A financial document's status controls whether it is available for use in sales orders. For example:

• Status to B 'Document is incomplete' means that you still need additional information for the financial document

• Status D 'Document is available and can be used' means that the financial document can be assigned to sales orders
• Status E 'Change in document has been submitted' means that the document cannot be assigned to a sales order until you change its status to D

The status of a financial document is protected by an authority object. You can configure the authorization object to allow several users to create, change, or display financial documents while allowing only one or a few users to maintain the documents’ statuses. Only users assigned activity 36 (extended maintenance) for this authority object have permission activate a financial document.

You can also configure the SAP System to require two people to activate a financial document. This configuration helps ensure that the financial document data is double-checked before it can be used in the system. Maintain the double-check feature in Customizing for Sales and Distribution. Choose Foreign Trade/Customs ® Documentary Payments ® Basic settings ® Define Indicators for Financial Documents. Select a Financial Document Indicator and then Goto ® Details. Select Double-check on under Extended confirmation control.