Both remove the order from your open commitments. They are not the same thing, and the difference matters.
Action | What happens | |
Cancel Order | Yes — the order stays, marked Cancelled | the order was real but is not going ahead |
Delete Order | No — it is gone | the order was a mistake and should never have existed |
Cancel is almost always the right choice. A cancelled order still tells the story of what happened. A deleted one leaves a gap in your numbering that nobody can explain later.
Cancel an order
Open the purchase order.
Click Action, then Cancel Order.
The status becomes Cancelled and the quantity is removed from Expected.
Delete an order
Open the purchase order.
Click Action, then Delete Order.
⚠️ Deleting an order deletes its bills
If any bills have been entered against this order, deleting the order destroys them too. They cannot be recovered, and the bill numbers become gaps in your sequence with no record of what they were or who they were to.
Always open the Bills tab before deleting an order. If there are bills, cancel instead — or talk to whoever handles your accounts first.
How to know it worked
The status badge reads Cancelled, or the order no longer appears in the Purchases list if you deleted it. Either way the quantity comes out of the Expected column.