Lesson 1 of 6
Posting a PO-based supplier invoice
9 min
A supplier invoice is the last document in procure-to-pay before payment, and it is the one that moves money out of Contoso Motor Co. Logistics invoice verification (LIV) is the part of SAP S/4HANA that checks an incoming invoice against what was ordered and what was received before it becomes a payable. Get it right and Contoso pays the right amount, once, on time. Get it wrong and Contoso overpays, pays twice, or pays for goods it never got.
This course follows one invoice. Lakeside Components delivered 500 rotors (CMC-RTR-200) for purchase order 4500000123 at $42.00 each, and the warehouse posted the goods receipt in course sap-mm-203: inventory debit $20,000 at the $40 standard price, price difference $1,000, GR/IR credit $21,000. Now Lakeside's invoice LC-88412 arrives in the accounts payable mailbox.
Three-way match
Invoice verification compares three things: the purchase order (what Contoso agreed to pay, per unit), the goods receipt (what arrived), and the invoice (what the supplier is asking for). When all three agree, the invoice posts without a block. When they differ beyond the configured tolerances, it still posts, but it is blocked for payment until someone looks at it.
- Purchase order500 CMC-RTR-200 at $42.00 = $21,000; GR-based invoice verification on
- Goods receiptMovement type 101, 500 received; GR/IR credited $21,000
- Invoice entryReference LC-88412, invoice date, amount $21,000, PO 4500000123
- MatchingSAP proposes the open GR quantity and the PO price; the clerk compares with the paper
- PostSupplier invoice document plus journal entry: GR/IR debit, supplier credit
- PaymentThe open item is due by the payment terms and picked up by the payment run if not blocked
Where invoices are entered
In SAP GUI the classic transaction is MIRO (Enter Incoming Invoice). In the SAP Fiori launchpad, accounts payable clerks use the Create Supplier Invoice app, and there is an advanced variant for complex cases. Display is MIR4; parking an incomplete invoice for someone else to finish is MIR7; cancelling a posted invoice is MR8M. In SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition there is no SAP GUI, so the Fiori apps are the only entry point; on-premise and Private Edition customers can use both.
Whichever screen is used, the steps are the same. Choose the transaction type (invoice, credit memo, subsequent debit or subsequent credit). Enter the company code (1710), invoice date, supplier reference (the supplier's own invoice number, LC-88412), gross amount and tax. Enter the PO number; SAP proposes the items with quantities and amounts. Check that the balance is zero, simulate the journal entry, and post.
| Field | Lakeside invoice LC-88412 | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Invoice date | Date printed on the invoice | Baseline for payment terms and part of the duplicate check |
| Posting date | The day AP posts it | Decides the fiscal period |
| Reference | LC-88412 | Duplicate check, supplier reconciliation, payment advice |
| Amount | $21,000.00 (tax handled per Contoso's US sales and use tax setup) | The balance must be zero before posting |
| PO reference | 4500000123 | Brings in the PO items and the received quantities |
| Payment terms | Copied from the PO, can be overwritten | Due date and cash discount |
The invoice header fields a clerk must get right.
Goods-receipt-based invoice verification
A PO item can be set for GR-based invoice verification (an indicator on the item's invoice tab, usually defaulted from the supplier master or info record). With it on, the invoice is matched to individual goods receipts, not just to the PO item as a whole. SAP proposes one invoice line per receipt, and you cannot invoice more than has been received. Contoso switches it on for all stock materials: if Lakeside delivers in two drops of 300 and 200, each receipt is invoiced and cleared separately, which makes GR/IR reconciliation much easier.
| Topic | GR-based IV on | GR-based IV off |
|---|---|---|
| Matching level | Each goods receipt | The PO item total |
| Invoice before receipt | Nothing to propose, so it cannot be matched | Possible; checked against ordered quantity |
| Partial deliveries | One invoice line per receipt | One line for the item |
| GR/IR clearing | Receipt by receipt | By item quantity |
| Typical use | Stock materials, frequent partial deliveries | Services billed in advance, simple consumables |
What would you do?
Ana in accounts payable enters Lakeside's invoice for PO 4500000123, but SAP proposes only 300 rotors although the invoice says 500. What is the most likely reason?
Not every invoice references a PO. Utility bills or one-off fees without a PO are posted in finance (for example in the Create Supplier Invoice app without a PO reference, or in finance transactions such as FB60). Those invoices skip the three-way match, which is why Contoso's policy is "no PO, no pay" for anything that can be ordered. The rest of this course is about PO-based invoices, where SAP does the matching for you.
- Invoice verification matches the invoice against the PO price and the goods receipt quantity.
- Enter invoices in MIRO or the Create Supplier Invoice app; park with MIR7, display with MIR4, cancel with MR8M.
- GR-based invoice verification matches each receipt separately and stops invoicing ahead of receipts.
- Simulate the journal entry before posting; an exact match debits GR/IR and credits the supplier.
Check your understanding · not graded
Lesson check
1. What three documents does a three-way match compare?
2. Which transaction posts a PO-based supplier invoice in SAP GUI?
3. With GR-based invoice verification on, what does SAP propose on the invoice?
4. Which field drives the duplicate invoice check and supplier reconciliation?