Finance Q&A

8/11/2019 Finance Q&A

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h t t p : / / e n . s a p . d a r k d u c k . c o m 2011

2011

Dmitry Kaglik

[ FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONSON SAP FINANCE Frequently asked question about Financial module of SAP system obtained ia constant

monitorin! of issues "hich Financial consultants can face


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#$mitry %a!lik& 2011

'$ark$uck(

All ri!hts reser ed.

)f you "ant to copy& use e*ternally or re+publish any part of this publication& please!et appro al first. ,ou can contact author at darkduck-darkduck.com .

Front pa!e ima!e: uben an i k & licensed under reati e ommons .

All other ima!es: courtesy of author.

ack to 3able of ontents

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ON SAP FINANCE Pa!e 2http://en.sap.darkduck.com
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Table of Contents

)ntroduction ................................................................................................................ 4

hapter 1. urrency ................................................................................................... 5

Forei!n currency re aluation ................................................................................... 5$isplayin! the forei!n currency re aluation results ................................................ 6

hapter 2. 7A3 in do"n payments recei ed and paid ................................................ 8

hapter 9. Payments ................................................................................................ 10

Settin! up the Automatic Payment Pro!ram 'APP( ................................................ 10

Settin! up the lectronic ank Statement ' S( ................................................... 22

)nte!ration of APP and S .................................................................................... 26

hapter 4. ther ....................................................................................................... 90

From author .............................................................................................................. 91


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I!tr"#$%ti"!

;y name is $mitry %a!lik. ) am SAP Finance consultant "ith 10 years of e*perience

in this area.

,ou may kno" myself as acti e member and moderator of Finance forums atsapfans.com 'in n!lish( and sapboard.ru 'in ussian(.

$urin! years spent in consultin! and helpin! people on forums& ) constantly !etmore or less similar questions.

3his book !athers my e*perience and ans"ers more frequently asked questions inclear and popular format.

3his book is not intended for no ice users or consultants of SAP. )t uses terminolo!yand lan!ua!e !enerally accepted amon! this community& "hich sometimes maybeconfusin! for ne" starters. )f you do not understand somethin!& please do nothesitate to ask your questions.

)f you are still ha in! difficulties in any area mentioned in this book& you are morethan "elcome to oin community on abo e mentioned forums and ask your questionthere.

,ou may also consider buyin! a book about SAP .


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C&a't(r 1) C$rr(!%y

F"r(ig! %$rr(!%y r(*al$ati"!

Q$(+ti"! 1, 3ransaction FAF >7A= 'forei!n currency re aluation( has tab? pen items? and tab ?


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Di+'layi!g t&( ."r(ig! %$rr(!%y r(*al$ati"! r(+$lt+

Q$(+ti"! 1, )s it possible to display re aluation amount for each open item "henusin! the Be" 'Fle*ible(


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C&a't(r 2) /AT i! #"-! 'aym(!t+ r(%(i*(# a!# 'ai#

3his section may mostly apply to users in ussia. ut ussian market itself if bi!

and !ro"in!& so nobody kno"s "hen he !ets on a pro ect there.

Q$(+ti"! 1, ) recei e the do"n payment 'prepayment( from customer and SAP!enerates postin!

Dr a!k 11

Cr C$+t"m(r D"-! Paym(!t 100

Cr O$t'$t /AT 1

@hy does system beha es itself "ron! "ay )t should be

Dr a!k 11

Cr C$+t"m(r D"-! Paym(!t 11

Cr O$t'$t /AT 1

Dr /AT .r"m #"-! 'aym(!t+ r(%(i*(# 1

A!+-(r, System "ill use special


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identifications in transaction C . 3hese identifications are assi!ned to Special


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C&a't(r ) Paym(!t+

S(tti!g $' t&( A$t"mati% Paym(!t Pr"gram 3APP4

Q$(+ti"! 1, @hat is the process of payments usin! the Automatic PaymentPro!ram

A!+-(r, 3he process in !eneral is as follo"s.

,ou launch transaction F110 and specify parameters for the selection of items to bepaid. 3hen you run Proposal un "hich creates Payments Proposal. 3his proposal isanalysed by 3reasury / Accountants / somebody else and then it is appro edimmediately or "ith some corrections. After that you run Producti e un. At thismoment postin!s are done 'or not done G see separately(. @hen Producti e un isfinished& you can create payment file or paper payment documents for the bankand/or payment recipients.

Q$(+ti"! 2, @hat should ) start an APP confi!uration from

A!+-(r, 3he process be!ins "ith understandin! of payment types in use. Ha e alook at the bank statement& talk to the people responsible for payments and

statements. ,ou "ill create special payment method for each of the payment types.asic confi!uration of APP is carried out in transaction F IP.


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2( )f you "ant APP to choose the documents to be paid ia Jfa*K& then youha e to use it. Special payment method is required. f course& you canset up your o"n printin! pro!ram for this payment method& as forusual payment method.

Q$(+ti"! 5, @e periodically pay to the !o ernment authorities. For e*ample&ta*es. Ho" should "e process these payments

A!+-(r, ) sa" 9 scenarios:

1( ussian. ,ou create special endor "ith reconciliation account in areaof Jta*K


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A!+-(r, First of all& "e can pay ustomers too. For e*ample& refunds or returns ofdo"n payments.

Second& APP can be also used for payments collection. For e*ample& direct debits.

3hatMs "hy customers are pretty much on their place in APP.

Q$(+ti"! , Are there any recommendations as to ho" to use JBe*t run dateK fieldin APP Ho" often should the Payment un be e*ecuted

A!+-(r, )f you use early settlement discount functionality and automatic paymentoptimiNation& then the field JBe*t run dateK should contain the date of ne*t run.Frequency of them depends on company rules and aries from 1 day to 1 month.

)f you select open items manually usin! the e*ternal lists and factors& then91.12.LLLL "ill do.

Q$(+ti"! 9, @hat is the tri!!er for APP run 7endor in oice Purchase order

A!+-(r, APP processes posted in oices and do"n payment requests. Purchaseorders ha e nothin! to do "ith APP. Frankly speakin!& Purchase rders are notrele ant to Finance "hatsoe er.

Q$(+ti"! 10, @e can control out!oin! payments: "hat and ho" to pay. 3here isdifferent situation "ith incomin! payments. Ho" "ould "e kno" that customer haspaid us in order to process the incomin! payment in APP Ho" shall "e kno" "hichbank account it sent us the money to& if "e ha e se eral bank accounts )t is alsounclear ho" customer calculates early settlement discount.

A!+-(r, APP is used for the out!oin! payments initiated by our company. )ncomin!

payments are only processed ia APP if "e initiate them 'i.e. direct debit(. ,oucannot control your customersM baha ioue& hence you cannot automate it.

Q$(+ti"! 11, an "e specify payment method in open items )s it done in in oice

A!+-(r, Payment method is specified in se eral places in SAP system:

1( 7endor master record. ,ou can specify se eral payment methods in

there& and APP "ill automatically select the best one.ack to 3able of ontents



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2( $irectly in the in oice.

9( )n the payment terms of the endor. 3his alue "ill be inherited intothe in oice.

Payment method in the in oice has a priority o er the payment method in endormaster record.

Q$(+ti"! 12, ) ha e specified payment method in the endor master record. ut itis not automatically copied into the posted in oice. @hy @hat should ) do

A!+-(r, ,ou can specify se eral payment methods in endor master record. Ho"should system decide "hich one you "ant to copy into the document @hat do youthink 3hat is "hy there is no such functionality in SAP.

As an alternati e solution& you can specify payment method in the payment termsand then put payment terms into the endor master record. Payment terms "ill beinherited into the document and "ill brin! the payment method too.

Q$(+ti"! 1 , )s it possible to chan!e payment method in Payment proposal r "eneed to block the payment and chan!e the payment method some"here else

A!+-(r, @hen APP has analysed the open items and created a Payment Proposal&

you can edit the Proposal: chan!e payment methods& banks& re!roup payments etc. 3here is a button for this on the dit Proposal screen. ,ou can do this for indi idualdocuments. 3his information "ill only be kept in Payment Proposal. )f you "ish tokeep the information in the documents& you need to cancel proposal and editdocuments.

Q$(+ti"! 15, $o ) need to make any de elopments for the APP

A!+-(r, ,ou "ill need de elopment only for the output forms& and only if:

1( e*traordinary requirement from the bank in re!ards of output file. Fore*ample& de elopment is required for the inte!ration "ith ussianbank+client systemsO

2( amend forms for cheques/ /Payment ad ice for the company/bankrequirements 'lo!o& fields location and other small details(




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Q$(+ti"! 16, Ho" "ill the bank kno" that it has to process the payment @hat isthe file format for the bank $oes APP process ha e a step for the output file!eneration

A!+-(r, Formats for the bank G you should ask the bank yourself. SAP has lots ofstandard formats used "orld"ide and locally. ,ou should understand "hich ones to

s"itch on.

ased on my o"n e*perience& international banks "ork "ell "ith formats S@)F3;3101 or ;3109. 3hey are in the standard deli ery of P;@ 'Payment ;edium@orkbench(.

Dnfortunately& ussian banks a ery self+conceited and only accept their o"nformats. ne of the national standard 'but not official( is format of J1 K system& butstandard SAP does not support it 'yet(. 3hat is "hy file e*tract for the bank+clientsystem is a de elopment in this case.

f course& file or printout for the bank is one of the results of APP "ork. ,ou can!enerate them usin! the JPrintK button on the instrument panel in APP.

Q$(+ti"! 17, @hich format can "e e*tract data from the system to send it to thebank

A!+-(r, )t depends on the formats "hich bank accepts. S@)F3 ;3101 is ery

con enient and "idespread. Some countries ha e their o"n requirements for theformat. As a rule& they are already in SAP standard deli ery.

)f you are on the cross+road and do not kno" "hat to start "ith& try to !i e S@)F3;3101 file to the bank as look at their reaction. ,ou can also ask 3reasury "hichformat they use at present.

Q$(+ti"! 18, @hat do ) need to do in APP settin!s to enable !eneration of file "ithinformation about out!oin! payments

A!+-(r, 3here are 6 buttons in transaction F IP "hich you should start "ith. neof them 'Payment method for the country( has a choice of JclassicalK paymentpro!ram or Payment ;edium @orkbench.

Be*t "e set up a ariant for JclassicalK pro!ram or set up P;@ 'also kno"n as$; (.

,ou can find lots of customiNin! options for the e*traction file in the );


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*act list of nodes you need to !o into depends on format you ha e chosen.

)$ is another option for the sendin! payments to the bank. Pro!ram FF $)1!enerates )$ s and is al"ays a ailable in F110 on the JPrintK tab.

Q$(+ti"! 1 , ) ha e decided to use S@)F3 ;3101 format. @hich settin!s arerequired in the system in this case $o ) need to make settin!s for each indi idual

bank

A!+-(r, Format ;3101 is defined by S@)F3 "hich is international or!anisation. )tshould not be chan!ed. )n the meantime& there are some parameters 'fields( aluesin "hich can be chan!ed because of requirements of client or bank.

Q$(+ti"! 19, ank asks different structure of field 5L in format S@)F3 ;3101 for

domestic and international payments. Ho" should ) set it upA!+-(r, Separate payment method is usually used for international payment.$ifferent payment methods can ha e different ariants in P;@.




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Q$(+ti"! 20, Ho" can ) set up instruction key "hich defines "ho pays commissionfor the payment& payer or payee 3his instruction key is used in field 81A of formatS@)F3 ;310. Ho" can ) assi!n the key to the bank or endor

A!+-(r, );< Bode

,ou define instruction key for the payment method. 3hen& payment method isassi!ned to the endor or in oice 'see abo e(.

y the "ay& my o"n e*perience sho"s that banks are usually i!nore this instructionand al"ays char!e payer "ith the commission.




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Q$(+ti"! 21, Ho" can ) acti ate functionality JState entral ank indicatorK 'Sindicator(& "hich is used in the field 88 of format S@)F3 ;3101

A!+-(r, =ook at );< Bode:

Here "e put the ompany ode& i.e. Jacti ateK S for it.

$onMt be confused "ith J


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Be*t step is to define S indicator:

A!ain& donMt be confused by JFranceK in the path. )t "ill "ork for any other countrytoo.

oth confi!uration points are placed ne*t to each other if you use system "ithBe"


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Q$(+ti"! 22, @here do ) set up output forms

A!+-(r, utput forms are defined in the payment methods. ,ou can assi!npro!ram/form or Payment Payment ;edium @orkbench 'P;@( structure. 3here aretons of output forms ready to use. All the standard 'includin! uropean( forms aresupported. Print pro!rams can be found usin! the FF mask. =ist of P;@ ariantscan be seen usin! the F4 key. ,ou can create your o"n P;@ forms in transaction$; . Please read P;@ and $; documentation.

ther than payment order itself& company may require to produce Payment Ad ice"hich informs endor about the payment details. ,ou can confi!ure the form forPayment Ad ice in the Payin! ompany ode section of transaction F IP.

Q$(+ti"! 2 , $o ) need to confi!ure anythin! for format S@)F3 ;3101 intransaction $; ) do not see anythin! like this in PA,; tree. )f ) need to create

my o"n format& "hich option to choose: flat file or C;= messa!e Ho" can ) assi!n /acti ate my o"n ne" format

A!+-(r, Format S@)F3 ;3101 e*ists in standard P;@ deli ery. $; co ers onlyfe" P;@ formats. Fortunately& S@)F3 ;3101 requires only minimal confi!uration&and it is not done in $; . Ha e a look at:




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And also reate/Assi!n Selection 7ariants ' P;4( in the same );< node.

)f you need to create somethin! ery ne"& you can use $; for confi!uration andthen assi!n ne"ly created format to payment method in the same );< node "hich )already mentioned.

3ype of the tree '*ml / flat file( depends on the bankMs preferences andrequirement.

Q$(+ti"! 25, ) ha e run the Payment Pro!ram& posted the documents and plannedthe print phase. @here should ) see the file in the format S@)F3 ;3101

A!+-(r, 3ransaction F110. ;enu n ironment G Payment ;edia.

Q$(+ti"! 26, ) need to print a document for endor "hich informs him aboutpayment details. @here can ) confi!ure it

A!+-(r, ,ou can do this in transaction F IP& section JPayin! ompany odeK. 3hisis called JPayment Ad iceK. )t is usual form. SAP has deli ered form for )$ S "hichcan be ad usted "ith a little A AP.

Q$(+ti"! 27, ompany uses bank chains. @hat is this $oes APP support them

A!+-(r, ank chains are usually used in international payments& and ery rare indomestic payments.


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!ets commissions from the transaction. )f payer "ants to specify bank chain& it hasto let its o"n bank kno" that B, is an intermediate bank& and sometimescorrespondence accounts of bank A in B,.

3here can be 2 intermediate banks in the "orst scenario.

SAP has ery simple customisin! of bank chains. );< Bode:

)f bank chains are acti e& system "ill automatically find the necessary chain and putit into internal table of APP. 3hese data "ill !et into payment order.

Q$(+ti"! 28, @hat are the possible options to display Payment Proposal and list ofitems in Proposal

A!+-(r, Payment Proposal and list of items in it can be ie"ed in 2 ariants:classical and A=7+!rid. ,ou can customiNe classical display in );


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S(tti!g $' t&( El(%tr"!i% a!k Stat(m(!t 3E S4

Q$(+ti"! 1, $oes lectronic ank Statement sho" transactions at customer orbank point of ie" QER means debit from bank point of ie"& but credit from client

point of ie". Ho" can ) distin!uish incomin! and out!oin! payments

A!+-(r, ank statement in format S@)F3 ;3L40 sho"s transactions from the bankpoint of ie". )t means $ is companyMs out!oin! payment and is incomin!payment.

SAP automatically understands direction of money mo ement and transforms themfrom $/ into E/+.

Any"ay& test run of real bank statement is the best indicator if settin!s are corrector not.

Q$(+ti"! 2, ) !ot full documentation for the statement in format S@)F3 ;3L40. )thas hu!e list of possible transactions. $o ) need to confi!ure all of them in

lectronic ank Statement Ho" can ) do it

A!+-(r, )t "orth askin! your collea!ues 'like treasury& cashiers and accountants("hich of those transactions do actually e*ist in statements. Sure& not all of them "illbe in use. 3he same people "ill also tell you ho" to post each transaction in


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)f bank uses B3 F& say& for out!oin! payments and bank commissions& you cannotdo much here& unfortunately. ,ou ha e to do it manually. r try to use searchstrin!s to replace the transaction type.

Q$(+ti"! 5, Ho" can ) split domestic and international payments if they !o underthe same transaction type in bank statement

A!+-(r, As a rule& all the payments use the same transaction type in the bankstatement. )t does not matter if the payment is domestic or international. 3hat is"hy you cannot distin!uish them in the statement.

)t is different in ussia& "here all domestic payments are in roubles andinternational payments are in forei!n currency& e*cept for loans and deposits.

3hin!s are easier in this case.

Q$(+ti"! 6, )s it !ood idea to use special document type for the bank statementpostin!s r document type SA is !ood enou!h

A!+-(r, )t is ery !ood idea to use special document type. f course& documenttype SA "ill suite the first postin! area. ut ) "ould recommend to use documenttypes %I/$I for the second postin! area. r e en introduce special document typefor bank statement.

Q$(+ti"! 7, ur chart of accounts has account number "ith less than 10 symbols.Ho" should ) specify mask for the account symbol in bank statement confi!urationShould it be left ustified or ri!ht ustified

EEEEEEEEEE

EEEEEEEE

EEEEEEEE

A!+-(r, SAP al"ays adds Neros on the left of numeric account number up to 10characters. 3hat is "hy you ha e to put the mask for all 10 characters.

http://help.sap.com/saphelp>erp60>sp/helpdata/en/49/0bd4L849de11d1 L6f0000e922d00/frameset.htm

3his help document has an e*ample "here account has 6 characters& but mask has10 pluses.


http://help.sap.com/saphelp_erp60_sp/helpdata/en/43/0bd49743de11d1896f0000e8322d00/frameset.htmhttp://help.sap.com/saphelp_erp60_sp/helpdata/en/43/0bd49743de11d1896f0000e8322d00/frameset.htmhttp://en.sap.darkduck.com/http://help.sap.com/saphelp_erp60_sp/helpdata/en/43/0bd49743de11d1896f0000e8322d00/frameset.htmhttp://help.sap.com/saphelp_erp60_sp/helpdata/en/43/0bd49743de11d1896f0000e8322d00/frameset.htmhttp://en.sap.darkduck.com/


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Q$(+ti"! 8, @hen ) confi!ure the bank statement& ) can put JEK for the currency.$o ) need to create separate


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Q$(+ti"! 11, Ho" can ) delete bank statement

A!+-(r : Dse pro!ram F %AL6. 3his pro!ram deletes bank statement itself& butnot the posted documents. 3hatMs "hy ) "ould recommend usin! this pro!ram intest systems onlyO and bein! ery careful all the time.

Q$(+ti"! 12, @hat else can ) read about the bank statement

A!+-(r, Ha e a look at SAP Bote 54L288 .

Q$(+ti"! 1 , @here do ) define interpretation al!orithmsA!+-(r, )nterpretation al!orithms are defined in pro!ram F D10.


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I!t(grati"! ". APP a!# E S

Q$(+ti"! 1, @hat is the rule for


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r ank

9. 3echnical account clearin!

r ank technical out!oin! payment

$r ank technical out!oin! payment

' learin! document can ha e no line items in ersions "ithout Be"


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)f you confi!ure APP "ithout postin!s& it only produces the payment order "hich yousend you the bank. ,ou should ask your bank to return payment order incorrespondin! field of the bank statement. ther"ise you "ill ha e ery badsituation. )tems paid "ith payment order can be only cleared ia link to thispayment order. 3hey are not isible in clearin! transactions "ith any other selectionoption.

onsecuti ely& if you ha e a choice& !o for the postin!s option. Dnfortunately&ussian accountants are not ery fle*ible in these terms and prefer to make a

postin! on the basis of bank statement. 3hat is "hy in ussia you ha e to confi!ureAPP "ithout postin!s.

Q$(+ti"! 8, House banks are the banks in "hich our company has bank accountsfor incomin! and out!oin! payments. @hat should ) do "ith other bank data $o )need to maintain all the banks "hich are used by our endors and customers )heard that ) need to specify bank data in the endor or customer master record if )"ant to process APP correctly. $oes it mean ) need to maintain all the banks of ourcustomers and endors

A!+-(r, House banks are the banks in "hich our company holds the accounts. ,oumaintain these house bank accounts in transaction F)12.

3here are also banks of our partners. ,ou can maintain them in transaction F)02. )n!eneral& you !et bank data maintenance screen 'analo!ue of F)02( from thecustomer or endor master record "hen specify combination of bank country and

bank key "hich does not e*ist yet. System "ill ask you about the name& S@)F3 codeetc.

,ou ha e to maintain bank master data only for those payment methods "hich arepaid directly to the bank account of our partner. Bot all the payment methodsrequire this. For e*ample& you can dra" a cheque "ithout bank details of payee. utmost of modern payment methods require bank data. )t means "e need to thinkabout bank master data maintenance.

f course& you create any


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of bank accounts in bank is Nero at the end of each day. Full a ailable balance offirst account automatically transfers to second account& and then from there to theaccount in bank A. 3he account in bank A is also use for normal payments. Ho" can) confi!ure this in SAP

A!+-(r, SAP "ill not be able track the balance of the bank account. @e can onlysee the mo ements in the bank statement "hich is issued post+factum. Dsually youa!ree "ith the bank all the automatic money mo ements& includin! Nero+balancin!.

3hese a!reements ha e nothin! to do "ith SAP.

All the transfers bet"een bank accounts for SAP are ust transfers bet"een mainand technical bank accounts in


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C&a't(r 5) Ot&(r

3his "ill be the shortest chapter of the book. =ike dessert: small and s"eet.

Q$(+ti"! 1, ) kno" the );< node for the confi!uration. Ho" can ) find thetransaction code for the quick access to it

A!+-(r, Acti ate Acti ity display in the );< tree ie" by choosin! menu dit G$isplay );< Acti ity. Be" column "ill appear on the ri!ht of the );< structure.

First of all& try to call up transaction for the last 4 characters from this ne" column.For e*ample& S); F; BD F 5 transforms into 5 .

)f it does not help& copy full alue from the column. 3hen call up table DS>);


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Fr"m a$t&"r

SAP F) is area full of both standard solutions and non+standard approaches. ;any

functional consultants in SAP F) area try to sol e similar issues from time to time. fcourse& conte*t of these solutions is as different as each customer is. ut solutionremains the same.

3his book is dedicated to most common issues of Finance implementations ondifferent pro ects. ) hope it "as useful for you.

)f you still ha e questions& please come and ask your questions in the forums "hich) mentioned in )ntroduction .

r you may still prefer to buy yourself a paper or electronic copy of book from this

site .

Sincerely yours&

$mitry %a!lik

aka $ark$uck

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