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TroubleshootingReviewed 2026-09-29

Voucher cannot be posted: unbalanced, missing lines, retired ledgers or bill allocations that do not match

Save and post or Post is greyed out, the draft saves but posting fails, or the form refuses a line: the balance, line, ledger, voucher-type and bill-allocation rules a voucher must meet before it reaches the ledger.

Messages this explains

  • “Debits and credits must be equal to post”
  • “Debits and credits must be equal”
  • “Debits <x> and credits <y> must be equal and above zero”
  • “Unbalanced”
  • “Draft saved, but posting failed: <reason>”
  • “A voucher needs at least one debit and one credit line.”
  • “Only a Draft voucher can be posted (this one is <status>)”
  • “Account <code> <name> is retired”
  • “That voucher type is inactive.”
  • “These books have no active voucher type. Add one under Books → Voucher types.”
  • “Choose a voucher type”
  • “Pick a ledger”
  • “Add at least one line”
  • “Pick the bill to settle”
  • “Bill allocations must add up to the line amount (<x> of <y> allocated)”
  • “Only bill-wise ledgers take bill allocations”
  • “Line <n> (<code>) is bill-wise: allocations <x> must equal the line amount <y>”
  • “Line <n> (<code>) is not bill-wise; remove its allocations”
  • “Bill <no> has <x> outstanding, allocation is <y>”
  • “Bill <no> already exists on ledger <code>”
  • “That fiscal year is closed.”
  • “Period <n> of <FY> is locked”

Voucher cannot be posted: unbalanced, missing lines, retired ledgers or bill allocations that do not match

What you see

On New voucher and Edit voucher:

  • Save and post greyed out, with "Debits and credits must be equal to post" on hover. The totals row shows "Difference <amount> more debit" (or "more credit") instead of the green Balanced badge.
  • A red alert "These books have no active voucher type. Add one under Books → Voucher types."
  • Under a field: "Choose a voucher type", "Pick a ledger", "Add at least one line", "Pick the bill to settle", "Bill allocations must add up to the line amount (<x> of <y> allocated)" or "Only bill-wise ledgers take bill allocations".
  • A banner when you save: "That voucher type is inactive.", "Account <code> <name> is retired" (a line names a ledger that has since been retired) or "An Against Ref allocation needs the bill it settles."
  • After Save and post, the toast "Draft saved, but posting failed: <reason>" and the page moves to the saved draft. The reason is one of the posting refusals below.

On the voucher page:

  • A red Unbalanced badge on a draft, and Post greyed out with "Debits and credits must be equal" on hover. The Vouchers list shows the same "Unbalanced" note under the amount.
  • When Post is refused:
    • "Debits <x> and credits <y> must be equal and above zero"
    • "A voucher needs at least one debit and one credit line."
    • "Only a Draft voucher can be posted (this one is <status>)"
    • "Account <code> <name> is retired"
    • "Line <n> (<code>) is bill-wise: allocations <x> must equal the line amount <y>"
    • "Line <n> (<code>) is not bill-wise; remove its allocations"
    • "Bill <no> has <x> outstanding, allocation is <y>"
    • "Bill <no> already exists on ledger <code>"
    • "That fiscal year is closed." or "Period <n> of <FY> is locked"

Why it happens

A draft can hold anything while you work on it; posting is the moment it becomes part of the ledger, so every rule of double entry is checked then:

  • Balance. Total debits must equal total credits and be above zero. Money in ₹ is compared to the paisa, so a rounding difference of ₹0.01 counts.
  • Two sides. At least one debit line and one credit line; a voucher with a single line cannot balance.
  • Draft only. Only a Draft can be posted. A Posted voucher is already in the ledger, a Cancelled draft never reaches it, and a Reversed voucher stays as it is; see Voucher cannot be reversed, edited, cancelled or deleted.
  • Live ledgers and voucher types. Every line must name a ledger of these books that is still active; a ledger retired after the draft was saved blocks the post until the line is changed. The voucher type must be active whenever the draft is saved, and the books need at least one active type before a voucher can even be started.
  • Bill-wise ledgers. A ledger marked bill-wise tracks each bill separately. On such a line the allocations must add up exactly to the line amount, and each allocation is either New Ref (opens a bill; the bill number must not already exist on that ledger), Against Ref (settles an existing bill, so it must name one, and cannot settle more than the bill's outstanding on the opposite side), Advance or On Account. A ledger that is not bill-wise takes no allocations at all. The Outstanding bills report shows what is open on each bill.
  • Open period. The voucher date must fall in an open fiscal year and an unlocked period; locked periods are managed on Fiscal years.
  • Inactive books refuse every post; see "These books are inactive".

Posting needs the Post permission on Vouchers; without it the Save and post and Post buttons are not shown at all, and you can only save drafts (the Create or Edit permission on Vouchers).

How to fix it

  1. Unbalanced. Look at the Difference shown under the lines. Press Add line: the new line is preset with the opposite side and the exact difference, so filling in the ledger is usually enough. Or correct the amount that was mistyped.
  2. Fewer than two lines. Add the missing debit or credit line.
  3. Not a draft. Open the voucher: if it is already Posted, nothing more is needed; if you need the entry changed, post a reversal and a fresh voucher.
  4. Retired ledger. Press Edit on the draft and pick an active ledger for the line, or ask for the ledger to be reactivated under Ledgers (the Edit permission on Chart of Accounts).
  5. Voucher type inactive or none active. On the books' Voucher types tab reactivate the type or add one (the Edit permission on Books). The type of an existing draft cannot be changed ("Fixed for an existing draft."), so if the type is to stay inactive, cancel the draft and enter it again under an active type.
  6. Bill allocations. On the bill-wise line, make the allocations add up to the line amount: pick the bill for every Against Ref row, keep each allocation within the bill's outstanding, give a New Ref a bill number that is not already on that ledger (or leave it blank to use the voucher number), and remove allocations from lines whose ledger is not bill-wise.
  7. Closed year or locked period. Change the voucher date to an open period, or ask someone with the Edit permission on Books to unlock the period on Fiscal years; a closed year is reopened only through the year-end dialog (see Fiscal year cannot be closed or reopened).
  8. Press Post on the voucher page (toast "Posted as <number>.") or Save and post on the form (toast "Voucher <number> posted."). Either way the voucher receives its number from the type's series.

Related

  • New voucherScreen

    Enter a manual voucher (receipt, payment, journal, contra, sales, purchase, credit note or debit note) with its lines and bill allocations, and save it as a draft or post it straight away.

  • Edit voucher draftScreen

    Change a draft voucher's details, lines and bill allocations before it is posted, then save it or post it.

  • VoucherScreen

    One voucher with its lines and bill allocations, its reversal links, its history, and the actions to post, reverse, cancel or delete it.

  • Voucher typesScreen

    The voucher numbering series of a set of books, one per kind of voucher: add a series, or change its prefix, suffix, digits and whether it restarts each fiscal year.

  • VouchersScreen

    Every voucher in the chosen set of books (drafts, posted, reversed and cancelled), with filters and the menu to start a new voucher.

  • Outstanding billsScreen

    The bills on bill-wise ledgers of the chosen books: what each bill was for, how much has been settled, what is still outstanding and how overdue it is.

  • LedgersScreen

    Every ledger of the chosen set of books, as a grouped tree or a flat list, with the actions to add ledgers and party ledgers, edit or retire them, and open a ledger's report.

  • Fiscal yearsScreen

    The fiscal years of a set of books with their 12 monthly periods: lock or unlock a month, open the next year, and close or reopen a year at year end.

  • "These books are inactive": nothing posts until the books are reactivatedTroubleshooting

    Posting a voucher, issuing a demand, recording a payment, starting a run or cancelling a booking is refused because the promoter's books are inactive; what is blocked and how to reactivate them.

  • Fiscal year cannot be closed or reopened: next year missing, drafts pending, or years out of orderTroubleshooting

    The Close year dialog stays blocked or the close and reopen actions are refused: the next year must be open, no drafts may remain, years close and reopen in order, and the books need a Journal voucher type and the Profit & Loss ledger.

  • Voucher cannot be reversed, edited, cancelled or deleted: posted vouchers only reverseTroubleshooting

    Edit, Cancel draft and Delete disappear once a voucher is posted, Reverse is refused or the reversal date is rejected: a posted voucher is never changed, only mirrored by a reversal dated on or after it.