---
name: "invoices_update"
area: "invoices"
title: "Change a draft"
price: "$0.01"
method: "POST"
url: "https://api.conecto.chat/v1/tools/invoices_update"
mcp_server: "https://api.conecto.chat/mcp/invoices"
auth: "Authorization: Bearer <conecto_sk_ key>"
docs_url: "https://conecto.chat/tools/invoices/invoices_update"
---

# Change a draft (`invoices_update`)

Changes a draft quote or invoice; customer and lines replace the old ones.

Change a draft quote or invoice: give only what changes; customer and items replace the old ones. A sent document can't change: void it with invoices_void and create a new one.

Price: $0.01 a call. A call that fails costs nothing.

## Use it when

A draft needs fixing before it is sent. A sent invoice is corrected with a credit note instead.

- For a sent invoice, use [invoices_create_credit_note](https://conecto.chat/tools/invoices/invoices_create_credit_note.md).

## Say this to your agent

> Change the Elbblick quote to 45 chairs.

## Inputs

| Name | Type | Required | Description | Allowed values | Default |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| `invoice_id` | string | yes | The invoice_id invoices_create returned (quotes and credit notes have one too). Exactly 36 characters. |  |  |
| `customer` | object | no | Who the document is for. Link a CRM record with contact_id or company_id, or give name and email (an email that matches a CRM contact links it). What is given here is printed as it is. |  |  |
| `customer.contact_id` | integer | no | A CRM contact; fills the name and email. At least 1. |  |  |
| `customer.company_id` | integer | no | A CRM company; fills the name. At least 1. |  |  |
| `customer.name` | string | no | Who is billed, as printed. Up to 200 characters. |  |  |
| `customer.email` | string | no | Where the document is emailed. Up to 254 characters. |  |  |
| `customer.address` | string | no | Postal address, one line per row. Up to 1,000 characters. |  |  |
| `customer.tax_id` | string | no | The customer's VAT or tax number, for business customers. A reverse-charge or intra-EU invoice needs their EU VAT ID, e.g. "FR12345678901". Up to 60 characters. |  |  |
| `customer.country` | string | no | ISO 3166-1 code of the customer's country, e.g. "FR". Checks intra_eu and export invoices; e-invoices need it. Up to 2 characters. |  |  |
| `items` | array of objects | no | 1 to 200 items. |  |  |
| `items[].description` | string | yes, in each item of `items` | What was sold. Lines after the first print smaller, underneath. 1 to 2,000 characters. |  |  |
| `items[].quantity` | number or string | no | Default 1. Up to 6 decimals, e.g. 1.5 (hours). Up to 24 characters. |  |  |
| `items[].unit_price` | number or string | yes, in each item of `items` | The price of one, before tax, e.g. "19.99". Negative for a credit line. Up to 24 characters. |  |  |
| `items[].tax_rate` | number or string | no | Tax percent, e.g. 19. Default: the profile's tax_rate. Up to 24 characters. |  |  |
| `items[].discount` | number or string | no | Discount percent on this line, e.g. 10. Up to 24 characters. |  |  |
| `items[].account` | string | no | With books: the income account this line books to, e.g. "4100" for services. Default: the sales account. Up to 20 characters. |  |  |
| `items[].tracking` | object | no | With books: tracking options, e.g. {"Department": "Service"}. |  |  |
| `currency` | string | no | ISO 4217, e.g. "USD", "EUR" or "JPY". Matches ^[A-Za-z]{3}$. |  |  |
| `notes` | string | no | Printed above the lines, e.g. "Thank you for your order" or a project reference. Up to 5,000 characters. |  |  |
| `payment_link` | string | no | An https link to pay this document. Default: the profile's payment_link. Up to 500 characters. |  |  |
| `tax_exemption` | string | no | Why lines with tax_rate 0 carry no tax, printed on the invoice as the law asks: exempt, zero_rated, reverse_charge (the customer accounts for the VAT), intra_eu (goods to a business in another EU country), export (goods leaving the EU), outside_scope, small_business (a business under its country's small-business VAT exemption, such as UStG §19 or art. 293 B CGI: no line may carry tax). Needed in the EU for any line without tax. Default: the profile's. | `""`, `"exempt"`, `"zero_rated"`, `"reverse_charge"`, `"intra_eu"`, `"export"`, `"outside_scope"`, `"small_business"` |  |
| `tax_exemption_note` | string | no | The wording printed for the exemption instead of the standard one, e.g. "Steuerbefreit als Kleinunternehmer nach § 19 UStG". Up to 300 characters. |  |  |
| `e_invoice` | string | no | Invoices and their credit notes as EN 16931 e-invoices (German B2B invoices must be from 2027): factur-x (Factur-X/ZUGFeRD, the XML inside the PDF/A-3) or xrechnung (XRechnung 3.0, its own XML beside the PDF), checked against the EN 16931 schema before sending. "" is the default: none, except that from 2027 an invoice from a German business to a German business above EUR 250 is a factur-x; "none" opts out (a business under the EUR 800,000 turnover allowance until 2028). Needs the customer's country. Default: the profile's. | `""`, `"factur-x"`, `"xrechnung"`, `"none"` |  |
| `vat_exchange_rate` | number or string or null | no | For an invoice in another currency than the national one of the business's country: one unit of it in the national currency, for the VAT shown in both. Default in the EU: the European Central Bank's rate for the day of supply; UK businesses give it. Up to 24 characters. |  |  |
| `issue_date` | string or null | no | YYYY-MM-DD, or null to go back to the default. Matches ^\\d{4}-\\d{2}-\\d{2}$. |  |  |
| `due_date` | string or null | no | YYYY-MM-DD, or null to go back to the default. Matches ^\\d{4}-\\d{2}-\\d{2}$. |  |  |
| `valid_until` | string or null | no | YYYY-MM-DD, or null to go back to the default. Matches ^\\d{4}-\\d{2}-\\d{2}$. |  |  |
| `supply_date` | string or null | no | YYYY-MM-DD, or null to go back to the default. Matches ^\\d{4}-\\d{2}-\\d{2}$. |  |  |
| `supply_until` | string or null | no | YYYY-MM-DD, or null to go back to the default. Matches ^\\d{4}-\\d{2}-\\d{2}$. |  |  |
| `payment_terms_days` | integer or null | no | 0 to 365. |  |  |

## Example

Written for Hansen & Voss, a restaurant-equipment wholesaler in Hamburg with 60 staff.

MCP: call `invoices_update` on the MCP server `https://api.conecto.chat/mcp/invoices` with these arguments:

```json
{
  "invoice_id": "2d9c4e7b-1a3f-4c5d-8e6f-0b1a2c3d4e5f",
  "items": [
    {
      "description": "Bistro chair, beech\nStackable, for terraces",
      "quantity": 45,
      "unit_price": "320.00",
      "discount": 10
    },
    {
      "description": "Delivery and setup",
      "unit_price": "150.00"
    }
  ]
}
```

REST:

```bash
curl https://api.conecto.chat/v1/tools/invoices_update \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CONECTO_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"invoice_id": "2d9c4e7b-1a3f-4c5d-8e6f-0b1a2c3d4e5f", "items": [{"description": "Bistro chair, beech\nStackable, for terraces", "quantity": 45, "unit_price": "320.00", "discount": 10}, {"description": "Delivery and setup", "unit_price": "150.00"}]}'
```

## Response

```json
{
  "call_id": "5f0c8a2e-3b7d-4c1e-9a64-2d8e1f7b0c93",
  "tool": "invoices_update",
  "status": "succeeded",
  "replayed": false,
  "cost_usd": "$0.01",
  "balance_usd": "$19.75",
  "result": {
    "invoice": {
      "invoice_id": "2d9c4e7b-1a3f-4c5d-8e6f-0b1a2c3d4e5f",
      "kind": "quote",
      "number": null,
      "status": "draft",
      "currency": "EUR",
      "issue_date": null,
      "valid_until": null,
      "expired": false,
      "customer": {
        "contact_id": null,
        "company_id": null,
        "name": "Hotel Elbblick GmbH",
        "email": "lukas.meyer@hotel-elbblick.example",
        "address": "Elbchaussee 120\n22763 Hamburg",
        "tax_id": "",
        "country": null
      },
      "total": "15600.90",
      "total_formatted": "€15,600.90",
      "amount_paid": "0.00",
      "balance": "15600.90",
      "balance_formatted": "€15,600.90",
      "public_url": null,
      "created_at": "2026-10-14T08:00:00+00:00",
      "sent_at": null,
      "items": [
        {
          "description": "Bistro chair, beech\nStackable, for terraces",
          "quantity": "45",
          "unit_price": "320",
          "tax_rate": "19",
          "discount_percent": "10",
          "amount": "14400.00",
          "discount": "1440.00",
          "tax": "2462.40",
          "total": "15422.40"
        },
        {
          "description": "Delivery and setup",
          "quantity": "1",
          "unit_price": "150",
          "tax_rate": "19",
          "discount_percent": "0",
          "amount": "150.00",
          "discount": "0.00",
          "tax": "28.50",
          "total": "178.50"
        }
      ],
      "totals": {
        "subtotal": "14550.00",
        "subtotal_formatted": "€14,550.00",
        "discount": "1440.00",
        "discount_formatted": "€1,440.00",
        "tax": "2490.90",
        "tax_formatted": "€2,490.90",
        "total": "15600.90",
        "total_formatted": "€15,600.90",
        "credited": "0.00",
        "credited_formatted": "€0.00",
        "amount_paid": "0.00",
        "amount_paid_formatted": "€0.00",
        "balance": "15600.90",
        "balance_formatted": "€15,600.90",
        "taxes": [
          {
            "rate": "19",
            "base": "13110.00",
            "amount": "2490.90",
            "amount_formatted": "€2,490.90"
          }
        ]
      },
      "supply": null,
      "tax_exemption": null,
      "tax_note": null,
      "vat_exchange_rate": null,
      "national_vat": null,
      "e_invoice": null,
      "notes": "Thank you for your enquiry. The chairs can be delivered in week 49.",
      "payment_link": null,
      "ready_to_send": true,
      "business": {
        "name": "Hansen & Voss GmbH",
        "address": "Billbrookdeich 112\n22113 Hamburg\nGermany",
        "tax_id": "DE123456789",
        "email": "billing@hansenvoss.example",
        "phone": "+49 40 66969 100",
        "logo_file_id": "",
        "footer": "Please pay by bank transfer to Hansen & Voss GmbH\nIBAN DE89 3704 0044 0532 0130 00, BIC COBADEFFXXX",
        "tax_label": "VAT",
        "paper": "a4",
        "country": "DE",
        "legal_notes": "Hansen & Voss GmbH, Amtsgericht Hamburg HRB 123456\nManaging directors: Clara Hansen, Henrik Voss",
        "document_language": ""
      },
      "pdf": null,
      "payments": [],
      "invoice_ids": [],
      "response": {
        "name": null,
        "note": null
      },
      "viewed_at": null,
      "accepted_at": null,
      "declined_at": null,
      "paid_at": null,
      "voided_at": null,
      "void_reason": null,
      "last_emailed_at": null,
      "reminders_sent": 0,
      "history": [
        {
          "at": "2026-10-14T08:00:00+00:00",
          "event": "created",
          "detail": "",
          "by": "key 4101 (Pip)"
        },
        {
          "at": "2026-10-14T08:00:00+00:00",
          "event": "updated",
          "detail": "items",
          "by": "key 4101 (Pip)"
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}
```

`result`: The draft as it now is.

## Errors

| Code | Status | When | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| `not_found` | 404 | No quote or invoice of the business has that invoice_id. | Find it with invoices_list and use its invoice_id. |
| `invalid_input` | 400 | A line, amount, date, currency, country, email or link is not valid, or the total comes out negative or too large. | Fix what the message names: amounts like 19.99, dates like 2026-11-20, currencies like EUR. |
| `not_found` | 404 | The customer's contact_id or company_id is not in the business's CRM. | Find the record with crm_search, or give a name and email instead. |
| `not_a_draft` | 409 | The document was sent, so it cannot change. | Void it with invoices_void (its number stays used) and create a new one. |

The refusals every tool can give (401 key, 402 balance, 429 limits) are on the errors page: https://conecto.chat/docs/errors.md

## Related

- [invoices_set_profile](https://conecto.chat/tools/invoices/invoices_set_profile.md): Sets the business details on quotes and invoices: name, country, address, tax ID, logo, terms, tax, numbering, how to pay and legal notes. $0.001 a call.
- [invoices_get_profile](https://conecto.chat/tools/invoices/invoices_get_profile.md): The business details on quotes and invoices, the next numbers, and what is missing before documents can be sent. Free up to 1,000,000 reads a month.
- [invoices_connect_stripe](https://conecto.chat/tools/invoices/invoices_connect_stripe.md): Connects the business's own Stripe account with a restricted key, so invoices can be paid online; the money goes straight to the business. $0.001 a call.
- [invoices_create](https://conecto.chat/tools/invoices/invoices_create.md): Creates a draft quote or invoice: the customer, the lines, the currency and the dates. $0.01 a call.
- [invoices_send](https://conecto.chat/tools/invoices/invoices_send.md): Sends a draft: it gets the next number, its PDF is made, and the customer is emailed a link to view, pay or accept it. $0.10 a call.
- [invoices_get](https://conecto.chat/tools/invoices/invoices_get.md): One quote or invoice in full, by invoice_id or number: lines, totals, taxes, payments, history, its page and a fresh PDF link. Free up to 1,000,000 reads a month.
- [invoices_list](https://conecto.chat/tools/invoices/invoices_list.md): Quotes and invoices, newest first, by kind, status (also overdue, unpaid and expired), customer and issue date. Free up to 1,000,000 reads a month.
- [invoices_convert_quote](https://conecto.chat/tools/invoices/invoices_convert_quote.md): Turns an accepted quote into a draft invoice with the same customer and lines. $0.01 a call.
- [invoices_record_payment](https://conecto.chat/tools/invoices/invoices_record_payment.md): Records money received against a sent invoice, or a refund; the invoice becomes partially paid or paid. $0.01 a call.
- [invoices_record_prepayment](https://conecto.chat/tools/invoices/invoices_record_prepayment.md): Records a customer's deposit before there is an invoice, like Xero's prepayments; it waits as their credit, with its VAT owed at once. $0.01 a call.
- [invoices_use_credit](https://conecto.chat/tools/invoices/invoices_use_credit.md): Puts a customer's credit on their invoice, like Xero's allocate credit, or pays it back to them. $0.01 a call.
- [invoices_list_credits](https://conecto.chat/tools/invoices/invoices_list_credits.md): Lists customers' credits, deposits and overpayments, with what is left on each. Free up to 1,000,000 reads a month.
- [invoices_remind](https://conecto.chat/tools/invoices/invoices_remind.md): Emails the customer a reminder about a sent invoice with a balance, at most once a day. $0.02 a call.
- [invoices_remind_overdue](https://conecto.chat/tools/invoices/invoices_remind_overdue.md): Emails a reminder about every invoice at least some days overdue, the longest overdue first. $0.02 per reminder sent.
- [invoices_set_expected_date](https://conecto.chat/tools/invoices/invoices_set_expected_date.md): Notes the day a customer says they will pay an invoice, so the cash flow forecast counts the money then, even when the invoice is overdue. Free.
- [invoices_create_credit_note](https://conecto.chat/tools/invoices/invoices_create_credit_note.md): Corrects a sent invoice with a numbered credit note: all of it, some of its lines or an amount, emailed like an invoice. $0.10 a call.
- [invoices_void](https://conecto.chat/tools/invoices/invoices_void.md): Voids a document: a sent one keeps its number but can no longer be paid or accepted; a draft is discarded. $0.01 a call.
- [invoices_save_repeating](https://conecto.chat/tools/invoices/invoices_save_repeating.md): Makes an invoice again every so many weeks, months or years, drafted or sent on its day, with [Month] and [Year] filled in, like Xero's repeating invoices. $0.001 a call.
- [invoices_list_repeating](https://conecto.chat/tools/invoices/invoices_list_repeating.md): Lists the repeating invoices: who each is for, how often, the next dates, and what each made. Free up to 1,000,000 reads a month.
- [invoices_delete_repeating](https://conecto.chat/tools/invoices/invoices_delete_repeating.md): Stops a repeating invoice for good; the invoices it made stay. Free.
- [invoices_statement](https://conecto.chat/tools/invoices/invoices_statement.md): Makes a customer statement, outstanding or activity, as a PDF, and emails it when asked, like Xero's statements. $0.05 a call.
- [invoices_summary](https://conecto.chat/tools/invoices/invoices_summary.md): What customers owe, per currency: outstanding, overdue and paid this month, and the quotes still open. Free up to 1,000,000 reads a month.
- [invoices_report](https://conecto.chat/tools/invoices/invoices_report.md): Aged receivables on any day, or sales per customer for a period with the credit notes taken off. Free up to 1,000,000 reads a month.
