When you can edit a Beleg: editable states
A Beleg (receipt/expense document) can only be edited in certain workflow states. This article explains which states are editable, which are locked, and what happens when you try to edit a Beleg that has moved on.
The two editable states
You can change a Beleg's header, financial tags, and line items only while it is in one of these states:
- Draft — the Beleg is still being captured and has not been submitted.
- Needs Clarification — finance returned the Beleg for corrections during review.
In both states the update flow behaves the same way: it re-validates the line items, re-pins the Beleg to the currently active configuration version, recomputes all amounts and header totals, re-evaluates the applicable rules, and records audit events for the change.
Tip: Because editing a Needs Clarification Beleg re-pins it to the active configuration version, rule changes published after the Beleg was first created (for example disabling a cost-center rule) take effect the next time you save your edits.
States you cannot edit
| State | Editable? | What you get if you try |
|---|---|---|
| Draft | Yes | Edits are saved. |
| Needs Clarification | Yes | Edits are saved. |
| Submitted | No | BELEG_NOT_DRAFT — only draft or clarification Belege can be updated. |
| In Review | No | BELEG_NOT_DRAFT — the Beleg is with finance. |
| Approved | No | BELEG_IMMUTABLE — header, financial, and line-item edits are rejected. |
| Paid | No | BELEG_IMMUTABLE — terminal state. |
| Rejected | No | BELEG_IMMUTABLE — terminal state. |
Why Submitted and In Review are locked
Once you submit a Beleg it is handed to finance for review, so the capture form stops accepting changes to keep the record stable while it is being assessed. If you need to change something at this stage, finance can send the Beleg back to Needs Clarification, which makes it editable again, or an authorized reviewer can apply a financial correction in place.
Why Approved, Paid, and Rejected are immutable
Approved, Paid, and Rejected are the module's immutable states. When a Beleg is approved, each line item's cost center, VAT rate, and GL mapping are snapshotted from the current reference data and frozen. Locking these states protects the audit trail: the financial data that was approved and paid can never be altered after the fact. Approved Belege remain transitionable to Paid but are otherwise read-only.
Note: Editing and workflow are separately permissioned. Making edits needs belege:transition; retagging financials during review needs belege:correct-financial (SystemAdmin only).
How to get an editable Beleg back
- If the Beleg is Submitted or In Review, ask a reviewer to move it to Needs Clarification.
- Once it is in Needs Clarification, open it and make your changes.
- Save, then resubmit or return it to review.
Related
- Capture a new Beleg and its header fields
- Edit line items: create, update, and delete
- What Belege (receipt/expense) management does
- How header totals are recomputed on every change
