Validate external document number on sales release and posting

Essentials • Article • 4/22/2026 •

The system validates the External Document No. field value at release or posting based on the External Document No. Check Mode field configuration.

Affected sales document types

The system enforces validation of the External Document No. field for the following sales document types:

Sales Quote (validated at Release)
Blanket Sales Order (validated at Release)
Sales Order (validated at Release/Posting)
Sales Invoice (validated at Release/Posting)
Sales Return Order (validated at Release/Posting)
Sales Credit Memo (validated at Release/Posting)

Validation behavior

The system validates the External Document No. field on sales documents based on the value selected in the External Document No. Check Mode field and the Ext. Doc. No. Mandatory toggle.

When the External Document No. Check Mode field value is set to On Release.

If you try to release a sales document without entering a value in the External Document No. field, the system displays an error and the document remains open. Enter a value in the External Document No. field and release the document again to proceed.
When the External Document No. Check Mode field value is set to On Posting.

You can release a sales document without entering a value in the External Document No field. However, if the field is still blank when you try to post the document, the system displays an error and does not create any entries. Enter a value in the External Document No. field and post the document again to proceed.
When the Ext. Doc. No. Mandatory toggle is turned off.

The system does not validate the External Document No. field at any stage. You can release and post sales documents with the field left blank, and no error is raised.