FB08 — Reverse a Posted FI Document
FB08 reverses a posted financial accounting document by creating a new offsetting document, not by deleting the original. The original document remains in the system with a reversal flag and a link to the reversal document. It fails if the item is cleared, the period is closed, or the document originated in MM or SD and needs to be reversed at source instead.
FB08 is the standard transaction for reversing a posted FI document, generating an offsetting entry rather than deleting the original. This page covers the entry sequence, the tables the reversal touches, and the recurring failure modes: cleared items, closed periods, cross-company documents, and reversals attempted on documents that actually originated in MM or SD.
Reviewed by an ERPClimb SAP consultant on 15 Sept 2026· 1,295 words
Purpose
FB08 reverses a document that has already been posted to the general ledger or a subledger. It does not delete anything. It creates a new document with debit and credit lines swapped relative to the original, and it stamps both documents with a reference to each other so the audit trail stays intact. The one fact that causes most confusion: the original document is still there, still visible in FBL1N, FBL3N, or FB03, just marked as reversed. Consultants and auditors who expect the posting to disappear will search the ledger and find both the original and the reversal sitting side by side, netting to zero but each fully visible in reporting and in any period they fall in.
When it is used
FB08 is reached for whenever a posted document is wrong and the fix is to undo it rather than change it: wrong GL account, wrong amount, duplicate invoice entry, incorrect vendor or customer assignment, or a document posted to the wrong period before hard close. It sits downstream of FB01, FB50, FB60, FB65, FB70, and FB75, all of which create the documents that eventually need reversing. It is not the tool for correcting a clearing that should not have happened - that is FBRA. It is not the tool for editing amounts on an open item - FB02 only allows changes to a limited set of fields, and amount is not one of them. If the source document is a vendor invoice created through MM logistics invoice verification or a billing document from SD, reversing it in FB08 without also reversing the logistics document creates an inconsistency between FI and the originating module.
How to use it in practice
- Open FB08 and enter the document number, company code, and fiscal year of the document to reverse
- Review the displayed document to confirm it is the correct one before proceeding
- Enter a reversal reason code - this determines whether the system posts a normal reversal or a negative posting, which affects how line item reports display the transaction
- Set the posting date for the reversal; it defaults to today but often needs to be forced into the same period as the original or into the current open period
- Execute; the system creates the reversal document and displays its number
- If the original document is cross-company, confirm the linked document in the other company code also reversed cleanly
Key data objects
- BKPF - document header for both the original and the newly created reversal document, including the reversal reason and the cross-reference field pointing to the paired document
- BSEG - line items for the reversal document, generated as the mirror image of the original document's line items
- BSAK and BSIK, or BSAD and BSID - vendor and customer open/cleared item tables affected when the reversed document involved a subledger account, since reversal typically clears the original open item
- BSEG on the original document - updated with the reversal indicator and a link to the reversal document number rather than being deleted or rewritten
How to prove it in the data
Pull BKPF filtered on company code and fiscal year and check the reversal-related fields on the header: one flag shows whether the document is itself a reversal, another shows the document number it reverses or was reversed by, and a reversal reason code should be populated on the reversal document. Cross-check BSEG for both document numbers to confirm the line items are mirror images with matching amounts and opposite debit/credit indicators. If a reversal attempt failed, there is no new BKPF record at all - the absence of a paired document number is itself the evidence that FB08 never completed.
ECC vs S/4HANA
FB08 runs the same way on S/4HANA as on ECC; the underlying logic of creating a paired reversal document rather than deleting the original is unchanged. The Fiori app for managing journal entries offers a reversal action from the document display screen as an alternative entry point, but it calls the same reversal logic underneath. There is no structural redesign of the reversal concept in S/4HANA.
Common pitfalls and how to diagnose them
- Item already cleared - FB08 rejects reversal of a document whose line item has already been cleared against a payment or another document. Check BSEG for a clearing document number on the item before attempting reversal. FBRA has to reset the clearing first; only then does FB08 succeed. Resetting clearing on a payment that has already gone out the door via F110 is a separate business problem worth escalating before touching it.
- Period closed - the reversal posting date falls in a period that is no longer open for posting in that company code. The fix is not to force today's date blindly; confirm with the business which period the reversal should legally fall in, since posting it into a later period changes which period's financials it affects.
- Document already reversed - a second reversal attempt on a document that already has a reversal link fails outright. Check the header cross-reference field first rather than guessing from the line items.
- Cross-company document - the original document posted to more than one company code. Reversing only the leading company code leaves the counterpart company code's ledger out of balance. All linked company codes need to reverse together, and FB08 usually forces this, but it is worth confirming in BKPF that every affected company code shows the reversal.
- Wrong reversal reason code - choosing a reason code that triggers negative posting instead of a normal offsetting entry changes how the transaction displays in line item and drilldown reports, and can distort period-over-period comparisons even though the net financial effect is identical. Confirm which reason code the organization standardizes on before defaulting to the first one in the list.
- Document originated outside FI - an invoice created through MM invoice verification or a billing document from SD has FI documents generated as a byproduct. Reversing the FI document in FB08 without reversing the source document in MM or SD leaves the logistics document open and unmatched, and the FI reversal will not flow back to update the purchase order or sales order status. Always check the reference document type on BKPF before reversing anything that looks like it might have a logistics origin.
Whose problem this is
This is a functional FI issue, typically owned by the general ledger or accounts payable/receivable team depending on which subledger the document touches. A good handover includes the original document number, company code, fiscal year, the reason the reversal is needed, and whether the document has any downstream dependency in MM or SD that also needs reversing. Basis involvement is rare unless period-closing authorization settings are in question.
Related SAP objects
Reviewed pages this object connects to in the ERPClimb knowledge graph.
Source: ERPClimb — https://erpclimb.com/sap-tcodes/fb08ERPClimb is an independent platform and is not affiliated with SAP SE. Reference pages are written and reviewed by SAP consultants for learning and troubleshooting.