Managing Accounts Payable

Let’ start with the next Business Process Step within Record-to-Report processing: Manage Accounts Payable.

The current process step is highlighted in the overview below:

In this lesson, we will introduce the concept of the business partner as central master data in Accounts Payable. You will see how the business partner master data is structured and how to define it as a vendor for the accounts payable department of the Bike Company.

In addition to creating a business partner, we test the posting of incoming invoices in Financial Accounting. Reporting is also used to track the integration with Financial Accounting and Management Accounting.

As we already learned in Lesson 2 of this unit, Accounts Payable records and administers accounting data for each individual vendor. As soon as we have accounting-relevant transactions, such as incoming invoices or outgoing payments in relation to a vendor, an account (master data) is needed in Accounts Payable.

The Bike Company has suppliers that deliver goods and services for multiple company codes. The Accounts Payable department asks whether vendor master data must be defined separately for each company code.

The master data of vendors (this is the term used in Accounts Payable) is administered by the business partner in SAP S/4HANA. The business partner allows you to centrally maintain master data for different SAP solutions in one place.

The business partner data that is relevant for Accounts Payable is, therefore, subdivided into the following two areas:

• General data is valid for a single client. General data includes data such as the vendor’s address, control data, bank details, and contact persons.

• Financial Accounting data is maintained at the company code level. Company code data includes data such as the link to the General Ledger Accounting, information for correspondence, and the payment methods for payment transactions.

Because the general data is maintained at client level, it is automatically available to all company codes (and other SAP solutions). Therefore, there is no need to define them separately for each company code.

In the company code views, each company code can then maintain its specific Financial Accounting data, such as VAT information or payment methods (for example, a bank transfer or check).

When you define a new business partner, you must assign a predefined business partner role. The business partner role provides the master data fields for input for the corresponding task in the SAP system. To be able to maintain data that is specific to Financial Accounting for Accounts Payable at company code level, the FI Vendor role is required.

If this vendor is also used as a supplier in purchasing, you will extend an existing business partner in connection with the business partner role provided for this (Business Partner role Supplier). You will learn more about this business partner role in the Source-to-Pay unit in this training.

Select the FI vendor role, to learn more about role-related data. Do not forget to check the General Business Partner data by selecting the corresponding area. Please note, that the general data has to be provided for each Business Partner Role. Further roles will be unlocked in the course of the training.

In most cases, when making any purchase, the Bike Company has a strict procurement policy that requires the procurement department to manage, or at least be made aware of, all purchases. 

In predefined, exceptional cases it is allowed to order office supplies without involving the procurement department. For example, when the office printer requires toner unexpectedly and we must purchase new cartridges from the office supply shop next to our office.  

The following video shows the initial value flow when posting a vendor invoice directly in the Accounts Payable.

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Note

You will learn more about the payment program in the Source-to-Pay unit.

Please watch the video below, to learn more about clearing a vendor invoice.

• Creating Supplier/Vendor Master Records: Overview | SAP Help Portal

• Invoices and Credit Memos | SAP Help Portal

• Incoming and Outgoing Payments | SAP Help Portal