Lesson 3 of 6
Invoice lists and billing document requests
9 min
Two billing features solve specific business problems: invoice lists for customers who want a periodic statement of invoices, and billing document requests for billing data that comes from outside the sales order process. Neither is used by every company, so the first question on any project is whether they are in scope.
Invoice lists
An invoice list groups billing documents that have already been created and posted to accounting into one document for a payer, typically weekly or monthly. It is common with buying groups and central payers: the head office pays once for many branch invoices, sometimes taking a factoring or del credere discount for handling the payment.
- Invoices createdIndividual F2 invoices for Great Lakes Fleet Services depots throughout the month
- Posted to accountingEach invoice posts its own receivable
- Invoice list runAt the date set by the payer's invoice list calendar, an LR invoice list collects the open invoices
- List sent to payerOne document listing all invoices; a reference number for payment
- PaymentThe payer pays against the invoice list reference; finance clears the individual receivables
SAP standard offers invoice list type LR for invoices and debit memos and LG for credit memos. When the list is created, its reference number can replace the individual invoice references in accounting, so a single payment can be matched. An invoice list can also carry its own conditions, such as a factoring discount, which post separately. The billing types must be enabled for invoice lists and the payer needs an invoice list calendar.
Billing document requests
Some billable items do not come from a sales order or delivery at all: usage from a connected system, charges calculated in a legacy tool, or lines prepared in a spreadsheet. SAP S/4HANA handles these with billing document requests (BDRs), also called external billing document requests. A BDR stores billing-relevant data from an external system or an uploaded file. It sits on the billing due list like any other source document and is billed with the same billing functions.
| BDR feature | What it means |
|---|---|
| Manage Billing Document Requests app | Filter, display, create, reject and delete BDRs |
| Spreadsheet upload | Create BDRs from an Excel file using a downloadable template |
| Interface | External systems can create BDRs through APIs |
| Reject | Removes the BDR from the billing due list and marks it as not to be invoiced |
| Delete | Only allowed if no subsequent billing document exists, even a cancelled one |
Billing document requests at a glance.
| Invoice list | Billing document request | |
|---|---|---|
| Problem solved | One periodic statement for a payer | Billing data that originates outside sales orders |
| Input | Billing documents already posted | External data, uploaded file or API |
| Output | An invoice list document (LR / LG) | Billing documents created from the BDR via the due list |
| Posts its own receivable? | No new receivable; may post list-level conditions such as a factoring discount | The resulting billing document posts normally |
| Contoso use | Possible for the fleet customer's head office | Possible for fleet telematics service charges |
Testing these features
For invoice lists, test that the list includes exactly the invoices that are due by its date, that credit memos land on an LG list, that the factoring discount posts to the right account, and that payment against the list reference clears the individual items. For BDRs, test the upload with good and bad data, rejection, and that a billed BDR cannot be deleted.
What would you do?
Grace, the PMO lead, asks whether Contoso needs invoice lists. Great Lakes Fleet Services' head office pays all depot invoices once a month and wants one document to reconcile. What is the best answer?
- Invoice lists (LR, LG) group posted billing documents for a payer by calendar.
- The invoice list reference can be used to clear the individual receivables with one payment.
- Billing document requests bring external billing data onto the billing due list.
- A BDR with a subsequent billing document cannot be deleted, even if that billing was cancelled.
- Confirm edition support and scope with an SME before testing.
Check your understanding · not graded
Lesson check
1. What does an invoice list contain?
2. Which app manages external billing data before it is billed?
3. A BDR was billed and the billing document then cancelled. Can the BDR be deleted?
4. Which standard invoice list type is used for credit memos?