How to correct a document's certification details

What is it for?

On a certified document already issued, only one certification detail can be corrected: the ATCUD, and only to the value the document's series and number dictate. The Correct certification details window is used to fill in a missing ATCUD or repair a wrong one, with a reason that stays in the audit log for ever.

The signature and the series never change. A document already communicated to the AT cannot be corrected: it is cancelled and issued again.

When to use it?

• The ATCUD of an issued invoice is missing or does not match the series validation code and the number.
• Do not use it for the customer's name, tax number (NIF) or address: the invoice itself has the Correct the customer data button, which issues a credit note and prepares a new draft invoice (the credit note is a VAT adjustment, with a date and proof; Pending validation by a certified accountant: the VAT adjustment for this correction). See also I cannot change an invoice already issued.
• Do not use it on training documents or others for which no ATCUD is due: the product refuses (see “Common problems”).
• Do not use it for an error in amounts or products: issue a credit note.

Where to find it?

Open the document in Billing › Invoice › Customer invoices and, in the Actions menu, choose Correct certification details.

Before you start

• Your profile is Fiscal administration (the system Administrator also works). With Fiscal officer, Accountant or Billing, the option does not appear in Actions. To correct a contact's address or a product's sales description there is Accounting › Configure › Other settings › Security and audit › Audited correction of records, also only for these profiles; for others it shows “No access: You do not have access to “Audited correction of records”. Who does this: Fiscal administration, Administrator.”
• The document is posted and has not yet been communicated to the AT.
• You can state the reason in one sentence and, if you have one, attach a proof.

How to use it

1. Open the invoice and click Actions › Correct certification details.
2. Read the window's warning (“Only the ATCUD can be corrected, and only to the value its series and number dictate. A document already communicated to the AT is cancelled and reissued instead…”). The Field to correct is ATCUD and the Current value is what is on the invoice.
3. Check New value: the product already fills it in with the ATCUD due, which is the series validation code, a hyphen and the document's number in the series (in the demo, DEMOFT2026-33 for FT D26/33). Only the reason is missing. If you type another value, the product refuses it (see “Common problems”).
4. In Reason, explain what was wrong, in at least 10 characters. If you have one, attach a proof in Evidence.
5. Click Fix. The ATCUD is corrected, and the reason and the old and new values are kept in the audit log and in the document's chatter.

Pending on-screen validation: successful completion (step 5). The demo only has documents with the right ATCUD and creating a wrong one would require changing the database; so only the refusals, below, were tested.

If the document has already been communicated to the AT, the window shows the reason under Locks and has no Fix button (see “Common problems”).

Release a stopped series

The Field to correct field has a second option, Release a series stopped by the integrity check. When the integrity check finds a series' signature chain broken, the series stops: no document can be issued in it (the other series keep working). Releasing it is an operation on the integrity of the signature chain.

Only after the situation has been dealt with

The screen warns: “Release it only after the situation has been dealt with (backup restored or situation explained to the Tax Authority). If the chain is still broken, the next integrity check stops the series again.” The release and its reason are recorded for ever in the audit log. Only Fiscal administration (and the Administrator) can do it, with a reason of at least 10 characters. Pending validation by a certified accountant: when a stopped series may be released and what to tell the AT.

• Where: open the series in Accounting › Configure › Certified invoicing › Fiscal series. A stopped series has the Release after integrity check button on its form, which opens this same window with the release option and the series already chosen. If you open the window from an invoice and choose the release without choosing the series, the product refuses: “Choose the series stopped by the integrity check that you want to release.”
• Steps: type the Reason (what was checked and dealt with) and click Release series.

Pending on-screen validation: a successful release and the button on the series form. The demo has no stopped series and stopping one would require breaking the signature chain, which the product prevents; only the window and the refusal “Choose the series stopped…” were seen. The button name comes from the product's translation, not from the screen.

Expected result

• The document keeps its number, signature, series and date; only the ATCUD changes, to the value the series and number dictate.
• The old value, the new value, the reason and who made the correction are recorded for ever.
• A value equal to the current one, or inconsistent, is never saved, and neither is a reason with fewer than 10 characters.

Important notes

Correct, cancel or credit

Correcting the ATCUD is only possible while the document has not been communicated to the AT. After that, the way is to cancel it and issue a new document (cancel). The signature and the series can never be corrected, because the signature is verified by the AT. Pending validation by a certified accountant: correcting the ATCUD and the consequences for a SAF-T already submitted.

• There is no shortcut around this control: changing the database by hand is no longer defensible for tax purposes and is recorded in the integrity log (document integrity).

Common problems

“requires a reason of at least 10 characters”

• Symptom: when you click Fix with a short reason (for example “short”), “Invalid Operation” appears: “The correction of document "FT D26/33" requires a reason of at least 10 characters: say what was wrong and why it is being corrected.”
• Cause: the reason stays in the audit log for ever and must say what was wrong.
• What to do: write the reason in full (what was wrong and why it is being corrected) and click Fix again. This is the most likely refusal.

“No ATCUD is due for document”

• Symptom: on a training document (for example FT FOR26/1, from a training series), “Invalid Operation” appears: “No ATCUD is due for document "FT FOR26/1" (document type, date before the ATCUD start date of the company, or a series without validation code): it cannot be given one afterwards. A document issued without it stays without it (Portaria 195/2020).”
• Cause: a training document, or one from a series without a validation code, or one dated before the ATCUD start date, never carries an ATCUD. Here the current value and the New value are empty.
• What to do: nothing: the document stays without an ATCUD, as the law provides. Pending validation by a certified accountant: documents for which no ATCUD is due and Portaria 195/2020.

The window refuses the value: “is not consistent with its series and number”

• Symptom: when you click Fix with DEMOFT2026-99, “Invalid Operation” appears: “The ATCUD of document "FT D26/33" can only be "DEMOFT2026-33" (validation code of series "FT D26" and the number of the document in the series). "DEMOFT2026-99" is not consistent with its series and number.”
• Cause: the ATCUD is not chosen: it is what the series and the number dictate.
• What to do: type the value the message gives.

“is already correct: there is nothing to correct”

• Symptom: “The ATCUD of document "FT D26/33" is already correct ("DEMOFT2026-33"): there is nothing to correct.”
• What to do: nothing. The document does not need correcting.

The window shows “Locks” and has no Fix button

• Symptom: “Document "FT D26/10" was already communicated to the Tax Authority: its certification data is never corrected in place. Cancel it recording the reason and issue a new document.”
• Cause: the document has already been communicated to the AT.
• What to do: cancel the document and issue a new one.

The option does not appear in Actions

• Cause: your profile is not Fiscal administration.
• What to do: ask the system administrator to make the correction, or to give you the profile.