Payables Configuration and Setup
Where the settings live
Payables configuration is layered: enterprise-level common options, business-unit options set through the Configure Payables and Procurement task list, then supplier- and site-level overrides. Manage Common Options for Payables and Procurement controls BU defaults such as supplier default payment terms and payment method, whether invoice currency comes from the supplier site or the ledger, whether entered amounts include tax, and interest invoice settings. These options default onto new supplier sites and invoices; they do not retroactively change existing transactions.
Setup objects that drive transactions
- Payment terms - each term has lines; a line defines due date basis (invoice date, goods received date), discount basis, days, day of month, proximo, and split. A payment terms set cascades multiple terms (for example 2/10 Net 30).
- Distribution sets - percentage splits across accounts, assignable to a supplier site to default distributions when none are entered.
- Payment process profiles - bind a payment method to a disbursement bank account and a payment file format (for example ISO 20022 pain.001), plus print and transmission settings.
- Invoice tolerances - permitted price, quantity, and amount variances for matching; supplier-level tolerances override BU tolerances.
- Hold names, payment methods, disbursement bank accounts - the reference data behind holds and payments.
Worked example
A supplier offers a 2% discount for payment within 10 days, net 30. Create one payment term with two lines: line 1, due date basis = invoice date, days = 10, discount percent = 2; line 2, due date basis = invoice date, days = 30. If the discount is entered on the wrong line, the payment schedule shows the correct due date but takes no discount.
Traps
Common options are BU-scoped, not legal-entity-scoped. Changing a payment term does not recalculate existing invoices. A distribution set supplies defaults; it does not overwrite distributions already entered.