Accounts Receivable

Unit Overview
Many of the concepts we will cover in accounts receivable, such as account groups
and posting to a subledger account using both the Enjoy and the traditional screen
for complex posting were introduced in the Accounts Payable unit. In addition to
the concepts we learned in the Accounts Payable unit, we will be introduced to
some new tasks such as posting incoming payments from customers and sending
correspondence, including dunning letters. We will also see how the sales order
process works from the sales and distribution perspective and how accounting
documents are created automatically during the delivery and billing steps. Finally,
we will see how credit to customers is managed in the SAP system .

Unit Objectives
After completing this unit, you will be able to:

Maintain customer master records in accounting

Describe the role of an account group
Enter and change customer invoices in accounting
Post a manual incoming payment
Request customer correspondence
Analyze customer accounts
Use the Accounts Receivable Information System
Describe the most important organizational units in Sales Order Management
Describe the basic sales process in Sales Order Management and trace its
effects in external Accounting
Maintain credit management master data
Check and release blocked SD documents
Post value adjustments
Run the balance carry forward program

Unit Contents
Lesson: Customer Master Data. .. . 185

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AC010 Lesson: Customer Master Data

Lesson: Customer Master Data

Lesson Overview
This lesson explains how to maintain customer master records. Many of the
concepts learned in the accounts payable unit also apply to accounts receivable,
such as account groups and reconciliation accounts .

Lesson Objectives
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
Maintain customer master records in accounting
Describe the role of an account group

Business Example
A customer calls IDES to inform the accounting department of a change of
address. A new master record must be created for a customer .

0:. O.fis.t9lnef;~~:'

I
-I
Gene~~1
Data-_.
I.
J Account definition
afcJlel1fI~vel

PL~ ~us

C9rri~ri}i code- CQJ1i~)\Y QQd~-

sp.eclfic settings speclflc-settlnqs

CC 10'00

Customer X In company code 1000

Figure 57: Customer Account in mySAP ERP Financlals

Customer X in.co~pany

As with GIL accounts and vendor accounts, customer accounts also consist of
code 2000

two areas.
General data
A customer account is defined for all company codes at the client level.
General data, such as the customer's address, is stored here. General data
applies lor all company codes that do business with the customer.

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 Unit 4: Accounts Receivable AC010

Company code segment(s)

Posrings cannot be made to the customer account for a company code until
company code-specific settings have been created. The company code
segment contains information that pertains to just one company code, such
as agreed terms of payment.

Figure 58: Company Code View of the Customer Master Record

Company code
data
General Sales area
data data

Figure 59: Account Groups for Customers

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 AC010 Lesson: Customer Master Data

In the same way as for GIL accounts and vendor accounts, customer accounts are
stored in various account groups, so that they can be organized and managed
more easily.
The accounts in an account group usually have similar characteristics. For
example, you could have one account group for domestic customers, one for
customers abroad, one for affiliated customers, and one for one-time customers.
Account groups have a number range assigned to them. Number ranges are
of two types:

Internal: Do not enter a customer number when creating the customer.

Instead, the system assigns you a customer number from the number range
assigned to the account group when the new customer master record is
created.
External: Enter the customer number manually when creating the customer.
The number can be alphanumeric, if the number range allows for that.
Account groups define the layout of all parts of the customer master record. That
is, they determine which fields are optional, mandatory, displayed, or hidden.

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 Unit 4: Accounts Receivable AC010

Lesson: Daily Accounting Transactions in Accounts

Receivable

Lesson Overview
Although most transactions with customers are entered in Sales and Distribution,
invoices can also be entered in accounting. These are miscellaneous invoices that
do not pertain to a sales order.
Payments are handled in accounting. You will learn how to process an incoming
payment with an underpayment (a short pay). In addition, you will learn how to
create correspondence for customers, including dunning notices, and be introduced
to the set of reports in the AIR Information System .

.Lesson Objectives
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
Enter and change customer invoices in accounting
Post a manual incoming payment
Request customer correspondence
Analyze customer accounts
Use the Accounts Receivable Information System

Business Example
Customer## states on the phone that on the last invoice he received from
IDES, the payment terms did not contain the usual 3 percent cash discount.
After speaking to the Sales and Distribution department, this turns out to be
an error. The customer should therefore receive the normal discount.
The accounting department receives a payment advice, which states that a
customer is going to pay only 80 percent of the invoice amount because the
delivery was incomplete. When the check arrives, the accountant posts the
difference as a residual item.
Some important customers wish to receive monthly account statements.
Once a month, a special report needs to be started to select these customers
and print the account statements. This report is usually started automatically
by a job. For demonstration purposes the accountant allows you to run the
report online. Other customers do not pay their invoices on time, and must
be sent a dunning notice.

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AC010 Lesson: Daily Accounting Transactions in Accounts Receivable

Invoice/Credit Memo Entry

Nearly all invoices and credit memos from customers reach the Accounts
Receivable via the integration with the Sales Order Management. ln exceptional
cases, if there is no reference to a sales order, invoices and credit memos can
still be entered using the Enjoy transaction. The Enjoy document entry screen is
divided into the following areas:
Work templates
Here, you can select screen variants, account assignment templates, or held
documents as references.
Header and customer data
Document header and customer line item data is entered here.
GIL account items
The GIL line items for the document are entered here.
Information area
The document balance and information about the customer is displayed here.
It also contains a link to the master data and open items.

Figure 60: Enjoy Invoice/Credit Memo Entry

This transaction can also be used to create documents in a foreign currency. The
foreign currency amount is translated into local currency using defined exchange
rates.

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 Unit 4: Accounts Receivable AC010

Em.,. CCI.lOlIIer (nvole.

Figure 61: Enjo'y Customer Invoice Screen

Incoming Payments
Incoming payments can be dealt with in several ways in different companies and
countries. Incoming payments are basically posted as shown in this figure.

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 AC010 Lesson: Daily Accounting Transactions in Accounts Receivable

~
~
Complete payment -----, 0
/
Minor payment ~ifference 0
\ (within tolerances)

Greater payment difference

Gerie'rate residual Item

PanTsl
p8Ym_enc
~esrdual
0.
Item

Figure 62: Incoming Payments

The items are cleared if the customer pays open items in the full amount or
with an agreed cash discount.
If a-minor payment difference exists, this can be charged off automatically.
The maximum amount that constitutes a minor payment difference is defined
in tolerance group settings.
Any greater payment difference (outside of tolerance) must be dealt with
manually. There are two methods of posting these payment differences:
Partial payment: The item being short-paid does not clear. A new
open item in the amount of the payment is created on the credit side.
This credit entry shows up right above the open item being paid and
it references the open item being short-paid.
Residual item: The open invoice is cleared and a new open item
(residual item) in the amount of the payment difference is created.

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 Unit 4: Accounts Receivable AC010

Figure 63: Process Incoming Payment Screen

Dunning Functions
The SAP system provides you with a tool that automatically analyzes all the open
items and duns any items that are overdue. The system determines a dunning
level, which is in accordance with the number of days in arrears. The dunning
level determines which dunning charges and interest are charged, as well as which
dunning text is selected. The dunning history keeps a record of which dunning
notices have been issued.

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 AC010 Lesson: Daily Accounting Transactions in Accounts Receivable

Individual dun.riin.g notice Ma$s pr9~e~sing by the

dl,Jnl1ing program
Figure 64: Dunning Functions

You can trigger automatic dunning for a single account (individual dunning
notice), or you can have the dunning program carry out automatic dunning fora-
selected number of accounts .

Most of the s.ettings for dunning are made in the dunning

procedure. You.can access the-dunninq procedure directlyfrom
the application.

/COstomer

L
Company code

r DOnnlhg dafa,
Dunnirrg procedure
Cor'respond.ence

0001
+--+-+___
t!J '
'--~------ __J Dunning
procedure

Figure 65: Dunning Procedure

Dunning is controlled by the dunning procedure. A dunning procedure must

be entered in every customer and/or vendor account that is to" be included in
automatic dunning.

A dunning procedure that is valid for one-time customers is entered in one-time

accounts.

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 Unit 4: Accounts Receivable AC010

You can define as many different dunning procedures as you wish. MySAP ERP
Financials comes with several standard dunning procedures that can be used as
a template for additional procedures.
You can specify how the dunning run is to be executed by entering parameters in
the dunning program. You can use the parameters of an existing dunning run as a
template and adjust the dates to meet your requirements. Typical parameters are
the company codes and accounts that are to be included in the dunning run .

Figure 66: Dunning Parameters

Dunning Run
During the dunning run, accounts are selected and checked for overdue items.
The system then checks whether dunning notices should be sent and assigns the
relevant dunning levels. All dunning data is stored in a dunning proposal.

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 AC010 Lesson: Daily Accounting Transactions in Accounts Receivable

~
~

Figure 67: Dunning Run

The dunning proposal can be edited, deleted, and recreated as often as required
until the accounting clerk is satisfied with the result.

Figure 68: Changing the Dunning Proposal

The dunning proposal is not a mandatory step; therefore, it can be omitted. If

Dunn print with scheduling is not selected. (he system will not produce a proposal.
Rather. it will print the dunning notices as soon as the program has been executed.

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 Unit 4: Accounts Receivable AC010

Figure 69: Printing Dunning Notices

In one step, the system prints the dunning notices and updates the dunning data
in the master records and documents, including the dunning dates and levels.

Correspondence
Correspondence relating to daily business first has to be requested before it can
be printed. A correspondence request can be carried out:
Automatically when special transactions, such as bill of exchange charges
(bill of exchange charges statement) or payment differences (payment
notice) are posted
Manually by the accounting clerk
Using a request program that creates a high volume of correspondence
requests simultaneously (periodic account statements, internal documents,
standard letters)

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AC010 Lesson: Daily Accounting Transactions in Accounts Receivable

Figure 70: Correspondence Requests

Requested correspondence is stored in a correspondence request table and can be

printed via a trigger program.

Accounts Receivable Information System

The Accounts Receivable Information System enables you to carry out quick
analyses of important accounting data, such as:
Due date breakdown
Customer payment history
Currency risk for customers abroad
Overdue items
Number of days (OSO days) that a customer takes, on average, to pay an
invoice
Customer cash discount history (days agreed/days taken)
These analyses are based on preselected datasets (views) that must be generated or
updated at regular intervals by means of a background run from the SAP database.
A job wizard helps you here with the update.

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