Billing Form in Quotation for Service

[Former Member]

Dear experts:

I am confused by the functionality of quotation for customer service. Consider the following two scenarios:

1. Flat-rate

- In a service order, billing form 01 for fixed rate is used. No service product is entered. Planning is performed.

- Using transaction DP80, a quotation is created.

- The quotation is accepted. A debit memo request is automatically created and it is relevant for billing.

- Service order is released and confirmed.

- Using transaction DP90, a second debit memo request is created. It is statistical and not relevant for billing. This is expected as fixed rate billing has already taken place using the first debit memo request.

2. Cost-based

- In a service order, billing form 02 for costs is used. No service product is entered. Planning is performed.

- Using transaction DP80, a quotation is created.

- The quotation is accepted. A debit memo request is automatically created and it is is relevant for billing (?)

- Service order is released and confirmed.

- Using transaction DP90, a second debit memo request is created. It is however also is relevant for billing.

I do not understand why it is possible in the second case to create two debit memo requests relevant for billing. It seems more logical to me that the first debit memo request is statistical in a cost-based situation. Has anyone similar experience ?

With regards,

Dan

[Former Member]

Dear Dan Tan, I have the same issue.

1. Flat-rate = fix price: when accepting the service order, a billing request is created automatically in background via a copy control from quotation to billing request. Like that, the fix price is created. Independent from any actual costs, this billing request should be used for invoicing. DP90 should not be performed, and if this is performed, the billing request should be only statistical.

This would be ok in my eyes... Do you agree?

How do you set this billing request as statistical? In our system, a non-statistical billing request is created.

2. Cost-based = cost estimation quotation: when accepting the service order, a billing request is created automatically in background via a copy control from quotation to billing request. This should either not be created or should be marked as statistical. The billing itself should be done via DP90 - resource related.

We are thinking about two new user exits in DP90 and in accept quotation program which will check the billing form and prohibits or allows the creation of billing request.

But in my eyes this is not a nice solution.

Does anybody know about the SAP standard solution?

Regards,

Philipp

[Former Member]

Hi Philipp:

Good to know that I am not alone.

In the mean time, I have tried looking up whatever SAP documentation I could find concering this topic. The information provided in the SAP Documentation link below mentions that, "if you perform resource-related billing, the billing request has no further purpose".

http://help.sap.com/saphelp_erp60_sp/helpdata/en/96/b1c33716b19139e10000009b38f842/frameset.htm

I honestly find it unacceptable to have such a meagre solution where two billing requests can be created. The users finds it simply confusing to tell which billing request is to be billed and which not.

I am exploring the possibility of using an SD userexit to overcome this. It involves altering the proposed item category in the billing request based on the billing form. In the case of cost-based billing, a statistical item category would be proposed. Billing is thus avoided; however, the billing request itself would always have the status "Open".

With regards,

Dan

[Former Member]

Hi Dan,

thanks for your quick reply.

We are not able to use this process because the fact that two billing requsts are created is already an audit relevant conflict. no matter if it's statistical or not...

Probably we will implement user status with order no in the service order based on which two user exits will decide if the resource related billng request can be created or not:

- DP90 not possible (if fix price is selected)

- program "accept quotation" will not create billing request (if cost estimate is selected)

In general, I would like to know, if SAP is providing a solution for that?! In my eyes this is a process gap.

Regards,

Philipp

[Former Member]

Hi Philipp:

I logged an OSS message for SAP to investigate this issue further. The response from SAP is quoted below. Perhaps you will find it helpful,

Cheers,

Dan

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"After further analysis, what you have described it is not an error but

standard design and your system is working correctly. Let me give you

an explanation:

In case of billing form "Fixed rate", system checks if a debit memo

request already exists only one DMR should be relevant for billing.

But the existence of a debit memo request isn't important for billing

form "Costs". In this case, it's checked if the amounts and quantities

selected are already billed. If this is not the case, they are billed

with a new DMR.

You can suppress the creation of additional debit memo requests via

BADI DIP_CHECK_INPUT_OBJ or setting the items to statistical by choosinga corresponding item category in EXIT_SAPLV46H001 (C_VBAPKOM-VWPOS =

'SENI') in such a case."