FI-AR: Dispute Resolution (SAP Library - SAP ERP: Business Process Descriptions)

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FI-AR: Dispute Resolution

Purpose
You can use this business process as a vendor to create, process, and track dispute cases related to
receivables. This document describes the resolution process using the example of underpayments:
If underpayments exceed the tolerance limits defined in your company, you can include the resulting
residual receivable in a dispute case. A dispute case can be processed across different departments and
contains all information necessary for resolving the case, such as notes and documents. Incoming
payments, clearing of credit memos, and other clearing transactions for the disputed residual receivable
automatically update the dispute case and therefore ensure close integration with Accounts Receivable
Accounting.

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Process Flow

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The following process runs in SAP ECC:

1.

Create invoice
A billing system, such as SAP SD or SAP CRM automatically triggers the posting of the outgoing
invoice in FI-AR.

2.

Create dispute case with customer-disputed amount for invoice

In a telephone call, the customer states that he wants to dispute 20% of an invoice, for example.
Therefore the accounts receivable accountant creates a dispute case and adds the invoice as
customer-disputed object. The customer-disputed amount is 20% of the invoice amount.
This step is only available if you have activated the following business functions:

3.

FSCM Functions (FIN_FSCM_CCD)

FSCM Integration (FIN_FSCM_INTEGRATION)

Post incoming payment; residual item

The accounts receivable accountant posts the incoming payment. The payment is an
underpayment with a payment deduction of 20%.
The accountant posts a residual item for the residual receivable.

4.

Add residual to dispute case

Depending on whether you activate the business functions FSCM Functions (FIN_FSCM_CCD)
and FSCM Integration (FIN_FSCM_INTEGRATION), you have the following options:

Add residual item to existing dispute case

If you have activated the business functions, as a result of the residual item posting, the
system searches for existing dispute cases for this customer.
The accounts receivable accountant decides whether he assigns the residual item to an
existing dispute case or whether he creates a new case. In the current example, he adds the
residual item to the dispute case that he created in step 2. As a result, the system adds the
residual item to the existing dispute case as disputed object.

Create dispute case

If you have not activated the business functions, based on the posting of the residual item,
the system automatically creates a dispute case and assigns the residual item to the dispute
case.

The accounts receivable accountant determines a clerk for dispute case processing and enters this
persons name in the Processor field.
5.

Forward dispute case

The processor responsible for the dispute case processing can access the new dispute case via the
case search My Dispute Cases in the list of dispute cases assigned to him. He adds the following
information to the dispute case, for example:

Reason: Unknown

Status: In process

Priority: High

He enters the following note: Please determine the reason for the underpayment.

The processor determines the SD employee responsible for processing the dispute case further
and enters this persons name. The system removes the dispute case from the list of dispute cases
assigned to the first employee.
6.

Investigate dispute case

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The SD employee accesses the new case assigned to him via the case search My Dispute Cases
in the list of dispute cases assigned to him. He checks the case and determines that only 80% of
the goods billed were delivered. He adds the following information to the dispute case:

Reason: Underdelivery

He enters the following note: Payment deduction of 20% justified due to

underdelivery. Please arrange credit memo.

7.

Forward dispute case

The SD employee enters the accounts receivable accountant as processor. The system removes
the dispute case from the list of dispute cases assigned to the SD employee.

8.

Create credit memo

The accounts receivable accountant accesses the new case assigned to him via the case search
My Dispute Cases in the list of dispute cases assigned to him. He reads the note and posts a credit
memo for the amount of the residual receivable.
If the invoice was created from a billing system, the credit memo is created there with reference to
the invoice.

9.

Clear account
The accounts receivable accountant clears the credit memo with the residual item. The system sets
the disputed amount in the dispute case to zero and closes the dispute case.
Clearing can also take place automatically.

10.

Check dispute case

The clerk responsible for dispute case processing displays a list of all dispute cases closed. From
this list, he calls up the dispute case to check the notes again.

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