Vendor Master Data in SAP ERP – FI-AP

Vendor Master Data in SAP – Introduction

The vendor master data in SAP contains records of all the data you need to manage your vendors. It includes the vendor’s personal and business details. While personal details include name, address, language and phone number. Likewise, business information includes tax information, bank details, account control data and payment and purchase data.

In addition to SAP FICO, we can also use these records in Materials Management (MM). The master data controls how the system records and processes the business transactions. You can prevent inconsistency in master data by maintaining it centrally.

To better your understanding of FI/AP, we will discuss the following sections:-

Role of FI-A/P – How was it developed for Vendor Master Data in SAP?

SAP Accounts Payable is an integral part of both Financial Accounting and Materials Management Purchasing. The FI-A/P application manages your vendors, their deliveries, the invoices, the payables and the payments.

If you choose Cash Management, you can use FI/AP to plan and optimize the liquidity with the help of invoice information. Because it is designed to support all standard payment methods (such as checks and Bank Transfers) in printed and electronic form. You can make outgoing payments manually or through an automatic payment program.

The FI-GL is always updated with the postings made in FI/AP. You can easily and effectively manage the payables with the many vendor evaluations available in the form of reports and tools, such as the due date forecast, balance confirmation and account statements.

Function and Structure of Vendor Master

The data or the structure in a vendor master record is grouped into three areas. These enable each company code and purchasing organization to store its information for doing business with vendors. These also specify the relevant information in each area.

Areas	Information
General Data	– Address – Control (Tax Type, Trading partner etc.) – Payment transaction (Bank Key, Bank Account) – Contact Person
Company Code	– Accounting Information (Reconciliation Account, W/tax code, interest indicator) – Payment Transaction (Payment terms, payment methods, tolerance group) – Correspondence (dunning procedure, dunning level, dunning block
Purchase Organization	– Purchasing Data – Conditions (order currency, intercoms etc.) – Sales Data – Control Data (Automatic purchase order, GR-based invoice verification) – Partner Function

Preparatory Settings to Create Vendor Master Data in SAP

Before creating the Master data, you need to have the important preparatory settings in place, number ranges, account groups, field status etc.

Create Number Ranges for Vendor Accounts

Number Range determines the number interval from where you select the account number for a master record. You decide how many number ranges you need and the size of each of the number intervals. This too while considering not only the current vendor master requirements but also future developments. You also decide whether the numbering has to be internal or external.

Define Account Groups with Screen Layout

Similar to the G/L account groups, you can create vendor account groups to group accounts according to certain criteria. Specify an account group which then determines many things for each of the master records created in the system. These are the number interval for the account numbers, type of number assignment (external or internal), type of account (regular or One time) and field status.

Field status represents which fields must be filled in when you create and change master records.

Create the accounts with the same master record fields and number range using the same account group.

Assign Number Ranges to Vendor Account Groups

Define Sensitive Fields for Dual Control (Vendors)

Now we will configure the dual control. This we need to prevent any unauthorized changes to the field contents of sensitive fields such as terms of payment, alternative payee or payment methods. In customizing you can define the fields that you need in dual control.

Further, if someone makes changes to a field defined as a sensitive field, the system blocks the account in the payment run unless another authorized person confirms the changes individually. (Transaction FK08).

Related: SAP FICO Master Data

Creation of Vendor Master Records

You can create a vendor master centrally for both accounting and purchasing by entering the required data in one step. Alternatively, you may create a master record only in the company code for accounting purposes alone.

However, the third option is to create a master record concerning already existing master data in the system or create a new one. The system consequently, prevents the creation of duplicate masters using the Search-ID (match code) functionally configured on the vendor’s address data.

Creating Master Records Centrally

Use this option when you want to create both the accounting and purchasing data in one step.

SAP Easy Access => Accounting => Financial Accounting => Accounts Payable => Master Record => Maintain Centrally => Create

Transaction Code XK01.

Creating Master Records for Accounting Alone

This is similar to creating master records centrally. The one exception is that you do not enter the purchasing organization in the initial screen but maintain only the account group and company code.

SAP Easy Access => Accounting => Financial Accounting => Accounts Payable => Master Record => Create

Transaction Code FK01.

Also Read: Most Popular Transaction Codes in SAP FI

Creating Master Records for One-Time Vendors

Because you can use a single master record for several one-time vendors, no data specific to a single vendor is stored in the one-time master record.

When you post to a one-time account, the system automatically takes you to a master data screen in which you enter the vendor-specific master data (name, address, bank details etc) which is stored separately in the document. As in a regular vendor master record, you need to create the one-time vendor master record using the specific account group (such as 0099, CPD or CPDL) in which the vendor-specific fields such as name, address and bank address data are suppressed from display because you are maintaining this data only when entering the document.

Other than this, the processing (creating, displaying, changing, blocking and deleting) of one-time vendor master records is the same as that of the regular master records.

Archiving Vendor Master Data in SAP FICO

Archiving Vendor Mater data in SAP that you no longer need for day-to-day transactions. In reality, it is removing that record from your SAP database, placing it in a file and transferring it to the archive. However, you can archive only when the account does not contain any transaction figures (even for previous years) in the system and when you have marked the account for deletion.

Automatic Transfer of Vendor Master Records

When you have the vendor master information in a non-SAP system and want to transfer the same to your SAP (as a part of a data transfer exercise in a new implementation). You can do this automatically using the batch input, wherein the system creates a master record in SAP for each of the master records from the source. While doing this, the system transfers the data to the screen fields and saves it after doing a validation. This is why it is important that you correctly maintain all the necessary indicators, any referenced master records, field status definition etc, to avoid any errors during the automatic transfer of master records.

Know: Why to learn SAP FICO S4 HANA

Deleting Vendor Master Data in SAP ERP

Transaction Code- OBR2

SPRO => Financial Accounting New => Accounts Receivable and Payable => Vendors Accounts => Master Data – Delete Vendor Master Data

You are not able to delete the master data if there is any transaction data in a master record. Also, you are not able to delete the masters for a company code that has already become productive. Use this transaction only to delete the general area of a vendor master that has not been created in the purchasing area, Because you can link customers and vendors in FI with your customer referred to your vendor and vice versa.

This completes our discussion of vendor master data in SAP.

EndNote

Before posting the transaction we need to create the Vendor Master Data in SAP. It is the job of Superusers and Power users (SAP End-users). Consequently, it helps consultants to do Master Data related transactions in SAP.

So SAP FICO End – users and SAP FICO consultants both should have the proper knowledge. Furthermore, as part of Accounts Payable of SAP ERP Financial Accounting, its functionality is a must to learn and work upon for applying for the job in SAP FICO.