When this article is for you
You flagged an invoice and want to know what happens next: does it come back to you automatically? What counts as a correction? What else moves when the status flips? This article covers the exact cycle.
For the flag itself (reasons, templates), see using flag templates. For the queue the invoice returns to, see the review queue, explained.
The cycle
pending → you flag → flagged (client gets the reason + notification)
flagged → client corrects → pending (auto-reset; you are notified)
pending → you approve → reviewed
When you flag, your reason is sent to the client and every owner and admin of the client company is notified — in-app, plus email or push depending on each person's notification preferences.
When the client then edits the flagged invoice, the auto-reset fires: the status flips back to pending, and you get a "Client corrected invoice" notification. The client doesn't have to ping you, and you don't have to poll their books.
Nothing in the cycle is destructive — any status can be changed again later. If the correction didn't fix the issue, flag again; the previous comments stay.
What moves in your queue
In the Invoices tab, the invoice leaves the Flagged bucket the moment the auto-reset fires and rejoins your open review work as pending. The workbench sorts problems first, so a returned invoice that still has an issue (say, the document is still missing) surfaces near the top rather than hiding at the bottom of the list.
What moves on the transaction side
The reset is symmetric with bookkeeping. If approving the invoice had auto-cleared its matched bank transactions, taking the invoice out of "reviewed" — whether by your flag, a client edit, or a direction flip — reopens those auto-cleared transactions so the books never show a cleared payment for an unapproved invoice. A clear you made manually and independently is never revoked by an unrelated flag. Every auto-clear and revert is audit-logged. See booking transactions for your clients.
What counts as a correction
The trigger is a change to the invoice's data — any field-value edit the client saves. Just opening the invoice, viewing the document, or adding a comment does not reset the status; comments live in their own append-only thread (visible to both sides, never editable or deletable).
Special case: you asked for a document
If what you requested is a missing receipt on a bank transaction (via request a receipt), the loop closes the same way: when the client attaches the document, the open query resolves automatically and the transaction returns to your open work for re-confirmation. The document is the answer.
Edge cases
The client says they fixed it, but I wasn't notified. Check the invoice: if it's back to pending, the reset fired — notification delivery depends on your channel preferences. If it still shows flagged, the client viewed or commented but never saved a data change. Ask them to correct the field and save.
The client corrected a different field than I flagged. The reset fires on any data edit, not just the flagged field. Open the invoice and check the comment thread and data before approving — sometimes they fixed something else that was also wrong, and sometimes the original issue is still there.
I flagged again after a correction. Fine — the cycle just repeats. All comments from earlier rounds remain on the invoice, so the history of who said what stays intact for both sides.
Related
- The review queue, explained — where returned invoices land
- Using flag templates — the flag side of the cycle
- Request a receipt from your client — the transaction-side round-trip
- Booking transactions for your clients — the auto-clear loop the reset participates in