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The Sign-Off Table

Lesson 4 of 5

Manual and header conditions

11 min

Not every condition comes from a record. Sales staff override prices, add a one-off discount, or enter a freight amount for the whole order. SAP allows this, within limits that configuration and master data set. Knowing those limits is essential for a key user, and testing them is essential before go-live.

Manual changes at item level

On the item Conditions tab a user can change the amount of an existing condition or add a new line by entering a condition type and amount. Whether that is allowed depends on several controls working together:

Condition type: manual entriesRanges from no limitation, through "manual entry has priority" or "automatic entry has priority", to "not possible to process manually"
Condition type: changes allowedWhether the amount, the value, or deletion of the line can be changed
Pricing procedure: manual flagThe condition is never determined automatically; it appears only when a user enters it
Condition record: upper and lower limitsThe range a user may change the found amount within, for example a discount between 0% and 10%
AuthorizationsWhich users may change conditions at all in the order transactions or apps
Five controls that decide whether and how far a user can change a price.
The Sign-Off Table · thesignofftable.com/academy/sap-sd-203

When a user changes a condition, SAP marks it as manually changed. Pricing analysis shows that, and the line keeps the manual value when the document is re-priced with a pricing type that preserves manual conditions. This is important: a manual price is "sticky", so a later change to the condition record will not reach that order item unless the user re-prices with a type that redetermines everything.

Header conditions

Some charges belong to the whole order rather than one item: a freight amount for the shipment, an order-level discount agreed by phone. SAP handles these with header conditions, entered on the header Conditions tab. Header conditions have no access sequence, so there are no records for them; they are always entered manually. SAP then distributes them to the items.

How they are distributed depends on the condition type. SAP's standard examples show the difference clearly: a header percentage discount (HA00 in standard) is applied to every item, while a header amount flagged as a group condition (HB00) is split across the items in proportion to their value. An absolute amount that is not a group condition (RB00 in standard) is copied in full to every item, which multiplies it.

Header entry on a 3-item orderItem values $6,000 / $3,000 / $1,000Total effect
Percentage discount -2% (HA00)-$120 / -$60 / -$20-$200: 2% of the order
Amount -$500 as group condition (HB00)-$300 / -$150 / -$50-$500: split in proportion to value
Amount -$500, not a group condition (RB00)-$500 / -$500 / -$500-$1,500: copied to each item
The same header entry can have very different effects depending on the condition type. Names are SAP standard examples; your project may use copies.
The Sign-Off Table · thesignofftable.com/academy/sap-sd-203

The basis for distributing a group header amount is normally net value, and configuration can change it to weight or volume, which makes sense for freight. If an item is later deleted or its quantity changes, SAP redistributes the header amount when the document is re-priced. A header condition that was distributed when the order had three items may look different after one item is rejected.

Re-pricing and pricing types

Pricing is not frozen when the order is saved. It is redetermined when certain data changes, when a user chooses Update on the Conditions screen and picks a pricing type, and, depending on copy control, at billing. Pricing types decide what is kept and what is redetermined. Standard pricing type B carries out completely new pricing; type C copies manual conditions and redetermines the others. Your project's copy control and the type a user picks decide whether a manual price survives.

  1. Order enteredPrices found from records on the pricing date
  2. Manual changeMaria lowers the discount from 5% to 4%; the line is flagged as manually changed
  3. Quantity changedScales and header distribution are recalculated; the manual line is kept
  4. Update with new pricingPricing type B: everything is redetermined; the manual 4% is lost
  5. BillingCopy control decides whether the invoice copies the order prices or re-prices
What happens to a manual change across the life of an order.
The Sign-Off Table · thesignofftable.com/academy/sap-sd-203

What would you do?

A Contoso sales rep says: "I gave Great Lakes Fleet Services an extra $500 off the order, but the invoice shows $1,500 off." The order has three items. What is the most likely explanation?

Key points
  • Manual changes are controlled by condition type settings, the pricing procedure, record limits and authorizations.
  • Manually changed conditions are kept on re-pricing unless a pricing type redetermines everything.
  • Header conditions have no records; they are entered manually and distributed to items.
  • A group header amount is split by value; a non-group header amount is copied to every item.

Check your understanding · not graded

Lesson check

  1. 1. Why are header conditions always entered manually?

  2. 2. A header amount condition flagged as a group condition is entered on a three-item order. What happens?

  3. 3. What limits how far a user may change a discount found from a record?

  4. 4. Standard pricing type B is used on an order with a manual price. What happens to the manual price?