Getting Started in SAP S/4HANA Sales

Executing an Order-to-Cash Process in SAP S/4HANA Sales

Maintaining Master Data in SAP S/4HANA Sales

Using Presales Documents in SAP S/4HANA Sales

Utilizing Sales Analytics and Monitoring in SAP S/4HANA

Navigating the Order-to-Cash Process Steps

Objective

After completing this lesson, you will be able to navigate the order-to-cash process steps

Sales Order Creation

Let's navigate through the order-to cash process step by step. In this example, the sales process starts with the creation of the sales order.

In general, in SAP S/4HANA Sales you can sell services or physical products that you have in stock or manufacture yourself.

Note

In the demonstrations in this course, the focus is on a sales process where a material is sold from stock. You will take over different roles as you navigate through the order-to cash process step by step. For the following demonstration, you are in the role of our sales rep (Sally):

DemoStart Demo

Structure of a Sales Document

Note

See the following video to learn more about the sales document structure and its levels: header, item, and schedule line. You also see the structure of sales documents in SAP S/4HANA when our sales rep Sally reviews the order she created.

Sales Order Sourcing

Before the ordered material can be delivered to the customer, it has to be sourced. The way in which a material is sourced can depend on the material itself as well as on the sales transaction.

The material can be sourced as follows:

Directly from stock
By replenishment from a supplier (via a purchase requisition or a purchase order)
By replenishment through own production (via a planned order or a production order)

The figure, Sourcing, covers the integration of materials management functions within the sales and distribution process.

Sales and Distribution can check the availability of ordered goods, and transfer the (sales) requirements to materials planning. Materials management (MM) organizes and monitors the actual sourcing process. This process can include existing stocks, in-house production, and external procurement.

During sales order creation, everything happens at once. Now review the previous sales order and learn about the sales document structure as well as the sourcing. Could inventory sourcing confirm the ordered quantity?

Note

See the following demonstration in which Sally reviews the sales document structure and the integration with inventory management (MM-IM):

DemoStart Demo

Shipping Process

When the sourcing of the requested material is confirmed, shipping processing can begin. In SAP S/4HANA, the creation of outbound deliveries is the first step in the shipping process. The outbound delivery controls, supports, and monitors numerous process steps, such as the following:

Picking and confirming via warehouse management functions (optional)
Packing (optional)
Transport planning and monitoring via shipment documents (optional) or via freight orders in SAP S/4HANA Transportation Management (optional)
Posting the goods issue

Note

See the following video to hear Marc, who works in shipping, explain his daily tasks:

Delivery processing leads to updates of the process in Sales.

Note

The following demonstration starts with the view point of Sally in Sales, and afterwards, Marc continues with delivery creation and the picking process. See the following demonstration, in which Marc executes the shipping process:

DemoStart Demo

The outbound delivery forms the basis of goods issue posting. The data required for goods issue posting is copied from the outbound delivery into the goods issue document, which cannot be changed manually. Any changes must be made in the outbound delivery itself. In this way, you can be sure that the goods issue document is an accurate reflection of the outbound delivery.

Posting the goods issue changes the quantity and the value of the goods in stock. Value-based changes are made to the relevant balance sheet accounts in financial accounting.

Note

See the following demonstration, in which Marc posts the goods issue, and in which you can see how the integration of shipping into inventory management (MM-IM) is carried out:

DemoStart Demo

Billing Process

After the shipping process has been completed, the billing documents can be created. This can be done with reference to one or more outbound deliveries (when selling physical products) or with reference to sales orders (when selling services). In both cases, the relevant information is copied from the preceding documents into the billing document. The billing document serves as a data source for financial accounting, to help you monitor and process customer payments.

Typically, when a billing document is created, the general ledger accounts are determined automatically and the relevant data is posted. The system creates the following postings:

A debit posting on the customer’s receivables account
A credit posting on the revenue account

Note

See the following video to hear Alex in billing explain his daily tasks:

Note

The following demonstration shows how a customer is invoiced and that the data gets automatically transferred into accounting:

DemoStart Demo

Payment Processing in Finance

In this section, you learn what the process looks like from the point of view of the accountant and how a payment is posted.

Note

Strictly speaking, recording incoming payments is not part of the core sales and distribution process. Nevertheless, if you check the line of credit for your customers during order creation, the standard sales process can be affected by unpaid invoices.

Note

See the following video to hear Lisa in Accounting explain her daily tasks:

How is the incoming payment from the customer recorded in Accounting?

Note

See the following video to learn about posting an incoming payment:

Note

Seen the following demonstration in which Lisa in Accounting posts the incoming customer payment:

DemoStart Demo

Integration of Sales: Overview within the Company

Here are some examples for the integration of other functional areas and components.

Note

See the following video to learn about the relevant documents within a sales and distribution process:

The Process Flow

Process Flow

Throughout the different steps in SAP S/4HANA Sales process, the process flow is the link between all documents and across functional areas, such as sales and accounting.

Note

See the following video to learn more about the process flow of a sales order:

Summary

One or more quotations can serve as reference documents for a sales order. One quotation can also lead to several sales orders.
A sales document is divided into three levels: header, item, and schedule line. The data is distributed across these levels.
Before the ordered material can be delivered to the customer, it has to be sourced.
When the sourcing of the requested material is confirmed, shipping processing can begin. In SAP S/4HANA, the creation of outbound deliveries is the first step in the shipping process. The outbound delivery controls, supports, and monitors numerous process steps. Picking, packing, and posting the goods issue are the next steps.
After the shipping process has been completed, the billing documents can be created.
The incoming payment from the customer is recorded within the accounting department. The data on the relevant general ledger accounts is then posted automatically.
The linking of the documents within a sales and distribution process can be displayed via the process flow. This enables you to access the history and current status of the relevant documents at any time.

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