Execute the Invoice Correction Process with Credit Memo (BKL)

During the many steps involved in the sales and distribution processes, things can go wrong. For example, the delivered material may be damaged during transportation, or you may have incorrect prices on your invoice.

To handle such issues, you can use certain standard document types for complaint processing. The most important of these document types are:

• Credit/Debit memo requests

  Used to credit or debit a certain amount to a customer.

• Returns

  Used when the customer returns goods to you.

In many cases, you create the particular documents with reference to an existing process. In this way, you always have a complete document flow of the process, including all the relevant complaint documents. A large part of the relevant information can also be copied from the reference document, which can accelerate complaints processing.

The figure, Complaints Processing, shows the different options for referencing existing documents.

An Invoice Correction Request with Credit Memo can be created with reference to a billing document or a sales order. In this way, the system can calculate the correct amount from the amount in the preceding document and the entered correct amount. When the documents are created, the system also asks you to enter an order reason for evaluation purposes. The list of available order reasons (for example, damaged during transit or price deviation) can be maintained in customizing.

When you create a credit memo request, the document automatically contains a billing block. This block prevents the document from being billed immediately. Once the process has been checked by the responsible employees, the credit memo request can be released by removing the billing block.

When the billing block is removed, the corresponding billing documents can be created and the required accounting documents are generated automatically. In this way, the correct amounts are credited to the customer account.

Unjustified customer complaints must be rejected. To ensure that the relevant items are not forwarded to a billing document, a corresponding reason for rejection can be entered. The appropriate reasons for rejection (for example, unreasonable request) can be maintained in Customizing.

Rejected items are not copied to billing documents, although they are still available for evaluation purposes.

The figure, BKL – Process Diagram, is the process diagram for scope item BKL, Invoice Correction Process with Credit Memo.

The main steps in the process are as follows:

1. The Create Credit Memo Request step indicates the intention of the supplier to pass a credit for an amount difference and initiates the process.

2. The Treat Credit Memo Request step allows the manager to approve or reject the request.

3. The Remove Billing Block step initiates the process steps to pass a credit.

4. The Create Credit Memo step sends the credit memo to the customer.

The figure, Business Benefits, shows the main benefits of the business process.

The table, Principal Roles and SAP Fiori Apps used in the Invoice Correction Process with Credit Memo, lists the roles and apps that are used in the process steps.

With the Manage Credit Memo Requests app, you can search for credit memo requests according to your filter criteria and display them in a list.

For this app, SAP provides a standard filter variant and a default sort order.

From the list, you can navigate to related applications. For example, you can display credit memo request details. The process flow provides you with a graphical overview of the chain of connected process steps and corresponding business documents (document flow). For example, you can see if a credit memo has been created, or if a journal entry has been created for this credit memo.

With the My Inbox app, you can make important decisions using mobile or desktop devices, anywhere and anytime.

From this app, you can view custom attributes that provide additional information about the task instance.

• Able to view and add comments
• Able to view, upload and delete attachment
• Able to view the business cards of the application users
• Able to browse, sort, filter and group tasks requiring action
• Able to view the support information of the application to resolve error conditions
• view the additional information provided in the object links for business workflow tasks

Using this app, you can process your standard and custom workflow tasks based on the decision options defined in the back-end system.

• Able to process tasks from your SAP Business Workflow
• Able to perform decisions options on workflow tasks (e.g., approve or reject)
• Able to perform standard actions ( e.g., claim, release or forward a request)
• Able to perform mass actions, that is, process several tasks of the same type at the same time
• Able to create and manage substitution rules to manage the tasks in your absence
• Able to create and manage substitution rules to manage the tasks in your absence
• Able to send emails or post tasks on a preconfigured JAM site

With the Create Billing Documents app, you can create billing documents, for example, invoices and credit memos, from items in the billing due list. This includes debit memo requests, sales orders, deliveries, and other Sales and Distribution (SD) documents. You can also generate temporary billing documents that you can review before converting them to final billing documents.

When searching, you can show or hide the filter bar. You can save your filter settings and restore the original settings.

Saved layout variants also save the values that you have set in filters. You can share saved layout variants with other system users. Following are view and Search features:

• Able to search using basic filters; by document number, document category, and sold-to-party for all billing due list items created before and including a certain date
• Able to search using additional features; add additional filters to the filter bar and filter by sales organization, by billing type, by customer project or billing document issue
• Able to select the columns that you want to display
• Able to sort the displayed data by one or more data types
• Able to group the data
• Able to use page variants to save and load custom filter and column layouts that you have created

The Create Billing Documents app has the following transactional features:

• Display details of any SD document in the billing due list (for example, sales order, outbound delivery or credit memo request) by choosing the corresponding document number.
• You can make billing settings so that the system performs intended actions automatically when you create billing documents.
• You can select one or more items in the billing due list to create billing documents for them.
• After you have created billing documents, you can manage them using the Manage Billing Documents app.

According to the billing settings, the following actions are performed by the system when creating billing documents:

• Enter the billing date and type before billing.

  If you enable this setting and choose to create billing documents, the system requests a billing date and the required billing type before creating billing documents.

• Create separate billing document for each item of billing due list.

  If you enable this setting and choose to create billing documents, the system creates separate billing documents for each item of the billing due list that you have selected.

• Automatically post billing documents

  The system automatically posts all billing documents that you create to accounting and triggers output (for example, an invoice by e-mail). Note that if you do not choose to post billing documents automatically, you must post them manually using the Manage Billing Documents app.

• Display billing documents after creation.

  The system generates and displays temporary billing documents for the SD documents that you have selected for billing. You then have the option to save or discard them. Saving converts them to final billing documents, while discarding them returns you to the billing due list.