Outlining Automated Invoice Settlement

The Automated Invoice Settlement (‏2LH‏) scope item belongs to the Operational Procurement and Invoice Management business areas, which are part of the Sourcing and Procurement line of business.

This scope item can be used for procurement and enables the user to settle goods receipts directly, without an invoice from a supplier. The system posts the invoice document automatically based on the data in the purchase order and goods receipt.

With the automated invoice settlement process, the customer agrees with the supplier that the supplier does not submit an invoice for a purchase order or transaction. The goods receipt is settled directly, and the invoice document is posted automatically, based on the purchase order and goods receipt. This results in a lean and robust procurement process. This process is suitable for creating settlement documents at regular intervals.

The figure, Automated Invoice Settlement Process Overview, shows the process overview of automated invoice settlement.

The following is a list of business benefits:

• Close purchasing transactions quickly
• Avoid communication errors
• Eliminate price and quantity variances in invoice verification
• Streamlined procurement processes in an efficient and cost-effective manner
• Ensure highly automated processes
• Reduce manual effort greatly
• View analytical list page: Monitor purchase order items

The following points outline the key process flow:

• Manage a purchase order.
• Manage a goods receipt.
• Perform an automated invoice settlement.

You can use evaluated receipt settlement with supplier invoice jobs.

You can schedule and monitor recurring supplier invoice-related activities as a background job by choosing the Evaluated Receipt Settlement job template.

You should only use evaluated receipt settlement if agreements with the supplier are clear, and you update the price agreements in the purchase orders in the system. You also need to create goods movements promptly and accurately. Created goods movements can be settled without receipt of an invoice. The system can create and post the appropriate invoices itself. Evaluated receipt settlement is especially effective if you create settlement documents periodically.

The table lists the SAP Fiori apps that are used in the Automated Invoice Settlement Process steps.

With this app, you can create and manage purchase orders to ensure that you get the ordered items on time, at the correct location, and in the required quantity. As a purchaser, you can manually order materials and services. The list of purchase orders that is displayed is based on the header level of the Purchase Order (PO), so the information shown relates to the entire PO. On the overview, you can immediately see the number of overdue items for each PO. The Standard, Consignment, Subcontracting, Third-party, and Limit item categories are supported.

You can use Evaluated Receipt Settlement (ERS) also with the Manage Purchase Orders app. You can control whether an invoice is to be generated automatically when a valuated goods receipt for ordered materials or services has been posted.

Note

You have only the option of selecting or deselecting the Evaluated Receipt Settlement indicator in the purchase order if it was previously set in the supplier master data. To do this, you as an administrator use the Maintain Business Partner app and go to your supplier’s purchasing data that is specific for the respective purchasing organization.

In Sourcing and Procurement, several Self-Service Configuration UIs (SSCUIs), also referred to as configuration steps, are available in the Manage Your Solution app. The following SSCUIs affect the area of Automated Invoice Settlement: