Using Further Functions in Invoice Verification

Objectives

After completing this lesson, you will be able to:

Post invoices for purchase orders with down payments
Post invoices for purchase orders with security retention
Handle invoices with contract reference

Invoices for Purchase Orders with Down Payments

Hint

Down payment requests and down payments are strictly Financial Accounting (FI) processes. They do not generate any materials management (MM) documents.

Invoice with Down Payment Clearing

This graphic outlines the process of posting a purchase order with a down payment in financial accounting, showing how down payments and invoices are cleared in the general ledger view.

The figure shows the postings with gross display of the down payment made. The following postings are made in accounting for a down payment process:

A planned down payment for a PO (1 in the figure).
The invoice for the PO (2 in the figure) with down payment clearing (3 in the figure).

Depending on the legal specifications of your country, you may or may not have to post tax on down payments. If you post tax, you must define whether the down payment has to be displayed with or without tax in the open item and special general ledger (G/L) accounts.

With net display, the down payment is posted to the open item and the down payment accounts without tax. The tax amount is posted to the input tax account.
With gross display, the down payment is posted to the open item and the down payment accounts with tax. The tax amount is posted to the input tax account. To clear the tax, the system also posts the amount automatically to a tax clearing account.
The advantage of gross display is that the down payment amount displays in the open item account with tax, consequently the entire amount of the payable displays.

You use the Tax Category indicator in the master record of the down payment account to control whether the display is always net or always gross.

Tax Category Indicator	Controls
+B (Output tax - down payments managed gross)	Down payments received, gross
+ (Only output tax allowed)	Down payments received, net
–B (Input tax - down payments managed gross)	Down payments made, gross
– (Only input tax allowed)	Down payments made, net

In transaction MIRO and the Create Supplier Invoice - Advanced app, you can clear down payments manually when you post an incoming invoice. The system displays a list of the down payments for the purchase order from which you can select the down payments to be cleared.

How to Post Invoices for Purchase Orders with Down Payments

DemoStart Demo

Security Retention

Customizing Security Retentions

You can configure the following settings for retentions in Customizing:

Define a default due date for retention:

You can define a period for each material group that is added to the net due date for the invoice. For example, you have defined three months as the period for material group 001, and the due date for the net payment of an invoice is March 31. Therefore, the suggestion for the due date of the retention is June 30. To do this, in Customizing for Materials Management, choose Logistics Invoice Verification → Incoming Invoice → Retention → Define Default Due Date for Retention.

Hint

You cannot enter a default value for the due date of the security retention in the purchase order.

Define tax handling for retention:
You can define whether the retention for each country and tax code is posted on a net or gross basis. In the delivery system, retentions are always posted gross. To do this, in Customizing for Materials Management, choose Logistics Invoice Verification → Incoming Invoice → Retention → Define Tax Handling for Retention.
Define control parameters for retention:
You can define the due date as a required entry field and define an alternative special G/L indicator for retention for each company code. In the default settings, the special G/L indicator H is used. To do this, in Customizing for Materials Management, choose Logistics Invoice Verification → Incoming Invoice → Retention → Define Control Parameters for Retention.

How to Post Invoices for Purchase Orders with Security Retention

DemoStart Demo

Contract Handling in Invoices

This screenshot demonstrates selecting services within a contract in SAP software, highlighting service package details such as quantity, gross, and net value against an outline agreement.

You can use the function to create invoices with reference to a contract to optimize procurement processes for unplanned services and increase the transparency of contract usage with the aim of ensuring lower procurement prices in the long term.

You can create invoices with reference to contracts as follows:

With a direct reference to an SAP S/4HANA contract or SRM central contract.
With reference to a limit PO item that contains a reference to a contract.
With a reference to a limit PO item without a contract reference, with the option of referencing a contract during invoice verification.

Direct posting to contracts must be activated in Customizing for Materials Management under Logistics Invoice Verification → Incoming Invoice → Activate Direct Posting to Contracts. If you have activated the function, then additionally the Contract Reference tab is displayed in the Enter Incoming Invoice (MIRO), Park Incoming Invoice (MIR7), and Change Parked Invoice (MIR4) transactions.

Process for Invoice with Contract Reference

For invoices which are posted with reference to a contract, you can define tolerances for price variances. If the upper limit is exceeded, the invoice is blocked with price as the blocking reason. The tolerances are maintained at a company code level. To choose the tolerance key PC , in Customizing for Materials Management, choose Logistics Invoice Verification → Invoice Block → Set Tolerance Limits.

When posting the invoice with reference to a contract, the system updates the contract history with the information from the invoice.

Reference to Limit PO Item

Reference to Limit PO Item with Contract Reference

To create an invoice with a reference to a limit PO item with a reference to a contract, you must enter the PO number on the PO Reference tab page. Then, to select service items from the referenced contract, choose the Service Selection pushbutton.

You can now enter quantity, amount, and if necessary, account assignment data in the item list for each selected service item. When posting the invoice, the system updates the contract and PO histories.

Reference to Limit PO Item without Contract Reference

To create an invoice with a reference to a limit PO item, you must enter the PO number on the PO Reference tab page. In the item line for the limit PO item, you can enter the contract number and contract item, to whom you want to reference. Then, to select service items from the referenced contract, choose the Service Selection pushbutton.

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