Trigger a Force Cancel Action

Objective

After completing this lesson, you will be able to demonstrate a Purchase Order force cancellation and explain the appropriate scenarios and post-action steps.

Trigger a Force Cancel Action

In certain situations, a Purchase Order (PO) or associated payment document in SAP Ariba Buying and Invoicing cannot be canceled using the standard cancellation workflow. This may be due to system errors, partial fulfillment or invoicing, or data inconsistencies. In such cases, a Force Cancel action can be initiated by authorized users to override standard system checks and manually terminate the transaction.

Note

Force Cancel should only be used when absolutely necessary. It will not retransmit any documents, but instead is used to manually push the status to Cancelled. The cancellation PO must be delivered to the Supplier manually (via email, paper, or other method).

Permissions Required

To perform a Force Cancel, you must:

  • Be assigned to one of the following groups (typically configured by admins):
    • Procurement Administrator
    • Accounts Payable Administrator
  • Have Force Cancel permissions enabled for the document type (PO or payment).

When to Use a Force Cancel

Use Force Cancel when:

  • A PO cannot be canceled through normal means due to:
    • Partial receipts or invoices
    • System or integration errors
    • "Stuck" or orphaned documents
  • A payment or invoice process cannot be completed or reversed through standard channels.
  • A document must be terminated due to compliance, security, or exceptional business requirements.

How to Force Cancel

To Force Cancel a Purchase Order:

  1. Navigate to the PO:
    • Go to Manage > Purchase Orders, search, locate, and open the PO.
    • Alternatively, locate and open the PO from My Documents or Recently Viewed on the home Dashboard.
  2. Initiate Force Cancel:
    • Select the Force Cancel button.A screenshot of a PO with the Force Cancel button at the top. The Force Cancel button appears when cancellations have failed to transmit to the supplier on the SAP Business Network or when other issues arise. The Force Cancel button will not retransmit the PO to the supplier, but can be used to manually push it from Cancelling status to Cancelled. The Cancellation PO must still be delivered manually to the supplier.
    • The Force Cancel button is only visible to users with the correct role and for POs that meet the conditions for force cancellation.
  3. Add Comments (Optional):
    • Optionally, add Comments.
    • As a best practice, add comments to explain why it's being cancelled, and if possible, how the cancellation will be communicated to the supplier.
  4. Finalize and Send:
    • After adding optional Comments, select Ok to submit the cancellation.
    • The PO will immediately move to Canceled status, but will not be re transmitted to the supplier.
    • Manually deliver the cancellation PO to the supplier by email, or other means. This is a mandatory step, as the document must be delivered manually.

Summary

  • Force Cancel is used when a PO or payment document cannot be canceled using the standard workflow, often due to errors, partial fulfillment, or stuck documents.
  • Requires specific user group membership.
  • The PO is marked as Canceled, but not transmitted to the supplier. Manual delivery (email, paper, etc.) is required.
  • Intended only for exceptional cases where normal cancellation is not possible.

Learning

SAP FacebookSAP YoutubeSAP LinkedIn