Have you got a Purchase Order that’s sitting as Live, but you know it’s never going to receive any more stock, or invoice any further? You don’t want it to be Live forever, but how can you complete it?
Have you got stock that keeps showing as ‘unconfirmed’ on your Stock Valuation even though you know you’ve received it?
You need to “Write Off Incomplete Orders”!
This process in Sage marks the Purchase Order as complete, without having to fully receive or invoice all the lines in the usual way. For those of you who confirm your goods at invoice, this will also mark any un-invoiced but received goods as being confirmed.
Purchase Order Processing > POP Maintenance > Write Off Incomplete Orders
You can do this for a specific PO or based on a date range, so in this scenario you can just pick the order in question.
Depending on the stage of the PO and the level of integration you have with your stock and nominal ledgers, this may post a journal to the nominal code you have specified for Write Offs, and your stock nominal.
If you do not wish this journal to be posted, you would reverse it afterwards with a manual journal entry – the details you need to reverse will be in the Transaction Audit Trail. However, most of the time no nominal postings are carried out and the only outcome is that the PO is closed.
Frequently Asked Questions About Writing off Incomplete Orders in Sage 200
When should I use “Write Off Incomplete Orders” instead of cancelling or amending a purchase order?
Use Write Off Incomplete Orders when:
- Goods will never be received
- The supplier has part‑delivered and confirmed they won’t send the rest
- You have old, lingering POs cluttering reports
- You need to clear unconfirmed stock from valuation reports
Use Cancel or Amend when the order is still active, the supplier is still delivering, or you simply need to correct a mistake before any receipts have been posted.
What does “Write Off Incomplete Orders” actually do in Sage 200?
The Write Off Incomplete Orders routine closes purchase orders or order lines that will never be received. Sage 200 removes the outstanding quantities, updates the order status to Completed, and clears any “unconfirmed” stock that was still sitting on reports. If your system is integrated with stock or nominal, Sage may also post the necessary adjustments to keep your figures accurate.
Written by: Sandra Wallace, Client Services Manager at PKF Smith Cooper Systems
Reviewed by: Christie O’Connor, Support Manager at PKF Smith Cooper Systems
Last reviewed: June 2026
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