Sales Documents: Types, Item Categories and Copy Control
A chain of customizing tables
An SD document is built from three levels:
- Sales document type (OR standard order, RE returns, and so on) - number range, delivery and billing relevance, reference requirements, partner and output determination.
- Item category - determined from four fields: sales document type, item category group from the material master (for example NORM), usage (for example free of charge), and the higher-level item category for structured items. It controls pricing relevance, delivery relevance, billing relevance and which schedule line categories are permitted.
- Schedule line category - determined from item category and the material's MRP type; it controls the availability check, transfer of requirements and the goods movement type.
Around this skeleton sit copy control (order → delivery → billing) with requirement routines and a pricing type that decides whether the target document is repriced, plus incompletion procedures, text, partner and output determination, credit management and ATP.
Traps
- A document that cannot be saved without a reference usually has "reference mandatory" in its document type - typical for returns and credit memo requests.
- An item that is never delivered: check item-category delivery relevance and whether the schedule line was confirmed.
- An item that is never invoiced: check billing relevance, billing block and copy control.
- The document flow is the fastest diagnostic: it lists every follow-on document and its status.
Rule of thumb - worked example
A returns order is refused at save. Walk the chain: does the returns document type carry reference mandatory? If yes, the order must be created with reference to the original invoice, because the system copies items and values from it. The correct fix is a returns document type without the indicator if referencing is not desired - not a user exit.