Invoice status workflow
Every contractor invoice moves through draft, issued, and paid, with void as a clean cancellation, so you always know exactly where a payment stands.
Updated July 18, 2026A contractor invoice has a small, clear set of states, and knowing what each one means tells you at a glance what is owed, what is settled, and what still needs doing. The list filters on these statuses so you can, for example, pull up everything issued but not yet paid.
Draft
A draft is a working invoice. It has been assembled from the contractor's hours but not yet formalized, so this is the one stage where you can change it, edit a line, add a custom line, or remove one. Nothing about a draft is committed, which is exactly why editing lives here. When it is right, you issue it.
Issued
Issuing turns the draft into a formal record. The invoice gets a number, an issue date, and a due date based on the terms you chose. At this point its lines lock, an issued invoice is a document you have effectively sent, so it should not quietly change underneath. If an issued invoice reaches its due date without being paid, InstructorHUB flags it as overdue so it does not slip.
Paid
When you have paid the contractor, you mark the invoice paid and record how it was settled, the method is required, for example bank transfer, direct deposit, cash, or check, and you can add a reference such as a transaction number. This closes the invoice and leaves a clean record of when and how the money went out.
Void
Void is a clean cancellation for an invoice that should not have been raised, or that needs to be redone. A draft or an issued invoice can be voided, and it keeps its number and dates so the cancellation is on the record rather than erased. A paid invoice cannot be voided, once money has changed hands the correction is a credit note in your accounts, not a deletion here.
Correcting after issue
Because lines lock at issue, the way to fix an issued invoice is to void it and raise a fresh one rather than edit in place. It sounds stricter than it is, it means an issued invoice always matches what the contractor received, and every change leaves a trail. For building an invoice in the first place, see Create an invoice from hours.