Lesson 2 of 6
Collective billing and the billing due list
9 min
A billing clerk does not create invoices one at a time. SAP keeps a billing due list: every order item and delivery that is ready to bill, with its billing date, payer and billing type. Billing runs process this list, combining documents into as few invoices as the rules allow.
Individual and collective billing
| How | SAP GUI | Fiori | When to use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual | VF01: enter one or more source documents | Create Billing Documents: select items in the list | Exceptions, rush invoices, single test scenarios |
| Collective, online | VF04: select the due list by date, sales organization, payer; simulate; create | Create Billing Documents: filter and bill selected items together | Daily billing by a clerk |
| Collective, background | VF06 or a scheduled job | Schedule Billing Creation, with relative billing dates such as "yesterday" | Nightly or month-end billing |
Ways to create billing documents.
Before a large run, simulate. VF04 offers a simulation that shows which invoices would be created and which items would fail, without saving. After any collective run, read the log: it lists the documents created and the items that could not be billed, for example because of a billing block, incomplete data or a pricing error.
Combination and split
SAP tries to put all eligible items into one billing document, but only if the header data agrees. When any header field differs, SAP creates separate documents. This is the billing split. The main split criteria are:
- Different payer, billing date or billing type.
- Different sales organization, distribution channel or division.
- Different terms of payment, incoterms or document currency.
- Different header values from copy control data transfer, for example a reference number set per delivery so that each delivery gets its own invoice.
- Do the items have the same payer?Yes → continue · No → split: one invoice per payer
- Same billing date and billing type?Yes → continue · No → split by date or type
- Same sales area, payment terms, incoterms and currency?Yes → continue · No → split on the differing field
- Same split-relevant header values from copy control (such as a per-delivery reference)?Yes → combined into one invoice · No → split as designed
To find out why a split happened, use split analysis, available from the billing log or the billing document in SAP GUI. It compares the header fields of two documents and shows which ones differ. If you want to force a split, for example one invoice per delivery for a fleet customer that reconciles by delivery note, that is done in copy control, not by billing each delivery by hand.
A Contoso run
- MonDelivery AGreat Lakes Fleet Services, payer GLFS, terms net 30, 30 alternators
- TueDelivery BSame customer and terms, 20 alternators
- TueDelivery CSame customer, but the order had terms net 45 agreed for a fleet promotion
- Wed 02:00Scheduled billing runRelative billing date "yesterday and earlier"; deliveries A, B and C selected
- Wed 02:01ResultInvoice 1 for A and B (combined, if billing dates match the split rules); invoice 2 for C because payment terms differ
Scheduled runs need monitoring. A job that fails silently at 2 a.m. means no invoices that day, and nobody notices until cash collection is late. Agree who checks the job result and the billing log each morning, and include the job definition, selection variant and relative date in the test scope, not just the billing logic.
What would you do?
Maria runs the billing due list for Great Lakes Fleet Services and expects one invoice for five deliveries. She gets three. The customer is complaining about invoice volume. What should she do first?
- The billing due list holds everything ready to bill; VF04, Create Billing Documents and scheduled jobs process it.
- Simulate large runs and always read the log for items that failed.
- Any difference in split-relevant header data creates separate invoices.
- Use split analysis to see why; force or prevent splits in copy control and customer data, not by hand.
Check your understanding · not graded
Lesson check
1. Which SAP GUI transaction processes the billing due list?
2. Which Fiori app schedules background billing with relative dates?
3. Two deliveries for the same customer have different payment terms. What happens in collective billing?
4. Which tool shows why two documents were not combined?