SAP Invoice Email Output Questions

[Former Member]

If the pro-forma invoice has a contact person (CP) partner function, we wish to email output ZD00 to that contact person.  We do not want the output to trigger, for example, if the billing doc does not have a contact person as it would end up in error anyway.  What is the best way to handle this scenario - would it be through a requirement routine linked with the output in the output determination procedure to check whether the partner function first exists or not?

Also, since it is a pro-forma invoice, users may create the document multiple times.  We only want the output to get triggered at the time of the first pro-forma invoice creation.  How can this be accomplished?

Thanks!!

[Lakshmipathi]

Moved from SAP ERP SD Billing to Output Management

[Jelena]

Output distribution is based on the output configuration and condition records. You can set it up however you want - since proformas have a different document type just make sure to include it in the access sequence. Don't see any problems with using CP, it's been discussed on SCN before.

Actually in one of our systems proforma (sometimes also called "commercial invoice") is a delivery output. In that system proforma documents are not even used and what looks like a proforma invoice (custom form) is generated as a delivery output for export deliveries. Really, you can put anything in a custom form.

[VeselinaPeykova]

Hello Varun,

imagine the following case - you have created a proforma and the output is sent with a job.

Shortly after proforma generation you realize that the pricing for one of the items was incorrect.

What would be your options?

You can reprice the original document and create a new proforma, but you would not send again the correct data.

You can reprice the original document and reprice the proforma (you can do that because for proformas there are no FI posting), but again you would not be able to send the correct pricing information (according to the requirement from business).

In this case - how would the business inform the contact person about the change in prices - by assigning manually another output (in my opinion there could be better ways to handle that), call him by phone?

And, please, believe me, such cases would occur in PRD - so you need to have some backup strategy in place before it happens.

[former_member182378]

Varun,

Veselina has touched upon an interesting point. This leads to understanding the "billing, communication and payment" process -

- What is the role of this contact person? What does s/he do (an approver, or controller or)? Why are you sending a pro forma to him/her?

- Is s/he a customer or a partner of your company?

- When does your company create a pro forma? before the real invoice?

TW

[former_member182378]

You can reprice the original document and reprice the proforma (you can do that because for proformas there are no FI posting), but again you would not be able to send the correct pricing information (according to the requirement from business).
In this case - how would the business inform the contact person about the change in prices - by assigning manually another output (in my opinion there could be better ways to handle that), call him by phone?

Veselina,

Error in pricing in the invoice - The repricing you mention, how is this done? You will correct the prices in the same billing document?

TW

[VeselinaPeykova]

For example you use order-related billing on delivery quantity and create a proforma with reference to a delivery in the background to print a valuated delivery note. At that point you realize that a condition was incorrectly applied. You have not issued a fiscal invoice and you still have all copies of the paper documents (you have not left the plant to deliver products).

You will adjust the pricing in the sales order (you have to do that anyway), but you still need to correct the proforma, because it will be with with the old prices and you need the correct amounts in the valuated note. So you go to VF02 and reprice the proforma (e.g. carry out new pricing). Then you can issue a new printout with the right data. Another case that can happen is when you realize at the point of printing the delivery note that the tax classification of the customer was set incorrectly. You can adjust the documents manually by setting the indicators, but you need the updated info in the outputs.

[Former Member]

Actually we are sending to ship-to party. But I cannot use email addresses stored in the ship-to party because the email stored with bill-to party (frequently same as ship-to party) is used for emailing "actual" invoices (F2, CR, DR, etc...).  We need to email the pro-forma invoice to the ship-to party upon creation and decided to go the route of creating a new contact person.

[VeselinaPeykova]

Do you mean that you are using a different e-mail address only to distinguish between proformas and final billing? Usually people use different texts as mail subjects to avoid confusion...

[Former Member]

Sorry, I don't think my last response was clear.

We need to mail actual invoices to customer email address: accounting@company.com

We need to mail pro-forma/commercial invoices to customer email address: receiving@company.com

We are already emailing actual invoice to our customers using the email address saved in the customer master (bill-to party).  In our company, in 99.99% of cases, SP, SH, BP, and PY are the same.

Now we got requirement to email pro-forma/commercial invoice to ship-to party.  Because email address in the customer masters is already being used, we need to find another way.  The easiest method that came to mind would be to create a contact person with the ship-to party email address (receiving@company.com) and create output records to use CP partner function.

Let me know if this make sense and whether my thinking to CP in this case is correct or would another method work better?

Thanks!

[former_member182378]

Varun,

Business wants to send actual invoices to email.address1 and proforma to email.address2.

You can have both these email addresses in the BP or PY, and to differentiate which address is "relevant" for which document, use field Notes (adjacent to email address field, in customer master). Then in the print program logic, have the code with if Notes = INV, then send actual invoice to this email address and if Notes = PRO, then send proforma to the corresponding email address.

Master data maintenance will be required, fill in the correct notes, in customer masters.

This is what we did when several email addresses were maintained in the same customer master and some were relevant for one process and the other for another process.

http://scn.sap.com/thread/3769746

TW

[Former Member]

Thank you!  That helps.  This has a minor negative side that users could have typos and such in Notes but it seems this might be the most effective way.

[former_member182378]

Varun,

With development, the value in Notes can only be chosen from F4 options. And these options are maintained in a custom table. So there is no chance of manual input or typos.

TW

[former_member182378]

Varun,

Do you have partner function CP in the header of the pro forma invoice? If not, then where is CP in the transaction documents (order?.....)

For email, are you planning to use transmission medium 5 external send in output type ZD00?

Only the first pro forma should be sent to the CP - not sure about this. Search the internet, this looks like a business need which might be discussed earlier.

TW