Service entry sheets and approval

The service entry sheet records what the supplier actually did. In lean services it is created in the Manage Service Entry Sheets - Lean Services app. One entry sheet references one PO; when you enter the PO number, SAP adds the PO's service items as entry sheet items, and you fill in what was performed.

Recording the work

Riverbend's technician finishes the Q2 visit and emails a work report: one quarterly inspection, plus a replaced drive belt and four hours of repair labor. Contoso's maintenance planner creates an entry sheet for PO 4500000391:

Materials can appear on an entry sheet only if they were planned on the PO, and every entry sheet needs at least one service item. Saving the entry sheet does nothing in finance yet; it is a record waiting for approval.

Attach the supplier's work report or timesheet to the entry sheet. The approver should be able to compare what is claimed with what was signed off on site without searching email. Contoso's rule is simple: no attachment, no approval. It also helps later, when accounts payable matches Riverbend's invoice and an auditor asks how anyone knew that four hours of repair were really worked.

Approval

The planner chooses Send for Approval. Depending on the workflow design, the entry sheet is approved automatically or goes to an approver. Lean service entry sheets use flexible workflow, configured in the Manage Workflows for Service Entry Sheets - Lean Services app, where conditions decide who must approve (for example, entry sheets above $5,000 need the maintenance supervisor). The approver works in My Inbox, sees the entry sheet and its PO, and approves or rejects.

The accounting effect

Approval is the accounting moment. The background receipt debits the expense account (determined from the account assignment and the material group or service product) on the cost center, and credits GR/IR. The cost appears on the cost center in the period of approval, so month-end approval discipline matters: an entry sheet approved on the 3rd of the next month lands in the wrong period. Some companies use accruals for services performed but not yet approved; SAP S/4HANA offers accrual functions for this, which belong to the finance design.

Rejection and revocation

A rejected entry sheet goes back to its creator for correction, for example when the hours claimed do not match the technician's sign-in log. An approved entry sheet can be revoked only if no follow-on documents other than the receipt exist; once Riverbend's invoice is posted against it, the invoice must be dealt with first. That ordering is worth testing.