SAP S/4HANA FI: Create a House Bank, Configure and Execute the Payment Run

Create a House Bank

A house bank represents a bank relationship of your own organisation. Creating it is a three-level exercise:

1. Bank master – the bank itself (bank country plus bank key, e.g. a national bank code or SWIFT/BIC), created with FI01. The house bank cannot exist without a bank master record.
2. House bank – FI12 (or SPRO: Financial Accounting → Bank Accounting → Bank Accounts → Define House Banks): assign a house bank ID to a bank country and bank key, then add one or more bank accounts with an account ID, the external bank account number, the currency, a control key and reference details.
3. Usage – the account ID is selected during payment in bank determination of the payment program (FBZP) by payment method, ranking order and available amount, and it is the anchor for check lots, check printing, electronic bank statement account assignment and cash management.

Traps to expect

• Confusing FI01 (bank master) with FI12 (house bank). Changing the bank key usually requires a new bank master record.
• The bank account's currency restricts which currencies may be paid through it.
• Check number ranges (check lots) are maintained on the bank account per currency; cheque payments fail without them.
• Changing or deleting a house bank that is referenced in bank determination, vendor masters or open payment proposals breaks the payment run.
• The control key does not determine the G/L account; the bank sub-account is configured separately in bank determination/account determination.

Rule of thumb: bank master → house bank → account ID. If a payment run cannot find a bank, work backwards through these three levels and then check the company code's payment methods in FBZP.

Configure and Execute the Payment Run

The automatic payment program (F110) pays both vendors and customers. Configuration lives in FBZP and must be complete before a run:

• All company codes: paying company code, payment method per country, document types for payments, payment advice forms.
• Company code: payment methods allowed in the company code.
• Bank determination: house bank account IDs per payment method, ranking order, amounts and charges, and available amounts.

Execution is a four-step cycle: (1) Parameter – run date, identification, company codes, payment methods, next payment date, free selections; (2) Proposal – a simulation schedule listing items and suggested banks, which you may edit (delete items, change bank/amount); (3) Payment run – posts the payment documents and clears invoices; (4) Print/output – payment media (advices, cheques, EDI/IDoc files).

Traps to expect

• The proposal posts nothing; only the payment run step creates documents.
• Items posted after the proposal was created are not included until a new proposal is generated.
• Run date versus next payment date: the next payment date determines due-date selection and value date, the run date drives the posting date and printing.
• The payment method must be consistent in three places: country, company code and the vendor/customer master; otherwise items drop out silently.
• Master-level and item-level payment blocks stop payment even when everything else is correct.
• Missing bank details for the payee is the most common error in the log.

Rule of thumb: always read the proposal log before posting. A short proposal usually means a payment-method mismatch, a block, or a missing baseline date, not a system defect.