Creating a Correspondence

Objectives

After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
  • Create a correspondence type.
  • Assign a correspondence print program
  • Link correspondence types to transaction and reason codes

Correspondence Types

A correspondence type represents a type of letter in the system. You have to create a correspondence type for every type of letter you need.

When processing business transactions, correspondence types can be manually selected by the system user or automatically selected according to rules that the user defines.

You can use the standard correspondence types or customize them. To customize a correspondence type, first copy it, and then make the desired changes. This is necessary because the standard correspondence types will be overwritten by a system upgrade.

Standard Correspondence Types

The following list outlines examples of standard correspondence types available:

  • Payment notice: SAP01
  • Account statement: SAP06
  • Individual correspondence: SAP10
  • Open items list: SAP14
  • User-defined

Correspondence Type Components

The following list outlines the information that can be defined for correspondence types:

Correspondence Type Information

  • Required information
    • Account number
    • Document number
  • Whether or not additional text can be added to the form
  • If the correspondence can be used across company codes
    • Establish intercompany relationship with the correspondence company code
  • The number of date fields required

The following data is required for the different types of correspondence:

Required Data per Correspondence Type

CorrespondenceRequired Data
Payment noticesDocument number
Account statementsAccount number and date
Bill of exchange charges statementsDocument number
Internal documentsDocument number
Individual lettersAccount number
Document extractsDocument number
Customer statementsAccount number and date

The data in the table is either entered manually by the user or determined automatically by the system after the user has selected the relevant correspondence type.

To combine data from different company codes in one letter, select the Cross Company checkbox in the correspondence type and assign the company codes to correspondence company codes in Customizing.

You can use the following correspondence types in all company codes:

  • Payment notices
  • Account statements
  • Bill of exchange charges statements
  • Internal documents
  • Individual letters
  • Document extracts

Print Program

Overview of correspondence configuration in SAP, highlighting program, variant, and form relationships for generating automated and specific account-related documents.

A suitable print program and selection variant are defined for each correspondence type. The selection variant is used to print the requested correspondence.

The following print programs are defined for each correspondence type:

Print Programs per Correspondence Type

Correspondence TypePrint Program
Payment noticesRFKORD00, RFKORD00_PDF
Account statementsRFKORD10, RFKORD10_PDF
Bill of exchange charges statementsRFKORD20
Internal documentsRFKORD30, RFKORD30_PDF
Individual lettersRFKORD40, RFKORD40_PDF
Document extractsRFKORD50, RFKORD50_PDF
Customer statementsRFKORD11, RFKORD11_PDF

You can distinguish your specifications by company code. You can also choose the printer on which you want your correspondence to be issued in the selection variant.

A correspondence type can have several form letters, and you can define the form that the program uses to create the correspondence. The individual forms are distinguished by their form ID. This ID is assigned to the selection variant to ensure that the correct correspondence is printed. You can change these forms, for example, to add your company logo, address, and additional text.

Transaction Codes

Table outlining selectable correspondence types for online transactions, highlighting available display options: line item, account, and document displays for SAP01 and SAP06.

You can specify which correspondence types can be used in conjunction with various online functions. The selections you make will influence your choice of forms available during online processing. This step is also required to display new correspondence types in the Create Correspondence app.

The following are selection examples:

  • Payment notices can be selected for payment transactions.
  • Account statements can be selected in document entry, payment processing, document display or change, and account editing (balance display and line item processing).

You can make your specifications based on the company code. If no entry exists for a company code, the correspondence types specified independently of a company code are offered.

Reason Codes

Table outlining correspondence types and reason codes, emphasizing rules for handling disputes, deductions, and payment tolerance with assigned system codes for automated processes.

You can specify the default correspondence type for your business partner where payment differences exist for different tolerance groups.

If you want to always issue the same type of correspondence, enter the correspondence type in the Message Required field. If you want to choose the correspondence type during payment settlement, leave the field blank.

If you are using different types of correspondence depending on the reason code, select the According to Reason Code checkbox. On the reason code screen, you then define the correspondence type for each reason code. For example, if your customer short pays an invoice without explanation, you can follow up with a letter requesting an explanation using the MD (Miscellaneous Deduction) reason code and a specific correspondence type.

A payment notice is created only according to the reason code as long as all of the reason codes carry the same correspondence type. If reason codes occur with different types of payment notices, the type of payment notice defined for the tolerance group is sent. This way you can cover all types of reason codes.

If reason codes occur without allocated payment notices, the system again uses the tolerance group to determine the type of payment notice.

Example of Linking Correspondence Types and Reason Codes​

Process flow illustrating how payment postings and correspondence requests update invoice balances, with steps for documentation and notification to ensure accurate financial records.

Assume that the tolerance group correspondence is SAP01 and your customer makes a partial payment after a delay of two months. When you manually process this incoming payment, you create a residual item with a reason code and request correspondence type SAP01, payment notice.

After your correspondence request is created, you post the document. Next, you maintain your correspondence request, that is, you print the correspondence request and the system generates the letter using your customer’s master data and line item information.

However, if a document has several line items, some of the line items may have different reason codes and associated correspondence types. In this case, the automatic payment notice cannot be sent according to the reason code because the system does not know which correspondence type to choose. As a result, the system uses the payment notice assigned to the tolerance group, independent of the reason codes.

How to Link a Correspondence Type to a Reason Code

DemoStart Demo

Create a Correspondence

ExerciseStart Exercise

Summary

  • Create correspondence types for specific letter formats.
  • Assign print programs and selection variants for correspondence types.
  • Link correspondence types to transactions and reason codes.
  • Customize standard correspondence types (copy only) for specific business needs.

Learning

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