  - sign-in-and-start-selling
keywords:
  - void
  - cancel order
  - void item
  - void order
  - manager approval
  - reason
  - void payment
  - cancel sale
lang: en
---

# Void a sale

A void cancels something before it is paid. Once a sale is paid, you refund it instead. This page shows which void to use, how to do it, and what a manager has to approve.

## Void or refund?

An unpaid order is voided: it is cancelled before any money changes hands. A paid sale is refunded: the money is returned. The terminal offers **Refund** only on a paid transaction, and **Void Order** only on an unpaid one. To give money back on a paid sale, see [Refund or return items](https://help.omviq.com/refunds/refund-or-return-items/).

## Before you start

- **A void of an item or an order asks for a reason**, so there is a record of why. Clearing a cart you are still ringing and voiding a payment ask only for confirmation.
- **A manager usually approves a void of an item or an order.** A **Manager Approval Required** dialog appears and the manager enters their PIN, or uses their badge. The void is recorded under both of you. See [Sign in and start selling](https://help.omviq.com/getting-started/sign-in-and-start-selling/) for what the approval dialog's messages mean.
- **Your role decides what you can do.** By default a Manager can void orders. A Cashier cannot. A Supervisor cannot void orders either.
- **Voiding one item** follows the **Void Line Item** permission, which reads "Void a single order line item without manager approval".

| If your role | Voiding an item on a sent check |
|---|---|
| Holds **Void Line Item** (Manager and Admin by default) | Your store's void limit decides. A void above the limit asks for a manager. A small one goes through. |
| Does not hold it (Cashier, Supervisor and the other stock roles by default, or any role set to **Deny**) | A manager is asked for every item void, however small, even if the store switched its void limit off. |

Either way the void control is offered. Nothing is voided without the approval it needs. To let a role void items on its own within the store's limit, an admin sets **Void Line Item** to **Allow** under the role's **Orders** row, in **Advanced**. A change to a role can take up to a minute to reach every till.

## Which void do you need?

| You want to | Use |
|---|---|
| Cancel a sale you are still ringing, with nothing sent or paid | **Clear Cart** |
| Remove a payment you took by mistake, while the sale is still open | **Void** on that payment |
| Take one item off a check that was already sent to the kitchen | **Void Item** |
| Cancel a whole unpaid order that was sent to the kitchen | **Void Order** |
| Cancel a sale that already has money on it and cannot be finished | **Cancel** at its checkout, or a manager's void from the **Suspended** hub |

## Cancel a sale you are still ringing

On the terminal, use **Clear Cart**. Omviq asks you to confirm. The items are removed, the sale is recorded as voided and the terminal returns to **Ready**, the idle state. If you only want to set the sale aside for later, see [Hold and resume a sale](https://help.omviq.com/selling/hold-and-resume-a-sale/).

## Void a payment while the sale is open

1. At the checkout, find the payment line.
2. Tap **Void** next to it. A confirmation dialog appears.
3. Confirm. The payment is reversed, shown struck through with a **Voided** badge, and the amount due goes back up.
4. Take the correct payment.

**Void All** reverses every payment taken so far. This only works while the sale is still taking payments. Once it is fully paid, its payments are locked and you refund instead. See [Split a payment and add a tip](https://help.omviq.com/payments/split-a-payment-and-add-a-tip/).

## Void an item on a sent check

1. Open the order.
2. Select the item.
3. Tap **Void Item**.
4. Enter a reason.
5. If your role needs a manager for this void (see the table above), a manager approves with a PIN or a badge.

The item is removed from the kitchen's preparation and its cost comes off the order total. The kitchen gets a cancellation ticket for it, printed under a VOID heading.

While a void is being decided, the check waits. Sending more items to the kitchen, and taking payment on that check, are held until the void is settled. That way a voided item can never be charged by mistake.

- If the manager **declines**, nothing was voided and the check is exactly as it was. The same is true if you decline the "void the whole order?" question when you remove the last item. Carry on straight away.
- If Omviq says **Could not confirm whether … was voided — do not void it again**, the connection dropped while the void was being applied. Do not repeat it. The check stays held. Reload the page to see the order as it really is.

## Void a whole unpaid order

You can void a whole order only after you recall it. A read-only preview does not offer it.

1. Open **Orders**, tap the sent order and tap **Recall**.
2. Tap **Void Order**.
3. Enter a reason. It is required.
4. A manager approves, with a PIN or a badge.

The order is voided, the kitchen tickets are cancelled where that applies, and the cart returns to a new sale. A voided order stays in the system for the audit trail. It becomes read-only and does not count toward sales totals. A paid order cannot be voided. Refund it instead.

If someone voids the check at another terminal while you still have it open, your terminal lets it go as soon as it finds out. It tells you, for example *Check #12 was voided, so this till let it go and started a new sale.* It then shows a fresh, empty sale.

Voided orders use up a number, so gaps in order numbers are normal after voids.

## A sale that already has money on it

If a sale has a payment on it and you cannot finish it:

- At its checkout, **Cancel** voids the sale and reverses the payments taken. It does not ask a second time. Use **Suspend** if you only want to put the sale down. **Back** after a payment has been taken also cancels the sale and reverses the payment.
- A manager can void a suspended sale that has a payment from the **Suspended** hub. It needs a reason and manager authorization, and it reverses the payments through the audited void. A parked sale with no payment is simply discarded. A sale left under **Payment in progress** is voided by resuming it and cancelling it at its own checkout. See [Hold and resume a sale](https://help.omviq.com/selling/hold-and-resume-a-sale/).

## What a void leaves behind

Every void is recorded with who voided it and when, and with who approved it and why wherever an approval or a reason was asked for. Managers can see voids in the Void Report, the **Voids & Refunds** tile and the Exception Log. See [Check voids, refunds and cashier activity](https://help.omviq.com/reports/check-voids-refunds-and-cashier-activity/).

## If something goes wrong

| What you see | What to do |
|---|---|
| **Void Order** is not offered | The order is a fresh sale or is already paid. **Void Order** appears only on a recalled, unpaid order that was sent. A paid order is refunded, not voided. |
| An item will not void | Your role may not allow it. A manager has to approve it. |
| You cannot void a payment | The sale has already completed. Process a refund instead. |
| **Manager approval required** on every action | You may have been given the wrong role. Ask an admin to check your role. |
| The approval says it was not used in time | Tap **Re-approve** and have the manager enter their PIN again. |
| **Could not confirm whether … was voided — do not void it again** | Do not void it again. Reload the page and check the order. |

## Related pages

- [Refund or return items](https://help.omviq.com/refunds/refund-or-return-items/)
- [Check voids, refunds and cashier activity](https://help.omviq.com/reports/check-voids-refunds-and-cashier-activity/)
- [Hold and resume a sale](https://help.omviq.com/selling/hold-and-resume-a-sale/)
- [Split a payment and add a tip](https://help.omviq.com/payments/split-a-payment-and-add-a-tip/)