Correspondence Overview

Correspondence is required in many areas of external accounting. Many companies strive to automate their correspondence activities.

Periodic correspondence is triggered by specifications made in the master record, such as invoices and account statements. The interval (weekly, monthly, and so on) is specified in the customer/vendor master record

The correspondence creation process comprises the following steps:

·         Step 1: Request the required correspondence. Here, the system initially only notes internally which correspondence types are to be created.

·         Step 2: The requested correspondence types are printed. Typically, correspondence is printed automatically with a particular frequency, for example, dunning letters, account statements, and so on. In certain cases, it is possible to print certain correspondence types individually and on demand.

The print request is sent to the spool system.

Basic types of correspondence:

1.       Collective request with a selection program (for example, periodic bank statement)

2.       Manual individual request (for example, open items list, bank account statement, individual correspondence)

3.       Automatic individual request (for example, payment notice)

You can generate correspondence directly from many screens in the system (manual individual request).

·         Document creation

·         Display/change line items

·         Balance display

·         Line item processing

·         Payment

A correspondence type represents a type of letter in the system. You have to create a correspondence type for every type of letter you need.

Data from several different company codes can be combined in one letter. Select the Cross Company checkbox in the correspondence type and assign the company codes to correspondence company codes in the IMG.

A correspondence type can have several different form letters. The individual forms are distinguished by their form ID. This ID is assigned to the selection variant to make sure that the right letter is printed.

If you are using different types of correspondence depending on the reason code, select the According to Reason Code checkbox.

The check and payment document are created in two separate steps. When the check is created, the check number, bank information, and the check recipient are printed on both the payment document and the open invoice.

With the automatic payment program: This program creates several payment documents and checks automatically. This program is used to pay several vendors at once.

·         With Post and print forms: This function creates individual payment documents and checks. The user manually selects the invoices for payment. You use this function to pay a specific vendor or invoice.

·         Post: Creates individual payment documents after the user has manually selected the invoices for payment. As in the previous example, you use this function to pay a vendor or a specific invoice using pre-printed checks that are filled out manually or with a typewriter.

If errors are made, users must decide whether to reprint or void the check, or whether to void and reverse the check and the payment document.

There are three ways to pay an invoice in the SAP system:

Checks can be voided (you have to give reason) before the print run in the following cases:

·         Accidentally damaged

·         Stolen

·         Destroyed

·         Checks can be voided after the print run in the following cases:

·         Not required because a cash payment is made instead

·         Torn during printing

·         Used for a test print

In each case, you have to decide whether the payment document needs to be reversed. The system allows you to:

·         Reverse the check

·         Reverse the check then reverse the payment document separately

·         Reverse the check and the payment document simultaneously

When you void a check, the payment document, original invoice, and check register are updated. When you reverse a document, a new reversal document is created.

The Check Register is a dynamic report that provides the following information:

·         All checks

·         Outstanding checks

·         Checks paid

·         Voided checks

After notification that the check has been cashed is received, the RFEBCK00 program transfers the check amount from the check clearing account to the cash account. At the same time, the cashing date (date the check was cashed) is entered in the payment document, original invoice, and check register

Pre-closing activities that begin in the old month include: