FAQ IN SAP FINANCE2
23:43
Payments
Setting up the Automatic Payment Program (APP)
Question 1: What is the process of payments using the Automatic Payment Program?
Answer: The process in general is as follows.You launch transaction F110 and specify parameters for the selection of items to be paid. Then you run Proposal Run, which creates a Payments Proposal. This proposal is analysed by Treasury / Accountants / somebody else, and then it is approved immediately or with some corrections. After that you run the Productive Run of APP. At this moment postings are done (or not done – see separately). When Productive Run is finished, you can create a payment file or paper payment documents for the bank and/or payment recipients.
Question 2: What is the first step of the APP configuration?
Answer: The process begins from an understanding of payment types in use. Have a look at the bank statement, talk to the people responsible for payments and statements. You will create a special payment method for each of the payment types.Basic configuration of APP is carried out in transaction FBZP. Go through all the sections in it and understand what you will configure and what you will copy from existing examples (maybe just use delivered standard examples without copying).
Question 3: We have a special payment type when paper fax is sent to the "bank".This fax contains all the parameters for the payment processing. The "bank" is not a real bank but a company within our group (holding). It gives us periodic statements like paper bank statements. Payments of this type are absolutely manual. Do I needto set up a special payment method for this?
Answer: There are 2 points to consider:
1) If the payment is done for the preliminary known open items, you can simply use the “Manual payments” transaction F-53 without APP. No payment method is required in this case. A payment document can be
printed out in an external system (Word/Excel) or via the Correspondence functionality.
2) If you want APP to choose the documents to be paid via "fax", then you have to use it. A special payment method is required. Of course, you can set up your own printing program for this payment method, as for any usual payment method.
Question 4: We periodically make payments to the government authorities. For example, taxes. How should we process these payments?
Answer: I saw 3 scenarios for tax payments:
1) Russian. You create a special vendor with a reconciliation account in the area of "tax" GL accounts in your Chart of Accounts. You post an "invoice" from this vendor, even though there is no actual invoice. The amount is manually taken from the tax return. Then you pay the amount to the vendor as usual.
2) Western with direct debit. Very simple. Tax authorities take money from the bank account by themselves.
3) Western with an invoice. It is like scenario 1, but the actual invoice exists.
Question 5: Bill of exchange. What is this? Implementation Guide (IMG) has lots of settings about it, but I do not understand if I need them.
Answer: It is a payment with notes (bill of exchange, bill). I have never seen it in use. Simply forget about it.
Question 6: Are there any recommendations for the best usage of Identification field in transaction F110? The one below the date on the first screen. Should we put clerk’s initials in there, country code, company code?
Answer: The approach depends on number of people processing the payments, whether they have on-line connection to each other etc. If people are in several geographical locations, then it is logical to put the code of the country or Company Code. If they sit next to each other, they can work out their own rules.
Question7: Why do I have Vendors and Customers on the selection screens of APP?What is the relationship between Customers and Payment program, which is used for the outgoing payments?
Answer: First of all, we can pay Customers too. For example, refunds or returns of down payments.Second, APP can be also used for payments' collection. For example, direct debits.That’s why customers are pretty much on their place in APP.
Question 8: Are there any recommendations for the use of the "Next run date" field in APP? How often should the Payment Run be executed?
Answer: If you use early settlement discount functionality and automatic payment optimization, then the field "Next run date" should contain the date of the next run. The frequency of them depends on company rules and varies from 1 day to 1 month.If you select open items manually using the external lists and factors, then the date 31.12.9999 will do.
Question 9: What is the trigger for the APP run? Vendor invoice? Purchase order?
Answer: The APP processes posted invoices and down payment requests. Purchase orders have nothing to do with APP. Frankly speaking, Purchase Orders are not relevant to SAP Finance whatsoever.
Question 10: We can control outgoing payments: what and how to pay. There is a different situation with incoming payments. How would we know that the customer has paid us in order to process the incoming payment in APP? How would we know to which bank account it sent us the money, if we have several bank accounts? It is also unclear how the customer calculates the early settlement discount.
Answer: APP is used for the outgoing payments initiated by our company. Incoming payments are only processed via APP if we initiate them (i.e. direct debit). You cannot control your customers’ behaviour, hence you cannot automate it.
Setting up the Automatic Payment Program (APP)
Question 1: What is the process of payments using the Automatic Payment Program?
Answer: The process in general is as follows.You launch transaction F110 and specify parameters for the selection of items to be paid. Then you run Proposal Run, which creates a Payments Proposal. This proposal is analysed by Treasury / Accountants / somebody else, and then it is approved immediately or with some corrections. After that you run the Productive Run of APP. At this moment postings are done (or not done – see separately). When Productive Run is finished, you can create a payment file or paper payment documents for the bank and/or payment recipients.
Question 2: What is the first step of the APP configuration?
Answer: The process begins from an understanding of payment types in use. Have a look at the bank statement, talk to the people responsible for payments and statements. You will create a special payment method for each of the payment types.Basic configuration of APP is carried out in transaction FBZP. Go through all the sections in it and understand what you will configure and what you will copy from existing examples (maybe just use delivered standard examples without copying).
Question 3: We have a special payment type when paper fax is sent to the "bank".This fax contains all the parameters for the payment processing. The "bank" is not a real bank but a company within our group (holding). It gives us periodic statements like paper bank statements. Payments of this type are absolutely manual. Do I needto set up a special payment method for this?
Answer: There are 2 points to consider:
1) If the payment is done for the preliminary known open items, you can simply use the “Manual payments” transaction F-53 without APP. No payment method is required in this case. A payment document can be
printed out in an external system (Word/Excel) or via the Correspondence functionality.
2) If you want APP to choose the documents to be paid via "fax", then you have to use it. A special payment method is required. Of course, you can set up your own printing program for this payment method, as for any usual payment method.
Question 4: We periodically make payments to the government authorities. For example, taxes. How should we process these payments?
Answer: I saw 3 scenarios for tax payments:
1) Russian. You create a special vendor with a reconciliation account in the area of "tax" GL accounts in your Chart of Accounts. You post an "invoice" from this vendor, even though there is no actual invoice. The amount is manually taken from the tax return. Then you pay the amount to the vendor as usual.
2) Western with direct debit. Very simple. Tax authorities take money from the bank account by themselves.
3) Western with an invoice. It is like scenario 1, but the actual invoice exists.
Question 5: Bill of exchange. What is this? Implementation Guide (IMG) has lots of settings about it, but I do not understand if I need them.
Answer: It is a payment with notes (bill of exchange, bill). I have never seen it in use. Simply forget about it.
Question 6: Are there any recommendations for the best usage of Identification field in transaction F110? The one below the date on the first screen. Should we put clerk’s initials in there, country code, company code?
Answer: The approach depends on number of people processing the payments, whether they have on-line connection to each other etc. If people are in several geographical locations, then it is logical to put the code of the country or Company Code. If they sit next to each other, they can work out their own rules.
Question7: Why do I have Vendors and Customers on the selection screens of APP?What is the relationship between Customers and Payment program, which is used for the outgoing payments?
Answer: First of all, we can pay Customers too. For example, refunds or returns of down payments.Second, APP can be also used for payments' collection. For example, direct debits.That’s why customers are pretty much on their place in APP.
Question 8: Are there any recommendations for the use of the "Next run date" field in APP? How often should the Payment Run be executed?
Answer: If you use early settlement discount functionality and automatic payment optimization, then the field "Next run date" should contain the date of the next run. The frequency of them depends on company rules and varies from 1 day to 1 month.If you select open items manually using the external lists and factors, then the date 31.12.9999 will do.
Question 9: What is the trigger for the APP run? Vendor invoice? Purchase order?
Answer: The APP processes posted invoices and down payment requests. Purchase orders have nothing to do with APP. Frankly speaking, Purchase Orders are not relevant to SAP Finance whatsoever.
Question 10: We can control outgoing payments: what and how to pay. There is a different situation with incoming payments. How would we know that the customer has paid us in order to process the incoming payment in APP? How would we know to which bank account it sent us the money, if we have several bank accounts? It is also unclear how the customer calculates the early settlement discount.
Answer: APP is used for the outgoing payments initiated by our company. Incoming payments are only processed via APP if we initiate them (i.e. direct debit). You cannot control your customers’ behaviour, hence you cannot automate it.
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