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Can FI-CAx be used for making outgoing payments to business partners

Former Member
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Hi All,

Can we use the installment plan in FI-CA for the outgoing payments to business partners. Our company has lot of lease contracts and these contracts have payments due to be paid on a monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, and annual basis. All these lease contracts are managed in SAP Real estate Flexible objects. We want to use FI-CAx for making payments to these contracts and hence we are looking for integration between FI-CA and RE-flexible objects.

From what I heard FI-CA is a receivables module and is not best suited for payables, so please let me know if we can use the outgoing payment plan and installment plan in FI-CA for making payments to business partners.

This is a bottleneck in our implementation. So please help me asap.

Thanks in advance. Points will be awarded to all the useful solutions.

Santosh

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION

Former Member
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Hi Santhosh,

FYI my answers below

Can we use the instalment plan in FI-CA for the outgoing payments to business partners.

u2022I would say Yeah. ofcourse there is a way to do it provided you have created existing OI in Real estate in FI-CAX. This is because, weu2019d Refund money to the customer. In the same token I do not see any problem in paying monies to them!!!!

u2022You need to create your RE-FX contracts unto FICA as Contract Accounts <1:1 ratio>.

Our company has lot of lease contracts and these contracts have payments due to be paid on a monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, and annual basis. All these lease contracts are managed in SAP Real estate Flexible objects. We want to use FI-CAx for making payments to these contracts and hence we are looking for integration between FI-CA and RE-flexible objects.

u2022Assuming that you have your RE-Fx data unto FICA, next step is to configure Instalment plans < monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, and annual >.

u2022Next you create Instalment plans for the contract accounts <FICA> as required.

u2022Now, if you want to pay the amount, you need to attach outgoing payment method in Contract Account, Configure your Payment program.

u2022Now run your Payment Run <FPY1 =4.72; FPYS = ECC>.

u2022All the OI would be cleared. If you want to send the file to the bank, you can do so or you can also issue cheques.

From what I heard FI-CA is a receivables module and is not best suited for payables, so please let me know if we can use the outgoing payment plan and instalment plan in FI-CA for making payments to business partners.

u2022Look above.

OI = Open Item

Other points you need to consider:

1. Are the amounts in RE-FX consistent <equal through out the installment plans>?

2. Do you want to create separate Installment plans in FICA?

3. If yes, above should be helpful.

4. If not, identify an Interface between RE-FX and FICA.

5. What are your plans to close the Contracts in RE-FX once all the Installment plans are being paid in FICA?

6. Do you want to establish an Interface between RE-FX and FICA so that data would be transferred bt them automatically?

7.Is point no 6 one way or 2 ways <i.e RE-FX to FICA and vice versa>

8. What is the volume and frequency?

9.Other points if any

Does this helps?

Rgds

Rajendra

View solution in original post

6 REPLIES 6

Former Member
0 Kudos

Hi Santhosh,

FYI my answers below

Can we use the instalment plan in FI-CA for the outgoing payments to business partners.

u2022I would say Yeah. ofcourse there is a way to do it provided you have created existing OI in Real estate in FI-CAX. This is because, weu2019d Refund money to the customer. In the same token I do not see any problem in paying monies to them!!!!

u2022You need to create your RE-FX contracts unto FICA as Contract Accounts <1:1 ratio>.

Our company has lot of lease contracts and these contracts have payments due to be paid on a monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, and annual basis. All these lease contracts are managed in SAP Real estate Flexible objects. We want to use FI-CAx for making payments to these contracts and hence we are looking for integration between FI-CA and RE-flexible objects.

u2022Assuming that you have your RE-Fx data unto FICA, next step is to configure Instalment plans < monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, and annual >.

u2022Next you create Instalment plans for the contract accounts <FICA> as required.

u2022Now, if you want to pay the amount, you need to attach outgoing payment method in Contract Account, Configure your Payment program.

u2022Now run your Payment Run <FPY1 =4.72; FPYS = ECC>.

u2022All the OI would be cleared. If you want to send the file to the bank, you can do so or you can also issue cheques.

From what I heard FI-CA is a receivables module and is not best suited for payables, so please let me know if we can use the outgoing payment plan and instalment plan in FI-CA for making payments to business partners.

u2022Look above.

OI = Open Item

Other points you need to consider:

1. Are the amounts in RE-FX consistent <equal through out the installment plans>?

2. Do you want to create separate Installment plans in FICA?

3. If yes, above should be helpful.

4. If not, identify an Interface between RE-FX and FICA.

5. What are your plans to close the Contracts in RE-FX once all the Installment plans are being paid in FICA?

6. Do you want to establish an Interface between RE-FX and FICA so that data would be transferred bt them automatically?

7.Is point no 6 one way or 2 ways <i.e RE-FX to FICA and vice versa>

8. What is the volume and frequency?

9.Other points if any

Does this helps?

Rgds

Rajendra

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Hi Rajendra,

All your answers are really helfpul. I believe that creating contract accounts for each contract will be more master data as we have around 10000 contracts which needs payments to be made every year based on the payment plan either monthly, quarterly, semi-annual and annually. For your other questions.

1. Are the amounts in RE-FX consistent <equal through out the installment plans>?

The amounts need not be same as the payment terms are reviewed on a yearly, or 5 year basis based on the term of contracts. There might be a increment or decrement in the payment amount.

2. Do you want to create separate Installment plans in FICA?

Do you mean we are creating seperate payment plans for each and every contract. The terms of contract are maintained in RE-FX. Is it possible to configure payment plans seperately for each and every contract.

3. If yes, above should be helpful.

4. If not, identify an Interface between RE-FX and FICA.

We are planning to create an interface between RE-FX and FICA. But I heard that there is no payment plan in RE-FX, so we need to create it directly in FI-CA.

5. What are your plans to close the Contracts in RE-FX once all the Installment plans are being paid in FICA?

Some of the contracts are perpetual contracts hence the business has review groups, which review the contracts every 5 years. Depending on the review group suggestions, contract may be extended or terminated.

6. Do you want to establish an Interface between RE-FX and FICA so that data would be transferred bt them automatically?

Yeah we are looking for a interface to transfer the contract data from RE-FX to FICA automatically.

7.Is point no 6 one way or 2 ways <i.e RE-FX to FICA and vice versa>

Interface is one way. We don't need to transfer any kind of data back to RE-FX as per my understanding.

8. What is the volume and frequency?

Volume is 10000 contracts per year of which some are montly, quarterly, semi-annual and annual payments.

Do you think creating seperate contract accounts for each contract is a feasible solution.

Thanks

Santosh

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Hi Santhosh,

FYI

Based on the postings, the understanding is as below:

Summary of requirement:

i.Significant amount of data is present in RE-FX.

ii.As payments have to be made frequently,it is decided to use FICA.

iii.It was identified to use Instalment plans.

iv.Payments to the Contracts would be made via Payment run periodically.

Solution:

1.Each and every Contract in RE-FX would be identified with a Contract Account in FICA.

Reason:

u2022All Open Items (OI) / Payments / Returns / Refunds are created at Contract Account in FICA. Contract Accounts are nothing but Customer Accounts

u2022For each and every Contract Account, there exists a Business Partner

u2022A Business Partner can have u2018nu2019 number of Contract accounts but not vice versa.

u2022So all Contracts in RE-FX has to be replicated into FICA on 1:1 basis.

2.You can identify a useful standard Idoc in WE30 <ACC_DOCUMENT*> to transfer RE-FX data to FICA.

3.To make a Refund in FICA <of course in any module>, you need to have Open Items. In this context, once you create Contract Accounts for all your RE-FX Contracts, you need to replicate Items too.

Process:

u2022You may not / need not use Instalment Plans-reason being your OI are not consistent.

u2022Ideally you can directly post OI in FICA via Interface using T-Code FPB1.

u2022FPB1 has a structure. You need to place all your Items in that structure so that data would be created as Open Payment Items

u2022Do remember that as you are Refunding the amount to the Customer / Vendor, you need to post the OI as Open Payments (OP).

4.Once your Opsu2019 are ready, assuming that configuration for Payment program is in place, you can refund the monies to the Vendor(s)/Customer(s).

Hope this helps

Rgds

Rajendra

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Hi Rajendra,

This looks like a feasible solution. I am extremely thankful to you for that. I will get back to you if I have any more doubts with the configuration part.

Thanks

Santosh

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Hi Rajendra,

I have no idea of how this IDoc's work. Do you mean we need to create a interface from RE-FX to FICA using the standard Idoc's. Please let me know if there is a possible integration from FICA to RE-FX. Help me with the interface for RE-FX to FICA.

Thanks

Santosh

Edited by: Santosh Kolleti on Oct 7, 2008 11:00 AM

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Hi Santhosh,

You need to decide how it should be designed.

You have 2 ways

1 is refer Point no 2 above i.e.

2.You can identify a useful standard Idoc in WE30 <ACC_DOCUMENT> to transfer RE-FX data to FICA.*

Identify standard Idoc structure for your customized program.

2. You can download info from RE-FX tables <Contract Number, Amount, Date etc> unto a flat file. Use this as an input for your FPB1.

In either cases you need to sit with your Technical consultant to decide pros/cons.

Both may not be a foolproof as you can always get a better solution.

Also you can also think of manual posting of RE-FX data in FICA..though I understand you are having high volume of data.

I do not think that there is direct intergration bt RE-FX and FICA.

Hope I'm clear.

Rgds

Rajendra