Executing a Down Payment Clearing

Objectives

After completing this lesson, you will be able to:

Perform the down payment clearing process
Maintain Prerequisites for Automatic Payment of Special G/L Transactions

Clearing Down Payments

After the down payment is made, the electric motors are delivered. The goods receipt takes place and is posted, as usual, with the specification of the purchase order number.

The supplier sends the invoice of the electric motors. The invoice is entered using the Create Supplier Invoice app, specifying the purchase order number. The system displays the information: Down payment, current exist.

The figure shows the steps of the logistics process: after the delivery of the goods, the supplier invoice is entered. The system displays the information. 2000 EUR Down payment, current assets exist.

Because the goods have been delivered, the down payment can be cleared against the payable.

The figure illustrates the accounting entries in T-account view for posting a vendor invoice (3) and down payment (2). Accounts Payable account is posted on the credit side with 33,000, while the Reconciliation Account is also posted on the credit side with the same amount. The Input Tax account and the Expense account are posted on the debit side with 3,000.

Kevin has different clearing methods to choose from:

The image displays a screenshot of the Clear Outgoing Payments app. The selection criterion Line Item Type is highlighted. The options Down Payment and Normal Payments are selected. Another screenshot displays the Open AP/AR Items area. There, the Select More button with the selection options of Line Item Types such is highlighted. The options Normal Open Items and Special G/L Transactions are selected.

Clearing option

Clearing can be performed manually using the Clear Outgoing Payments - Manual Clearing app. To do this, select the line item type Down Payment and the line item type Normal Open Item. Select either the required line item types on the initial screen or on the second screen, choose Select More.
Clearing can be carried out with the residual payment. (Manually or automatically with the payment program.)

The figure illustrates the accounting entries in T-account view for posting a vendor invoice (3), down payment (2) and clearing a down payment (4) with an invoice.

Create the Supplier Invoice, Pay the Invoice

After the warehouse clerk has posted the goods receipt, Kevin receives the invoice and posts it. The down payment is cleared with the invoice with the residual payment in the automatic payment run.

ExerciseStart Exercise

Prerequisites for Automatic Payment of Special G/L Transactions

The following prerequisites enable you to pay down payment requests and clear down payments in the automatic payment run.

The figure illustrates the setup process for configuring company codes for payment transactions. It shows a screenshot where users can enter control data, cash discount and tolerances, and specify special G/L transactions for vendors and customers. The highlighted section on the right displays a list of special G/L indicators.

Maintain the required special G/L indicators for your company code in the Implementation Activities app under Payables and Receivables Management → Payment Processing → Company-Initiated Payment and Clearing → You use automatic payments and payment medium formats → Set Up All Company Codes for Payment Transactions.

Under Details, in the Accounts Payable area, enter the special G/L transactions FA to be paid.

Note

Creating automatic payments settings and account determination are part of the self-service configuration UI (SSCUI) procedure. This process can only be executed with the user Role - Configuration Expert - Business Process Configuration (BR_BPC_Expert) Expert in the SAP Central Business Configuration framework.

Handling of Partial Down Payments

When you receive a partial down payment for a customer down payment request, you can post the received amount as a partial payment by entering the amount in the Allocated Amount field in the Post Incoming Payments or Clear Incoming Payments app. This way, the original customer down payment request and the partial payment remain open until you have received and posted remaining amount. Likewise, when a supplier has requested a down payment and you can only pay part of the requested amount at the time, you can post the partial payment by entering the amount in the Allocated Amount field in the Post Outgoing Payments or Clear Outgoing Payments app. This way, the original supplier down payment request and the partial payment remain open until you have paid and posted the remaining amount. Alternatively, you can create and post a residual item by entering the remaining open amount in the Residual Amount field in the apps mentioned above, after which the system clears the original down payment request.

Example One: Post as a partial payment

Let’s assume you receive a partial down payment of EUR 600 for a customer down payment request of EUR 1,000 (1400002671). In the Post Incoming Payments app, as shown in screenshot below, you enter EUR 600 in the Allocated Amount field to post the amount as a partial payment. After posting, the system generates a payment document 1400002672. Both the original customer down payment request and the payment document remain open.

The image depicts a screenshot of the SAP Fiori user interface focused on posting incoming payments. The screen is titled Post Incoming Payments, and various fields are visible for inputting payment and journal details. On the left, there is a section labeled General Information containing fields for Company Code, Posting Date, Journal Entry Date, Reference, Document Type, and more. The Bank Data section includes fields like G/L Account and Amount. On the right, under Open Item Selection, there are fields for Account Type/Account and Payment Behavior. Towards the bottom, a table displays open A/RAP Items with columns for Company Code, Account, Journal Entry, Document Date, Amount in Doc. Curr., and Amt to be Cleared. A pop-up message in the middle of the screen confirms the successful posting of a journal entry, with options to Display, Post Next Payment, or Close.

Later, the customer pays the remaining amount of EUR 400. You search for the down payment request in the Open AP/AR Items table and choose the Clear >> button. As shown in screenshot below, the Allocated Amount is filled with the remaining amount of EUR 400 automatically. Upon posting the remaining amount, the system creates a payment document 1400002673. As a result, the down payment request document 1400002671 and the payment document 1400002672 are cleared.

The image shows the SAP Fiori interface for the Post Incoming Payments module. At the top, navigation options and a search bar are visible. Below are input fields divided into sections for General Information, Bank Data, and Open Item Selection. Fields like Company Code, Posting Date, Journal Entry Date, and others are present under General Information. Bank Data includes fields such as G/L Account and Amount. The Open Item Selection section has fields related to account type and payment behavior. At the bottom of the screen, there is a grid labeled Open A/RAP Items displaying payment information like Company Code, Account, and amounts. In the center of the screen, a pop-up message indicates a successful journal entry posting, identified as Journal entry 1000000203 (2024, 1000) posted, with options to Display, Post Next Payment, or Close.

You can view the clearing status of these documents in the Manage Customer Line Items app.

Example Two: Post as a residual item

Let’s assume you receive a partial down payment of EUR 600 for a customer down payment request of EUR 1,000 (1400002669). In the Post Incoming Payments app, as shown in screenshot below, you enter EUR 1,000 in the Allocated Amount field and EUR 400 in the Residual Amount field to post the remaining open amount as a residual item. After posting, the system clears the original down payment request and generates an open item for the received down payment (1400002670), which can be cleared by customer invoices.

The image displays a screenshot of the SAP Fiori Post Incoming Payments interface. The layout includes sections for inputting payment details. At the top are navigation and search options. The middle section features General Information, Bank Data, and Open Item Selection fields. General Information covers Company Code, Posting Date, Journal Entry Date, among others. Bank Data includes G/L Account and Amount, while Open Item Selection focuses on Account Type/Account and Payment Behavior. A table below is labeled Open A/RAP Items, with columns like Company Code, Account, Journal Entry, Document Date, and financial figures. In the center, a pop-up confirms a successful journal entry posting, labeled Journal entry 1000000204 (2024, 1000) posted, with options to Display, Post Next Payment, or Close. The interface displays financial data, including open amounts, allocated amounts, and residual amounts, with some figures highlighted in red.

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