Explaining the Process Steps and Business Roles of Credit Memo Processing for Service Management

The process that solution process Credit Memo Processing for Service Management (4GG) covers, starts with an invoice document.

The invoice document is a result of a process step of another business process in Service Management. An example could be an invoice that has been sent to a customer, based on a service order or a service confirmation - see scope item Service Order Management and Monitoring (3D2). Another example is an invoice created for a billing request line of a service contract - see scope item Service Contract Management (3MO).

This invoice is created by a user with the role Billing Clerk assigned (see the Billing Clerk column in figure Process Steps - 1 of 2). If there is no issue with the invoice, no follow-up steps are needed and the process covered by scope item 4GG will not be necessary.

However, if there is an issue with this invoice, the Internal Sales Representative must trigger the creation of a credit memo. Based on, for example, the value of the credit memo, an approval process might be necessary where the Sales Manager needs to give their approval first. If an approval step is needed, a document called a credit memo request is created by the Internal Sales Representative with reference to the original invoice. It is also possible to set up a process where a credit memo request is used that does not need an approval. The request could simply be used to document the reason a credit memo is needed.

A credit memo request is a separate document; this document will be updated in the (integrated) service transaction history. It will be visible in reports run by a Customer Service Manager.

Once the credit memo request is approved, or if no approval is needed, the Billing Clerk can create a credit memo with reference to the credit memo request.

The credit memo itself will also be updated in the (integrated) service transaction history. It will also be visible in reports run by a Customer Service Manager.

Both the invoice and the credit memo influence the open items in SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition, finance in Accounts Receivable Accounting for the customer that was invoiced. The Accounts Receivable Accountant will see this via an FI Accounting Document (a Universal Journal Entry document) that is automatically created for both the invoice and the credit memo. Scope item Accounts Receivable (J59) deals with these open items and their payments.

In Controlling, the controller can analyze the revenue/costs being posted to the relevant Controlling Object (see slide Process Steps - 2 of 2). This could, for example, be a service contract or a service order.

There is also integration here with scope item Event-Based Revenue Recognition (3M3). This is because the invoice triggering the process related to scope item Credit Memo Processing for Service Management (4GG) represents a revenue amount for the issuing company that needs to be recognized in the correct period(s).

In this lesson, we discuss the specific characteristics of the main documents used in scope item 4GG (i.e. the credit memo requests) and how they are integrated in the standard service management process in SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition.

In SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition, service, you can create a credit memo request (CMR) for the amount that is to be credited to your customer. The CMR document can be blocked for billing, pending its review. It is possible to set up an approval workflow for CMR documents in SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition. Upon approval, the CMR becomes relevant for billing and appears on the billing due list. The periodic billing process creates a credit memo (based on the credit memo request) to be sent to your customer and posts a journal entry in SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition, finance.

CMR documents can be created with reference to billing documents for services, expenses, and/or service parts. The sales document type Cre. Memo Req. f.Service (SCR) has been introduced for this purpose. Prices are copied from the billing document and are not redetermined for the CMR. The referenced billing documents are created on the basis of billing document requests (BDRs) that in turn have been created for billing-relevant service confirmation line items or service order line items.

In SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition, the credit memo request line item copies the account assignment object from the preceding billing document line item and transfers this account assignment object to the follow-on document credit memo line item. As a result of this logic, the financial postings for the credit memo line item use the account assignment object of the service order line item.

The figure shows an example of a possible document flow for a credit memo request created with reference to a billing document that in turn was created on the basis of billing document requests for billing-relevant service confirmation line items.

This figure shows a possible document flow for a fixed price service order. The credit memo request is created with reference to a billing document that in turn was created on the basis of billing document requests for billing-relevant line items of the fixed price service order.

In the above table you can find an overview of all the standard business roles that are used in Credit Memo Processing for Service Management (4GG).

These roles can be used as a template to create your own business roles for your business users working with scope item Credit Memo Processing for Service Management (4GG).

The billing clerk creates the invoices that act as a starting event for the process covered by scope item 4GG and the billing clerk is also responsible for creating the actual credit memo's themselves.

The internal sales representative creates the credit memo request(s) with reference to the invoice(s) for which a credit memo might need to be created (based on approval/rejection).

The sales manager approves or rejects the credit memo requests that need approval.

The customer service manager analyzes the (updated) service transaction history. It is updated whenever a new credit memo request and/or credit memo is created.