How to delete a transaction in MYOB

Check that deleting is allowed. MYOB's conditions are that your security preferences and your user role permit it, the transaction isn't dated in a locked period, and it falls in the current financial year. A blue zoom arrow next to a transaction means it can be changed or deleted. A shaded one means it can't, for example because of the security preference, because it's from a closed financial year, or because it's part of a processed Prepare Electronic Payment or a Prepare Bank Deposit transaction.

Then clear anything tied to it. A sale or purchase with a payment applied needs that payment deleted first, along with any discount given. A credit note applied to a sale, or a supplier debit applied to a purchase, also has to be deleted before the sale or purchase can be. A customer receipt that went into a bank deposit from the undeposited funds account can only be deleted once that bank deposit has been deleted.

In a browser, MYOB's help says a matched or categorised transaction has to be unmatched, or its categorisation undone, before it can be deleted. How you then delete it depends on the type, with separate help for invoices, bills, customer and supplier payments, spend money, receive money, general journals and imported bank statements.

1. If transactions in your file can only be reversed, go to the Setup menu, choose Preferences, open the Security tab and deselect Transactions CAN'T be Changed; They Must be reversed.
2. Find the transaction and display it in its original transaction window. For a general journal, open the Transaction Journal window, select the General tab and set the filters to find it.
3. If it's a sale or purchase with a payment applied, click History, click the zoom arrow for the payment, and choose Delete Payment from the Edit menu. Then go back to the sale or purchase.
4. Go to the Edit menu and choose the delete option for that transaction, such as Delete Sale. Right-clicking in the transaction window offers the same option.
5. If only a Reverse option appears, the security preference from step 1 is still selected, so change it and try again.

The transaction is permanently removed from your records, along with any payment you deleted to clear the way. A reconciled transaction leaves a gap: once it's deleted, the bank reconciliation is out of balance. MYOB's order is to undo the bank reconciliation, delete the entry, then reconcile the account again.

Deleting a bank deposit sends every cash receipt in it back to the Prepare Bank Deposit window, where you can then delete the receipt you need.

If you'd rather keep the original in your records, reversing is the alternative. A file set so transactions can't be changed has to reverse a transaction to cancel its effect on your accounts. MYOB suggests considering that setting if you want a strict audit trail, and notes a new company file starts with it off.

If the Delete option is greyed out, your user role doesn't have permission to delete transactions, so ask your administrator to add it. If the Preferences option is greyed out, your role can't set preferences either, and the same fix applies.

A purchase that would leave negative stock on hand can't be deleted. MYOB's answer is to do an inventory adjustment first. For a transaction in a locked period, unlock the period before deleting; one from a closed financial year can't be deleted.

Transactions that arrive through a bank feed are a separate case. MYOB's help doesn't give steps for deleting them and asks you to get in touch with MYOB to discuss what can be done.