Accounts Payable
Accounts Payable records liabilities to vendors and sits on three master-data levels: general data (address, bank details, control data such as the check double invoice indicator), company code data (reconciliation account, payment terms, payment methods, payment block, withholding tax, sort key/correspondence), and purchasing data. The vendor account group fixes the number range and field status.
The reconciliation account is a G/L account flagged as a reconciliation account; the system rejects direct postings to it (only the vendor subledger posts there). Classic entries: FB60 vendor invoice, FB65 vendor credit memo, F-44 clear, F-53 manual outgoing payment, FBV0 park and release, MRBR release blocked invoices, and F110 for the automatic payment run.
Special G/L transactions (down payments, noted items, guarantees, bills of exchange) post under a special G/L indicator to alternative reconciliation accounts and do not change the normal reconciliation account balance. Only the statistically relevant settings tie them back to the main balance.
Traps to expect
- Trying to post directly to a reconciliation account – the system refuses it.
- One-time vendors require address data (and bank data when paying) at every posting.
- A payment block in the master or on the line item silently stops the item in F110.
- Payment methods must exist in three places: country, company code and the vendor master.
Worked example: invoice of 1,000 with terms "2% within 10 days, net 30". Post with FB60 using the payment terms; the vendor liability is posted at 1,000 in full. The 20 cash discount is calculated only when payment is made and is posted to the cash discount received account, clearing the invoice completely.