Lesson 3 of 6
Differences and tolerances
6 min
Customers rarely pay to the cent. They round, deduct bank fees, take a discount a day late or short-pay a freight charge. If every small difference needed manual work, AR would drown. SAP handles this with tolerances: limits within which a payment difference is posted automatically, and above which a person must decide.
Three kinds of tolerance group
SAP's learning content describes three tolerance groups that work together. Employee tolerance groups set what a user may do: posting amount limits and the payment differences that user is allowed to accept. Customer and supplier tolerance groups, assigned in the business partner's company code data, set limits for that business partner and rules for residual items. G/L account tolerance groups set limits for clearing G/L accounts. When clearing a customer, both the employee group and the customer group are checked, and the difference must fall within both.
Amount and percentage, the lower wins
Each tolerance is defined as an absolute amount and a percentage of the open amount, separately for underpayments and overpayments. The lower of the two applies. SAP's learning material uses illustrative values for an unauthorized deduction: up to 100 currency units and up to 2% of the open amount. On a 1,000 invoice, 2% is 20, so the limit is 20. On a 100,000 invoice, 2% is 2,000, so the 100 absolute limit applies. Tolerances are kept in local currency.
| Open amount | 2% of open amount | Absolute limit | Effective tolerance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 USD | 20 USD | 100 USD | 20 USD |
| 5,000 USD | 100 USD | 100 USD | 100 USD |
| 12,000 USD | 240 USD | 100 USD | 100 USD |
| 100,000 USD | 2,000 USD | 100 USD | 100 USD |
Effective tolerance with illustrative limits of 100 USD and 2%.
What happens inside and outside
Inside tolerance, the system posts the difference automatically. Where it goes is configured: a small underpayment can be absorbed by adjusting the cash discount, or posted to a payment differences expense account, often determined by a reason code. Outside tolerance, the user must choose: partial payment, residual item, write-off with manual account assignment, or rejecting the clearing altogether. Employee groups also cap the cash discount percentage a user may grant.
- Is the difference zero?Yes → clear in full · No → continue
- Is it within both the employee and the customer tolerance (lower of amount and percentage)?Yes → post automatically as discount adjustment or difference · No → continue
- Is the customer expected to pay the rest?Yes → partial payment or residual item with a reason code · No → write off with approval, if the user's authority allows
Testing just inside and just outside
Tolerances are classic boundary tests. For each relevant combination of employee group and customer group, test a difference just inside the limit and one just outside, on both a small invoice (where the percentage binds) and a large one (where the absolute amount binds). Test underpayment and overpayment separately, because they have separate limits. Record which account received the automatic posting and confirm it matches the design.
| Case | Invoice | Payment | Expected |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage binds, inside | 1,000.00 | 980.01 (diff 19.99) | Cleared; 19.99 posted automatically |
| Percentage binds, outside | 1,000.00 | 979.99 (diff 20.01) | Not cleared automatically; user must choose |
| Amount binds, inside | 12,000.00 | 11,900.01 (diff 99.99) | Cleared; 99.99 posted automatically |
| Amount binds, outside | 12,000.00 | 11,899.99 (diff 100.01) | Not cleared automatically |
| Overpayment | 1,000.00 | 1,015.00 | Per overpayment limits |
Boundary tests for illustrative tolerances of 100 USD and 2%.
What would you do?
In QAS, payment differences of 150 USD clear automatically for Great Lakes Fleet Services, even though the designed customer tolerance is 100 USD. What should Priya check first?
- Employee, customer/supplier and G/L tolerance groups define acceptable payment differences.
- Each limit has an amount and a percentage; the lower applies; the difference must fit all relevant groups.
- Inside tolerance: automatic posting; outside: partial, residual or write-off by a person.
- Test just inside and just outside, for small and large invoices, under- and overpayments, with real user groups.
Check your understanding · not graded
Lesson check
1. With limits of 100 USD and 2%, what is the tolerance on a 1,000 USD invoice?
2. Where is the customer tolerance group assigned?
3. Which groups are checked when clearing a customer payment manually?
4. Why test with the real clerks' tolerance group?