Unit 3: Subsequent Debit/Credit, Delivery Costs, and Credit Memos
Not every supplier document is a straightforward invoice for delivered goods. This unit covers value-only corrections (subsequent debits and credits), freight and customs (planned and unplanned delivery costs), invoices without any PO, and the handling of credit memos and reversals – including which accounts each case hits.
Lesson 1 · Entering Subsequent Debits/Credits
After this lesson you can
- Decide when a subsequent debit/credit is required
- Explain its effect on the PO history and accounts
Key concepts
A subsequent debit (or subsequent credit) is a supplementary invoice (or credit memo) for a PO item that has already been invoiced. It changes only the value invoiced; the invoiced quantity stays as it is. Use a subsequent debit if the supplier charged too little and now bills the difference (e.g. a metal surcharge was too low, or cash discount was deducted after the discount period and the supplier asks for it back). Use a subsequent credit if the price was too high and the supplier credits the difference (e.g. a 10 % allowance for partly faulty goods).
| Invoice / credit memo | Subsequent debit / credit | |
|---|---|---|
| Changes invoiced quantity | Yes (+ / −) | No |
| Changes invoiced value | Yes | Yes |
| Proposal | Open quantity and value | Full invoiced quantity, no value |
| Prerequisite | – (GR as required) | An invoice already posted for the item; maximum quantity = invoiced quantity |
| PO history | Normal IR line | Separate line; not linked to a specific earlier invoice |
Another invoice for additional quantity (80 pcs invoiced, now 20 more) is a normal invoice, not a subsequent debit.
Account movements
- Vendor account is always credited (debit) / debited (credit) with the amount.
- Quantity already delivered: offset to stock (MAP with coverage) or price difference account (standard price, or no coverage); account-assigned items → consumption account.
- Quantity not yet delivered: offset to GR/IR; at the later GR the amount moves to stock/PRD or consumption.
System steps
- MIRO: choose transaction Subsequent debit (or Subsequent credit).
- Allocate the PO; the invoiced quantity is proposed without amount.
- Enter the additional amount per item, simulate, post. Check the separate line in the PO history (ME23N).
- Subsequent debit/credit = value-only; quantity unchanged; needs a prior invoice.
- Typical exam cases: price too low on earlier invoice, cash discount wrongly taken → subsequent debit; extra quantity → normal invoice; allowance → subsequent credit.
Lesson 2 · Entering Delivery Costs
After this lesson you can
- Enter planned delivery costs and explain their accruals
- Enter unplanned delivery costs and configure their posting
Planned vs. unplanned
| Planned delivery costs | Unplanned delivery costs | |
|---|---|---|
| Agreed when? | Before/at PO creation with supplier, carrier or customs | Only appear on the invoice |
| Where entered | Delivery-cost condition types in the PO item (freight, customs: fixed amount, per quantity, % of value – e.g. FRB1, FRC1, FRA1) | Header, Details tab of the invoice – one total amount, no condition types |
| Supplier | Can differ from the goods supplier (freight vendor, customs authority); can be changed again at IR on the Details tab | Same invoicing party as the invoice |
| Valuation | Included in material valuation at GR (or debited to the account assignment object) | Distributed to items (price variance) or posted to a separate G/L account |
| In PO history | Yes, per condition type | No (distributed costs are part of the item value; separate G/L line not shown) |
Planned delivery costs – account movements
At GR the planned costs are accrued to a freight or customs clearing account (e.g. transaction keys FR1 freight clearing, FR3 customs clearing, depending on the condition's accrual key) and added to the stock (or consumption) value. The invoice for these costs clears the clearing account. If the invoiced costs equal the planned costs, valuation is unaffected; differences are treated like price variances (stock or PRD, consumption for account-assigned items; tolerance key KW). The delivery-cost invoice can be posted independently of the goods invoice – select "Planned delivery costs" in the allocation; the delivery-cost supplier from the PO is proposed as invoicing party.
Unplanned delivery costs
Customizing per company code decides between two methods:
- Distribute among the invoice items (material items, optionally also planned-delivery-cost items) in proportion to the value invoiced so far plus the current invoice. Each item's amount increases and the share is posted as a price variance: stock account for MAP with coverage, price difference account for standard price. No price check after the automatic distribution.
- Post to a separate G/L account via transaction key
UPF(unplanned delivery costs) in automatic account determination; a default tax code for this line can be set in OMR2. Stock and account assignment objects are not affected.
You may instead distribute such costs manually by raising item amounts – then they are treated as price variances with tolerance checks and potential blocks. An invoice containing only unplanned delivery costs can be posted against a PO only as a subsequent debit (there must already be invoiced values to distribute to).
Configuration (IMG)
SPRO › Materials Management › Logistics Invoice Verification › Incoming Invoice › Configure How Unplanned Delivery Costs Are Posted
SPRO › Materials Management › Logistics Invoice Verification › Incoming Invoice › Maintain Default Values for Tax Codes (OMR2)
SPRO › Materials Management › Valuation and Account Assignment › Account Determination › Account Determination Without Wizard › Configure Automatic Postings (OBYC) – key UPF
- Unplanned delivery costs are not entered with condition types (statement "false").
- Planned delivery costs may have a different supplier; invoice for them can be posted independently of the goods invoice.
- Automatic distribution uses total invoiced values (previous + current), not only the current invoice.
- Separate G/L posting uses key
UPF.
Lesson 3 · Entering Invoices Without Reference to a Purchase Order
After this lesson you can
- Post invoice items directly to G/L accounts, materials or assets
Key concepts
LIV can post invoices that have no PO or delivery behind them. Nothing can be proposed, so the clerk enters everything: header (invoice date, reference, amount, currency) and, importantly, the invoicing party (in MIRO on the Details tab). Because only general and company-code data of the supplier are read, the currency is not proposed and payment terms come from the supplier's company code data – in MIRO they are determined only once a first item exists.
| Item type | MIRO / Create Supplier Invoice – Advanced | Create Supplier Invoice app | Posting |
|---|---|---|---|
| G/L account | Yes (G/L account tab; layouts correspond to FB60 screen variants) | Yes | Directly to the G/L account; master-data controls (manual posting allowed, account assignment required) are checked; no GR/IR |
| Material | Yes (Material tab) | No | Plant + material + amount required; stock or price difference account depending on price control and coverage (stock quantity proposed, can be overwritten); no GR/IR |
| Asset | Yes | No | Directly to the fixed asset |
Direct posting to G/L accounts, materials and assets must first be activated per company code in Customizing for MIRO. Typical uses: freight settled outside the material value (G/L), a value correction to a material without PO (material item).
SPRO › Materials Management › Logistics Invoice Verification › Incoming Invoice › Activate Direct Posting to G/L Accounts and Material Accounts (and Assets)
- Create Supplier Invoice app: only direct G/L account items, no material items.
- Without PO reference: currency entered manually, payment terms from supplier company code (accounting) data; one-time suppliers are allowed.
- Direct postings never touch GR/IR.
Lesson 4 · Handling Credit Memos and Reversals
After this lesson you can
- Enter credit memos and subsequent credits
- Reverse (cancel) invoice documents and know the restrictions
Credit memos
Suppliers issue credit memos when they invoiced too much quantity, too high a price, or when invoiced goods are returned. Like invoices, they reference a PO or GR.
| Situation | Transaction | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Too much quantity invoiced / goods returned | Credit memo | Invoiced quantity in PO history reduced (max. = invoiced quantity); settled via GR/IR, which the system assumes is matched by a return delivery or GR reversal (e.g. movement type 122 or 102) |
| Price too high | Subsequent credit | Value reduced, quantity unchanged |
Postings mirror the invoice/subsequent debit with reversed signs. Credit memos can have different payment terms from the original invoice (credit-memo terms of the supplier, or linked via the Invoice Reference field), can cover partial quantities, and can be entered for blocked invoices.
Reversal
A posted invoice or credit memo can be cancelled with MR8M (Fiori: from Supplier Invoices List / Manage Supplier Invoices, action Reverse). The system creates the opposite document automatically – a credit memo for an invoice, an invoice for a credit memo – with exactly the original quantities and amounts, so no new variances arise. You enter a reversal reason and posting date.
- The original postings are not always mirrored: if a MAP price variance went to stock but coverage is now insufficient, the reversal posts it to the price difference account.
- All items are reversed; for partial correction enter a credit memo manually.
- A reversal document cannot be reversed; balanced (cleared) invoices or credit memos cannot be reversed.
- The FI open items of original and reversal document are not cleared automatically by LIV – schedule automatic clearing (e.g. F.13) regularly, for example daily.
- Reversing an invoice generates a credit memo automatically; reversing a credit memo generates an invoice.
- Reversal documents and cleared documents cannot be reversed.
- Credit memo reduces invoiced quantity; subsequent credit reduces only value.
Unit summary & exam focus
T-codes in this unit
| T-code | Purpose |
|---|---|
| MIRO | Enter invoice, credit memo, subsequent debit/credit; items without PO |
| ME23N | Display purchase order (PO history) |
| OMR2 | Default tax codes (incl. unplanned delivery costs) |
| OBYC | Automatic account determination (UPF, FR1, FR3…) |
| FB60 | Enter vendor invoice in FI (layout reference for G/L tab) |
| MR8M | Cancel invoice document |
| F.13 | Automatic clearing of open items |
Self-check questions
- An earlier invoice used too low a price. How do you post the supplier's supplementary bill?
Answer
As a subsequent debit: value only, invoiced quantity unchanged. - What are the two Customizing options for unplanned delivery costs?
Answer
Distribute proportionally to the invoice items (posted as price variances) or post to a separate G/L account via keyUPF. - Where are planned delivery costs accrued at goods receipt?
Answer
To a freight/customs clearing account determined by the condition's accrual key; cleared by the delivery-cost invoice. - Which item types are possible in the Create Supplier Invoice app without PO reference?
Answer
Only G/L account items. - Can you reverse a single item of an invoice?
Answer
No; reversal always covers the whole document. Use a manual credit memo for partial corrections. - Why might a reversal post to the price difference account although the invoice posted to stock?
Answer
Because the stock coverage of the MAP material is insufficient at the time of reversal.