SAP Utilities

The SAP Utilities (IS-U) component is a sales and information system that supports all business processes and utility services of a utility company. You can use IS-U for managing and billing residential, commercial and industrial, and prospective customers. This component also allows you to manage and bill customers who receive services, purchase goods, or pay fees and taxes.If you have any comments or suggestions regarding this documentation, we are always grateful for feedback.

Integration

IS-U is integrated with the Service Management (PM-SMA), Customer Service (CS) and Sales and Distribution (SD) application components, enabling you to bill service orders, service contracts, and the sale of goods.

The Contract Accounts Receivable and Payable (FI-CA) component manages the large number of postings from billing and budget billing requests.

IS-U uses the SAP Business Workflow (BC-BMIT-WFM) application component to automate business processes. Common workflows include initial creation of a service connection and the disconnection of devices.

FeaturesSAP Utilities

IS-U/CCS

With Basic Functions you manage addresses and regional structures, as well as generating dates and schedules for meter readings, billings, and budget billings.

With Master Data you manage data that remains fixed for long periods of time. In IS-U, this data includes the business partners, contracts and contract accounts, connection

objects (buildings and real estate) and the premises, installations, and device locations contained therein.

With Device Management you manage the installations, meter reading, and the certification of all devices for a utility company.

The IS-U Billing component is used for billing the following standard divisions: Electricity, gas, water/waste water, district heating, and multimedia services (for example, cable TV).

The IS-U Invoicing component enables you to group services and invoice them on one bill. You can also use the component to calculate and charge fees and taxes.

In Kundenservice you can use the Customer Interaction Center (CIC) or Front

Office to display all data and start frequently used business processes. In Internet-Self-Services your customers can send you new data or changes to their existing data via the Internet. For example, they can grant you collection authorization or register a move-in.

Energy Data Management (EDM) is a solution that meets the requirements of interval reading, schedule management, and the billing of interval energy consumption. EDM covers the following areas:

Central database for energy data (Energy Data Repository) Settlement and schedule management using the settlement workbench Billing of profiles using real-time-pricing billing (RTP billing)

Work Management combines various SAP components and enhances them to include industry-specific functions for planning, calculating, executing, and billing work orders.

SAP Waste and Recycling (IS-U-WA) is a comprehensive logistics, billing, service, and customer service system that covers all the business processes required by a waste disposal company.

Intercompany Data Exchange (IDE) is a solution that covers the requirements that have arisen from the deregulation of energy markets. IDE covers the following areas:

Management of deregulation data Process execution Management of data exchange processes

In August 2002, SAP launched the Efficiency Project IS-U/CCS. The idea was conceived of following a number of projects, in which customers expressed the desire to improve the efficiency of certain IS-U/CCS mass dialog processes (such as Find Business Partner, Identify Business Partner, Move-In, Move-Out, Move-In/Out, Change Bank Details, Bill Correction). The documents referred to below all contain information that you require in order quickly and efficiently implement the optimization measures developed in this project. We strongly recommend that you implement these measures in your company as they will significantly improve processing times.You can find the documentation in the SAP Service Marketplace under http://service.sap.com/utilities Product Information IS-U/CCS General Cookbooks&Guidelines:

Documentation Increased Efficiency IS-U/CCS Available Optimization OptionsThis document describes the optimization options that are available as of SAP IS-U/CCS Release 4.64. For example, we determined that we were not taking full advantage of the optimization possibilities in processes such as move-in, move-out, and move-in/out, which are used very

regularly. This cookbook provides relevant information and stresses the importance of placing particular value on efficient processes during all implementation projects.

Documentation Increased Efficiency IS-U/CCS New DevelopmentsThis document describes the new developments that SAP provided as an add-on support package (AOSP) for SAP IS-U/CCS Release 4.64 in July 2003 and for SAP IS-U/CCS Release 4.71 in September 2003 (new developments included Accelerated Move-In/Out, and express transactions Change Bank Data, and Change Budget Billing Amount). As of IS-U/CCS Release 4.72, these new developments are part of SAP Utilities.

Cross-Industry SolutionsIn addition, you can make use of the following cross-industry solutions:

SAP Business Information Warehouse for the utilities industryYou can find this documentation via the SAP HelpPortal (http://help.sap.com).

SAP Customer Relationship Management for the utilities industry.You can find this documentation in the SAP Solution Manager.

SAP Enterprise Portals for the utilities industry.You can find this information via the the iView Studio (www.iviewstudio.com).

Basic Functions PurposeThis component contains the following basic functions of the Utilities Industry (IS-U) component:

Central management of address data arranged according to postal and political regional structure Scheduling at the meter reading unit and portion levels

Regional Structure PurposeThis component organizes a supply area on the basis of the following elements:

Postal regional structureThis is essentially composed of cities and streets with their street sections. City districts and P.O. boxes can also be represented. You can store a postal code for each object.

Political regional structureUnlike the postal regional structure, you can define the political regional structure yourself. The political regional structure is linked via the postal regional structure to the addresses of the connection objects. This means that the elements of the political regional structure stored in the system correspond to elements of the postal regional structure (cities, streets and street sections).

IntegrationThe regional structure uses the standard component Address Management (CA-GTF-ADR) component to check and allocate addresses. For more information, see Customizing (Cross Application Components General Application Functions Address Management).

Features

The central file for city and street names and the allocated postal codes in the postal regional structure ensure that the addresses are correctly spelled and structured. Country-specific algorithms also exist to simplify the address entry process. To specify an address in the Netherlands for example, you only have to enter the postal code and house number. In Germany, the postal code can often be determined directly from the city name. The following enhancements have been made to the regional structure:

SZRS0001 (city) and SZRS0002 (street)When creating a city or street, you can check whether that particular city or street already exists in the system. You can also store your own check logic.

SZRS0003 (address check-interface with external service providers)When you maintain addresses, you can perform additional checks. You can also store your own check logic. This enhancement is also intended for calling external providers' tools

EE020001 (IS-U data determination from address)This enhancement enables you to determine address data that you created maintained yourself in the regional structure.

Postal Regional Structure UseThe postal regional structure enables you to do the following:

Manage postal codes, cities and streets. Check the accuracy of postal codes, cities and streets. Simplify the process of entering postal codes, cities and streets.

When you create objects that refer directly or indirectly to an address, some fields may already contain default values (as in the connection object). In other cases, such as in the installation, you must have the system propose a value.

PrerequisitesYou must have set the City file active indicator in Customizing for each country. To do this, choose Global Settings Set Countries Set Country-Specific Checks. This ensures that the system checks the address data,

FeaturesFor cities and streets you can:

Enter billing-relevant data, such as temperature area, calorific value area, air pressure area and meter reading unitsWhen you create utility installations that are to be billed, the data is then proposed automatically.

Define customer fieldsThis is done in Customizing. Choose SAP Utilities Tools System Modifications Customer-Specific Fields Define Customer-Specific Fields in City and Street.

When you enter an address, the system determines the following: The city, city district and street are spelled correctly The city, street and (if applicable) postal code have been entered

The city district corresponds to the city, the street corresponds to the city, and the city district corresponds to the street

The postal code exists (including the postal code for the P. O. box) The postal code has been cleared for deliveries/PO boxes The postal code exists in the city.

If a postal code has been maintained in the street section then the postal code corresponds to the postal street section. If a postal code has been maintained in the city district then the postal code corresponds to the city district.

If you enter an incomplete address the system determines the missing information. However, you must have specified a country. You can enter an address in one of the following ways:

By postal code only. The system determines the city and street, provided that there is only one city and street for that postal code. If there is more than one possibility, a dialog box appears in which you can select the address you want.

By city, street and house number. The system then determines the postal code and the city district.

The region is determined from the other entries.In the Street and City fields, you can use the search help to enter data in several address fields at once. For example, the search help for the street also provides the city, country and region..

Postal Code DefinitionCode allocated to an address to simplify postal delivery. The national postal authorities control the assignment of postal codes.

UseA postal code can be used in different ways (for example, as a delivery postal code or P. O. box). The postal code is only unique if you enter it in conjunction with a country.

IntegrationIf you set the City file active indicator for each country in Customizing, the system determines whether the postal code you enter exists and whether its intended use is permitted. To set this indicator, you choose Global Settings Set countries Set country-specific checks.

City DefinitionTown or municipality as defined in the postal regional structure. This does not necessarily have to correspond to the political regional structure.

UseIn the city you can store data such as the region and the transport zone, and also application-specific and customer-defined data. This data is accessible to the programs of data objects that have an address.

From the city you can branch to the following sub-objects:

1. Postal codes These are the postal codes permitted in the city.

2. City districts You assign the number of the city district yourself. If the postal code in the city district is unique, you can enter it here. However, this is only possible if you entered the postal code in the city first.

3. P. O. boxesHere you allocate P. O. box numbers to postal codes. However, this is only possible if you entered the postal code in the city first.

StructureThe key of a city consists of the city number and the country. This ensures that the key is also unique if cities are created for different countries by means of data carriers with external number assignment.You can enter the city name and the short description according to language. In this way the special situation in areas with multiple languages is taken into account.

IntegrationIf you set the City file active indicator in Customizing for each country, the system determines whether the city that you enter exists. To set this indicator, you choose Global Settings Set Countries Set Country-Specific Checks.From the postal code entry screen, you can switch to the postal code creation screen.

Street DefinitionRoad surface together with the surrounding buildings.

UseIn the street, you can store regional structure data such as the city district and regional structure grouping, as well as application-specific and customer-defined data. Data objects for which an address has been maintained can then access this data in the programs.Data that is stored in the street or in the street section overrides data stored in the city.Different streets with the same name are created in the system as different streets. A street that runs through several cities must be stored in the system as several streets.

StructureThe key of a street consists of the street number and the country. This ensures that the key is also unique if the streets are created for different countries by importing data carriers with external number assignment.The street name and the short description are language-dependent. This allows for the special situation in multi-lingual areas.In the street you can branch to the sub-object postal street sections. Here you can store data such as the allocation of house number ranges to postal codes and city districts. This data overrides the data stored in the street or in the city.

You can only maintain postal codes if the Street postcode indicator (street-specific postal code) is set in Customizing for each country. To do this, choose Global Settings Set Countries Set Country-Specific Checks.

IntegrationWhen you enter a street, the system determines whether it exists and whether it is permissible in a city, provided that the following settings have been established for each country:

The City file active indicator is set in Customizing. To do this, choose Global Settings Set Countries Set Country-Specific Checks.

The Street direct. indicator (street directory) is set in the city.

Maintaining the Political Regional Structure Procedure1. Maintain the hierarchy of the political regional structure.2. Maintain the elements of the political regional structure.3. Enter the links to the political regional structure in the postal regional structure (that is, in the cities and in the streets).

Maintaining the Hierarchy PrerequisitesA hierarchy does not yet exist. However, if you wish to change an existing hierarchy, the basic procedure described below also applies.

Procedure1. Choose Utilities industry Regional structure Political Maintain hierarchy.

The system takes you to the initial screen Maintain political regional hierarchy structure.

2. Enter the country and the language. Choose Continue. The system takes you to the initial screen Maintain political regional hierarchy structure. Only the top level of the hierarchy is already displayed. This does not yet have a description.

3. Place the cursor on this line and choose HierarchyChange. A dialog box appears. Enter the description and use of this hierarchy level. Choose Continue.The system takes you to the initial screen Maintain political regional hierarchy structure. The description of the top hierarchy level is now displayed.

4. Choose Create. A dialog box appears. Here you create a new hierarchy level that is directly below the upper most level.Enter the data and choose Continue.Your two entries are now included in the hierarchy display.

5. Create the remaining hierarchy levels you require, following the same procedure as for step 4.

Each new level you create is inserted directly below the level on which you have placed the cursor. You can also create parallel hierarchy levels by placing the cursor on the same level choosing Hierarchy Create.

6. If you would like two parallel branches to have the same sub-branch, you only need to create one sub-branch. Example

In this instance, maintain the hierarchy as described until c. If you now create a level directly below level c and use the same description for this new level as for d, then the system creates a "reference". An exclamation mark in a yellow circle appears on the new line, and no further levels can be attached to this line. However, any levels below the upper level d (in this case level e) are also inserted below the lower level d.

7. Save the hierarchy of the political regional structure.

ResultThe political regional structure hierarchy is displayed as an overview tree.

Maintaining Elements PrerequisitesThe hierarchy for the political regional structure exists, but you have not yet created any elements.

Procedure1. Choose Utilities industry Regional structure Political Maintain elements.

The Maintain political regional hierarchy structure screen appears.

2. Enter the country and the language. Choose Continue. The screen where you maintain the political regional structure appears. If you wish, you can display the hierarchy of the political regional structure in a dialog box by choosing Utilities Hierarchy display.

3. Place the cursor on the Political regional structure line and choose Political regional structure Create. A dialog box appears. Enter the description(s) for one or more elements of the top hierarchy level. Choose Continue.You return to the Maintain political regional hierarchy structure screen. At the end of each line, an empty field is displayed. Once you have saved (and exited the screen and returned to it), the keys of the elements of the political regional structure appear in these fields.

4. Place the cursor on one of the new elements and choose Political regional structure Create. A dialog box appears. In the top half of the dialog box, enter the descriptions of elements that are situated directly below the element you selected in the hierarchy. In the bottom half of the dialog box, enter elements that are situated on the same hierarchy level as the element you selected. Choose Continue.The new elements are now displayed on the overview screen.

5. Repeat step 4 until you have created all the elements you require. 6. Save the elements of the political regional structure.

ResultThe political regional structure is displayed as an overview tree.

Portioning and Scheduling PurposeYou use this component to generate dates for meter reading, billing, and budget billing plans. To generate these dates you must first create the following schedule master records:

Portions for billing Meter reading units for meter reading

Portions combine contracts that are to be billed together. You allocate a contract to a portion either directly in the contract, or indirectly via the meter reading units that are specified in the installation associated with that contract.Meter reading units group together installations according to regional criteria. They contain all the data relevant to the scheduling of the meter reading. You can only create meter reading units if a portion already exists.Breakdown of a Service Territory into Portions and Meter Reading Units

To create budget billing dates, you must maintain the parameter record as well as the portion. The parameter record contains data for the creation of partial bills or for budget billing request printouts. One parameter record can be valid for several portions.Scheduled Dates for Billing, Budget Billing and Meter Reading

Schedule Master Records UseSchedule records are generated on the basis of the schedule master records.

Schedule master records are made up of the following objects:

Parameter record Portion Meter reading unit

Parameter Record DefinitionThe parameter record contains control data for budget billing. You use this control data to generate due dates for the budget billing amounts when you create the portion schedule records.

UseYou need a parameter record to create a portion.

You must enter the parameter record in the portion. Select the Where Used List in the display or change mode to display all portions that use a particular parameter record.

IntegrationYou only create the parameter record in order to generate the due dates for the budget billing amounts.

The following functions are possible:

Create parameter record

Change parameter record Delete parameter records

You can only delete a parameter record if it is not used in a portion.

Portion DefinitionThe portion groups utility contracts according to regional and organizational criteria for billing purposes.

UseYou use the portion to:

Group contracts for billing purposes according to regional criteriaYou usually allocate contracts to a portion indirectly by allocating that portion to a meter reading unit. You store the meter reading unit in the installation. A single contract is allocated to an installation.

However, you can also enter a portion directly in the contract as an alternative portion. This overrides the indirect allocation.

Provide the scheduled billing dates Determine the due dates for the budget billing amounts

The budget billing period and the billing period must be the same length. You use the period length of the portion, which you specify in months or days, to define how often the contract is billed as well as the budget billing period. The number of billing runs refers to one year for the month portion. The day portion, however, can be larger than one year. If the day portion is larger than a year, the end is equal to the defined number of days.

Activate dynamic schedulingThis enables you to modify schedule records in accordance with the factory calendar and a specified number of workdays. To activate dynamic scheduling, you must specify the relevant settings in Customizing under Utilities Industry Basic Functions Portioning and Scheduling Dynamic Scheduling Define Control Parameters for Dynamic Scheduling.

The system generates the due dates for the budget billing amounts using the data in the parameter record and the date of the end of the billing period.

IntegrationThe portion is connected to the parameter record (which contains the budget billing data) and to the meter reading units. The system uses the base dates of the portion as base dates for periodic meter reading.

The following functions are possible:

Create portion Change portion Delete portion

You can only delete a portion if it is not used in a meter reading unit. If schedule records still exist for the portion, you must delete these before you can delete the portion.If you are using the portion as an alternative portion in a contract, you must delete this reference before you delete the portion.

Alternative portion contractAn alternative portion in a contract groups together installations that have a different meter reading unit. These installations are then billed together. In order for this to happen, billing and invoicing must be executed with the alternative portion as the selection criteria.

For further information, see note 630244.

Meter Reading Unit DefinitionA meter reading unit groups together installations (and the devices and registers installed in them) according to regional criteria for meter reading purposes.

UseYou use the meter reading unit to:

1. Group installations for meter reading purposes according to regional criteriaTo allocate an installation to a particular meter reading unit, you enter that meter reading unit in the installation. You cannot overwrite this allocation.

2. Provide the scheduled meter reading dates3. Define the street route

SAP recommends that you do not group more than 1000 registers in a meter unit. This due to the following reasons:

1. The meter reading unit is a worklist for a meter reader. This means that a meter reading unit is designed to be the number of registers that a meter reader can read in one day.

2. PerformanceMeter reading units are required for creating and outputting meter reading orders as well as for the fast entry of meter reading results. The system reads all meter reading orders for a meter reading unit on a scheduled meter reading date. A large meter reading unit (that is, a unit that contains a large number of installations and corresponding devices and registers) puts a greater strain on the system performance.

StructureOn the maintenance screen of the meter reading unit the fields are divided into two groups:

1. Fields for organizational dataHere you can allocate other meter reading units to a main meter reading unit, for example. Meter reading orders and meter readings are created and executed for these meter reading units in conjunction with the main meter reading unit.

2. Fields for scheduling dataHere you can maintain the scheduled meter readings for one year. Note that the system proposes dates from the portion as the dates for periodic meter reading. You must not change these dates. The system determines the length of the billing period in the portion. It uses this to derive the number of schedule records for periodic meter reading.

IntegrationWhen you allocate a meter reading unit to an installation, the system proposes the meter reading unit associated with the address from the regional structure. This proposal is based on the object address, the premise and the combination of billing class and division category.

The following functions are possible:

3. Create meter reading unit 4. Change meter reading unit

When you change a meter reading unit, you must regenerate the existing schedule records.This is not possible for dynamic schedule records. You can use the standard transaction to change dynamic meter reading units. You must then use the dynamic scheduling transaction to regenerate the existing schedule records.

1. Delete meter reading unitYou can only delete a meter reading unit if this is not used in an installation and schedule records do not exist.

Schedule Records DefinitionSchedule records contain the dates generated periodically for meter reading and billing. In dynamic scheduling the meter reading dates for the registers to be read are split evenly over the workdays of a month.

UseWhen a portion and meter reading units are created, these schedule records can be used to generate schedule records for the following year. The base dates of the master schedule records are used to generate the appropriate periodic schedule records. Once you have entered the necessary budget billing data in the portion, budget billing dates are also generated for the portion.

The dates of the generated schedule records are used to schedule the meter reading for the next period (years, months). The scheduled meter reading date for the schedule records is the date when extrapolation for consumption during the next period expires. Similarly, the data of the schedule records for billing (that is, the gas date and allocation date) is used for scheduling billing and for the statistical allocation of billings.

Schedule records can be created in advance for a period that you define. You should create schedule records for at least one year in advance. This because a predecessor is always required, for example, for post processing a move-in or a move-out.

Generating schedule records from 03/01/03 to 12/31/03If the customer wants to execute an action for the schedule record in March, he or she will not be successful because they cannot access the schedule record for February. Schedule records were generated starting from 03/01/03. This means that there is no previous record available.

Schedule Record for a PortionThe schedule records of the portion are used for scheduling billing and allocating budget billing due dates to the portion schedule records.

The budget billing period is directly linked to the end of the billing period.

The following dates for the schedule records are transferred into the billing order:

Scheduled billing date

Billing procedure

Scheduled meter reading date

You cannot change meter reading schedule records for which meter reading order creation has already been executed.

Period KeyThe period key enables you to create a text for each budget billing cycle in each budget billing period. If you want to allocate a period key to all schedule records of a portion, you must first of all create a single schedule record (transactions EA43, E43A). You must then adjust this manually (transaction: Change Schedule Record; E40B). In the change mode, you can use the budget billing dates to allocate an individual period key to every date within every budget billing cycle.

You can then generate other schedule records after this change (transactions EA43, E43A).

You cannot regenerate a schedule record that you created with a period key.

Schedule Records for a Meter Reading Unit.The schedule records for the meter reading unit regulate the due meter readings. This includes creating meter reading orders, meter reading announcements, and customer meter reading orders, and printing or downloading meter reading orders.

The following dates for the schedule records are transferred into the meter reading order:

Scheduled meter reading date

Scheduled meter reading category

Allocation date

Gas date

IntegrationYou must create schedule master records for the portion and meter reading unit before you can generate the schedule records.

The following functions are possible:

Create the schedule recordo Portion or meter reading unit

You use this function if you want to generate individual schedule records for a specific period.

o Portion and/or meter reading unitYou use this function if you wish to generate several schedule records for a specific period.

o All meter reading units of a portionYou use this function if you wish to generate schedule records for all the meter reading units allocated to the portion you enter.

Change schedule record Display schedule record Delete schedule record

o Schedule record for a portionYou can only delete schedule records that do not have any billing orders. You must reverse the billing order before you can delete the schedule records.If the schedule records are not used in a billing order, you can check whether the schedule records to be deleted were already

used in billing documents. This check can cause long runtimes because the billing documents have to be analyzed.

SAP recommends that you only execute this check in a productive system as an exception. o Schedule record for a meter reading unit

You can only delete schedule records that do not have any meter reading results or meter reading orders.

Analyze schedule records

Dynamic Schedule RecordsTo generate dynamic scheduling, you must define entries in Customizing under Utilities Industry Basic Functions Portioning and Scheduling Dynamic Scheduling Define Control Parameters for Dynamic Scheduling. The fields for dynamic scheduling in the portion are now ready for input. Dynamic schedule records are only generated if you have selected the field Dynamic Scheduling in the portion. Dynamic schedule records can only be generated or changed using special transactions.

Scheduling PurposeScheduling groups the sub-division of the service territory into portions (billing units) and meter reading units in the system, and generates dates for the following functions:

Meter reading Billing Creation of budget billing amounts

PrerequisitesThe service territory of your utility company must be divided into portions and meter reading units.

Process FlowScheduling comprises the following stages:

1. ...

1. 1. Create parameter record

In the parameter record you store the control data for generating the due dates for the budget billing amounts. You need a parameter record to create a portion.

2. 2. Create portion

The portion groups utility contracts according to regional and organizational criteria for billing purposes. You can group contracts according to their billing class and division category. You use the period length of the portion, which you specify in months or days, to define the number of times the contract is to be billed and the budget billing period. You use the date of the end of the billing period, to define when the billing period occurs within the year and the base date of the portion. You are always required to specify a parameter record. The system generates the due dates for the budget billing amounts using the data in the parameter record and the date of the end of the billing period.

3. 3. Create meter reading unit

The meter reading unit is an organizational unit which groups utility installations for meter reading purposes. The number of installations you allocate to a meter reading unit might, for example, correspond to the number of installations to be read by the meter reader in one day. You allocate an installation to a meter reading unit by entering the meter reading unit in the installation. You base this allocation primarily on regional criteria. You can restrict the allocation of a meter reading unit to an installation by maintaining the combination of billing class and division category.You allocate a portion to a particular meter reading unit by entering the it in that meter reading unit. This enables you to specify the number of contracts to be billed, that is, the number of installations for which meter readings have been taken.In the meter reading unit you define the base dates for meter reading for one year. You can predefine base dates with different meter reading reasons, such as periodic meter reading, service territory transfer with billing, interim meter reading without billing, or control reading. The basic data for periodic meter reading (the end of the meter reading period and the number of periodic meter readings) is copied directly from the portion. If, for example, the length of the billing period is six months, two periodic meter reading dates are set. You can specify the dates for the other meter reading reasons within the annual period. You can select the planned meter reading category (for example, interim meter reading, meter reading by the customer). However, you should take organizational criteria into account.

4. 4. Generate schedule records

Once the schedule master records of the portion and of the meter reading units have been defined, the system can use these master records to generate schedule records for the next few years. In this process, the appropriate periodic schedule records are generated from the base dates of the master records. The budget billing dates are also generated for the portion.The dates of the generated schedule records are used to schedule the meter reading for the next period (years, months). The scheduled meter reading date for the schedule records is the date when extrapolation for consumption during the next period expires. Similarly, the data of the schedule records for billing (that is, the gas date and allocation date) is used for scheduling billing and for the statistical allocation of billings.

ResultAfter scheduling, portions, meter reading units and their corresponding schedule records are available.

Create Parameter Record Procedure

1. ...

1. 1. When you create the parameter record, you can transfer existing values from another parameter record and use these as a template.

Every parameter record can contain up to 5 budget billing cycles. You can select the following values:

o 00: No budget billing amounts are leviedo 01: Budget billing amounts are levied every montho 02: Budget billing amounts are levied every 2 monthso 03: Budget billing amounts are levied every 3 monthso 04: Budget billing amounts are levied every 4 monthso 06: Budget billing amounts are levied every 6 monthso 12: Annual payer; one budget billing amount is levied.

2 When you define a budget billing cycle, you must enter the budget billing cycle as well as the scheduled print date of the budget billing request or the creation of the partial bill in the BB req./part. bill field.

3 In the field Months inv.-1st BB, you define the time between the end of the last billing period and point when the first budget billing amount is levied.

4 If you want to use the parameter record to create portions with a duration of days, you can enter the number of days after the start of this period that you want the first budget billing item to be calculated in the field Days to Bud. Bill. The system uses this number of days to calculate the other budget billing items.

A parameter record is always necessary even if you do not want to levy a budget billing amount.You must therefore create at least one parameter record.

Create Portion Procedure

1. ...

1. When you create a portion, you can transfer existing values from another portion and use these as a template.

2. Dynamic Scheduling

When you create a portion, you must decide whether you want the portion and the corresponding meter reading units to be used for dynamic scheduling. Set this indicator if you want the portion to be used for dynamic scheduling.

3. End Bill. Per. (End of Billing Period)Here you can determine the date when the portion is billed for the first time. This date is used as the base date for calculating the end of the billing periods or floating backbilling periods.

This date cannot come before the end of the meter reading period or the scheduled meter reading date of all allocated meter reading units.

4. All Date Billg (Billing Allocation Date)This date enables you to statistically allocate billing. It is used during cross-contract billing to allocate billing orders and documents. The date is also copied to the billing order.

This date cannot come after the end of the billing period. The end of the billing period cannot come before the end of the meter reading period or the scheduled meter reading date of all allocated meter reading units.

If you use budget billing procedure 3 (payment plan) in your system and a payment plan has already been created for this portion, you can no longer change the allocation date.

5. Sch. Bill. Date (Scheduled Billing Date)This date specifies the day the system starts billing contracts that belong to a portion. The factory calendar is used for this. This date displays the point in time when a billing period is prepared. Billing orders that have the status billable after this date are not processed. The date, therefore, acts as the selection date for determining billable billing orders during mass and single billing.

6. Inv. Print DateHere, you can define the date for the scheduled bill printout

7. Gas Alloc. Date (Gas Allocation Date)If you use thermal gas billing, you can use this date to allocate relevant data, such as calorific value, temperature, gas law deviation factor).

8. Period CharacteristicsYou can enter the period length of the portion in days or months. If you use months, you can choose the period lengths 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 12. If you use days, you can enter any period (in days).

9. Calendar SettingsIf you define a factory calendar, you can set the Correct Non-WD (correct non-working day) indicator. If a date in a schedule record falls on a day that has been defined as a non-working day in the factory calendar, this indicator ensures that the date is moved to a working day. If you create a day portion, you can set the Include Factory Calendar indicator. If you also enter a factory calendar in the Factory Calendar ID field, this ensures that the days you have defined are only calculated in work days.

10.Intervals for Billing on a Monthly-BasisWhen you create a period of a month, you can also define intervals that determine the billing period:

1. If the period to be billed is within the interval you have entered, billing is executed to the month.

2. If the period exceeds the interval, billing is executed to the day. If you require more than one upper and lower limit for the intervals, you can use an enhanced interval procedure. You can make the settings for this in Customizing under:SAP Utilities Contract Billing Billing Master Data Rate Structure Rates Period Control Basic Calculation Procedures Month-Based Calculation Using Interval

11.BB/Bill Dates (Group Due Date of Budget Billing Items and Bill)Here, you can define whether you want to group the due date together with the next budget billing amount or with the next bill.

12.Cat. BB Extrap. (Type of Waste Disposal Extrapolation)If a specific value has not been entered in the contract, the system uses the default value selected in the meter reading unit. The values in the meter reading unit have the following effects:

1. 01 (automatically)The values for the billing period are extrapolated using the following logic (priority in descending order):

1.If the budget billing period contains billing-relevant changes to the service frequency, the values are extrapolated based on the expected services and the service frequency.

2.If there are billing-relevant values in the same period of the previous year, these are used for extrapolation.

3.If there are billing-relevant values in the previous period, these are used for extrapolation.

4.Values are extrapolated based on the expected services (determined from the interval of the service frequency).

2. 02 (using service frequency)Values are extrapolated based on the expected services (determined from the interval of the service frequency).

1. 03 (using the previous period)The billing-relevant values from the previous period are used for extrapolation. If this is not possible, values are extrapolated based on the expected services (determined from the interval of the service frequency).

2. 04 (using the previous years period)The billing-relevant values from the period of the previous year are used for extrapolation. If this is not possible, the following takes place:

1.The billing-relevant values from the previous period are used for extrapolation.

2.Values are extrapolated based on the expected services (determined from the interval of the service frequency).

1. Dun Due Date (Dun the Last Due Date of a Budget Billing Plan)This indicator is only used for the statistical budget billing plan procedure.

When it is set, the Cannot Be Dunned in BB Plan field is not set.2. Define Budget Billing Cycles

When you select the budget billing cycle, you can specify the number of budget billing amounts that are charged. If you want to levy budget billing amounts, at least one permitted budget billing cycle must be set with the number of budget billing amounts.

3. Budget Billing CycleYou can define a cycle in the portion as a standard cycle. You can only use budget billing cycles that are defined in the allocated parameter record. If you do not levy budget billing amounts, no data is saved in the budget billing data table TE423 (Budget Billing Dates) when the schedule records of the portion are generated. If you define more than one cycle, the entries for every cycle are saved in the table TE423.

4. Billing Class / Division CategoryYou can restrict how the portion is used by entering a billing class and a division category. You have the following options for this:

1. Restricted portionIn the meter reading unit, you can only use the constellations of billing class and division category that are entered in the portion. You can also not make any restrictions.

2. Portion not restrictedThe meter reading unit can be restricted or unrestricted.

Create Meter Reading Unit Procedure

1. ...

1. 1. When you create the meter reading unit, you can transfer existing values from another meter reading unit and use these as a template.

2. 2. Portion

You must enter a portion when you create a meter reading unit. You must have already created the portion before you use it here. When you enter the portion, the system automatically determines the periodic meter reading dates for a year.The end of the meter reading period is copied from the portion and corresponds to the end of the billing period date. The scheduled billing date is copied from the portion and used as the meter reading allocation date. The interval between the meter reading and the end of the meter reading period is determined from the meter reading allocation date and the end of meter reading period. You can shift the meter reading allocation date by changing the interval.

The end of a meter reading period cannot come after the end of the billing period of the allocated portion.An alternative portion entered in the contract overrides the portion in the meter reading unit.

3. 3. Dyn. Sched. (Dynamic Scheduling)

All meter reading units allocated to a portion with dynamic scheduling are also processed by dynamic scheduling. You cannot set the dynamic scheduling indicator manually. The system sets the indicator automatically if the portion entered is allocated to dynamic scheduling.4. 4. Meter Reading Together with (Meter Reading Together with Leading

Meter Reading Unit)

The new meter reading unit can be read together with another meter reading unit. Make sure that the meter reading periods of both meter reading units end at the same time. If you want the meter reading unit to be read together with another meter reading unit, you must set the Main Meter Reading Unit indicator in the meter reading unit that you enter in this field.5. 5. Meter Reading Unit for Contracts that are Billed in Advance

Set this indicator if you want to use the meter reading unit for contracts that have to billed in advance. The system executes advance billing during every periodic billing run.6. 6. MDE Number (Number for Mobile Data Entry)

If you have an external system that can be used to download meter reading orders for mobile data entry, you can enter an MDE number here. This number is transferred to the new meter reading orders when they are created. The system executes a download for these selected meter reading orders when the orders are output. 7. 7. Number of Previous Meter Reading Results

You can enter the number of previous meter reading results in this field. These are the meter reading results from the periodic meter readings that were already entered in the system for the corresponding register at the time the order was created and that should be printed on the bill. If only a few previous meter reading results have been entered for the register, the system only prints these.8. 8. Key Date ( Key Date for Billing on a Monthly Basis)

This field is only used for periods defined as months. It is only important in the following cases:If a corresponding access control for an operand has been selected for monthly billing in connection with a key dateIf a corresponding period control has been selected in a rate step for monthly billing in connection with a key date9. 9. MR Center (Meter Reading Center)

This field is a customer-specific field in the meter reading unit. It is used to group different meter reading units into another logical unit. This unit can then be evaluated by a customer-specific program. 10.10. Calendar Settings

When you define a factory calendar, you can also set the indicator that corrects non-working days. If a date in a schedule record falls on a day that has been defined as a non-working day in the factory calendar, this indicator ensures that the date is set to the previous non-working day. 11.11. Schedule Record Intervals in Days

When you create a meter reading unit, you can also maintain extra intervals:

Intervals

Field name Description

MR-end MR per. Interval between the meter reading and the end of the meter reading period:

Specifies the scheduled meter reading date of the schedule records.

Order cr. - MR Interval between order creation and the scheduled meter reading date:

Specifies the date when the meter reading order is created.

Days Print MR Interval between printing the meter reading orders and the meter reading:

Specifies the date when the meter reading orders are printed.

Download - MR Interval between download and meter reading:

Specifies the download date.Announce OC Interval between meter reading

announcement and order creation:

Specifies the date of the meter reading announcement.

CMROP-order cr. Interval between printing an order for a meter reading by a customer and the order creation:

Specifies the date when the meter reading orders for a customer meter reading are printed.

12.12. Include Factory Calendar

If you set the indicator for these fields, the days that you have entered are regarded as working days. If you do not set the indicator, the days that you have entered are regarded as calendar days. The days between order creation and the meter reading are the upper limit for the download intervals. They are also the upper limit between the printout of meter reading orders and the meter reading.13.13. Entry Interval

The entry interval defines a period before or after a utility company takes a meter reading. A second meter reading can be interpolated in this period. This means that the utility company does not have to take another meter reading. The meter reading interval is a period in which only one meter reading and one billing run can be executed. If a meter reading order or a meter reading result already exists in a meter reading

interval, the system suppresses the meter reading order that has the lowest priority meter reading reason.14.14. Meter reading dates

You have several different options for defining a meter reading date:

Meter reading dates

Field name DescriptionMRP end

End of a meter reading period:

Used as the base date for determining the dates of other meter reading periods.The date cannot come after the end of the billing period for the allocated portion.

Alloc.Date Allocation date for the meter reading:

Used during the demand value inclusion in billing. Allocates the meter reading result to a certain month.You can also use the meter reading allocation date to allocate the meter reading result to a season.

MR reason

Meter reading reason:

In addition to periodic meter reading, you can also use the following meter readings:

02: Interim meter reading with billing05: Service territory transfer with billing09: Interim meter reading without billing10: Control reading

Sched. MRC Scheduled meter reading category:

Specifies the kind of meter reading to be executed:

01: Meter reading by utility company02: Meter reading by customer03: Automatic estimation04: Meter reading interpolated

Estim. in Bill

Meter reading results are estimated in billing:

If you set this indicator, you can only use the meter reading unit in flat-rate installations or dynamic period control (DPC) installations.The meter reading results are estimated in billing by dynamic period control.

Adjust BB Plan

Adjust budget billing plan during interim billing

Set this indicator if you want adjust any existing budget billing plans during interim billing. You can only use this field for meter reading reason 02 (interim meter reading with billing).

15.15. Print Settings

You can enter printing forms in the meter reading unit. These forms are used in specific transactions.You can still restrict the meter reading unit even if you have not made restriction for the billing class and division category in the portion entered. If you do make a restriction, it affects how the meter reading unit is used in the installation. If the portion does contain entries, you can either not use any of the restrictions, or only use the variants specified in the portion.16.16. Billing Class and Division Category

You can restrict how the meter reading unit is used by entering a billing class and a division category. You have the following options for this:

o The portion has a restricted billing class and division categoryIn the meter reading unit, you can only use the constellations of billing class and division category that are entered in the portion. You also have the option of not making any restrictions.

o Portion is not restrictedThe meter reading unit can be restricted or unrestricted.

17.17. Meter reader

You can enter meter reading-specific data for the meter reader, here. You can, for example, enter the number of the meter reader who has to take a meter reading, or who has actually taken the meter reading result.18.18. MR by Customer (Meter Reading by Customer)

If you set this indicator, the system creates customer meter reading orders for the meter reading unit.

If the customer does not confirm any meter reading results, new meter reading orders are created. In this case, however, the new orders are generated for meter reading by utility company.19.19. MR Time (Hours) (Meter Reading Time in Hours)

You can allocate the required meter reading time in hours to a meter reading unit. You can subtract this entry from the meter readers available time. This provides you with the remaining time that can still be scheduled for the meter reader in question.20.20. Subcontractor

If a subcontractor is taking the meter readings on behalf of your company, you can enter the subcontractor's number in this field. The data entered here is used just as information.

ResultWhen the meter reading unit is saved, all meter reading data is saved in table TE425 (meter reading dates). A data record is saved along with the accompanying meter reading date for ever meter reading reason over the period of one year.

Generate Schedule Records Procedure:Generate Schedule Records for PortionYou can use the following transactions to generate schedule records:

Create Schedule Record for Portion or Meter Reading Unit (transaction EA43) Create Schedule Record for Portion and/or Meter Reading Unit (transaction E43A)

You can only generate schedule records for a period that does not contain any billing orders.

When schedule records are generated, billing-relevant data for every schedule record is stored in the budget billing date table TE423. Budget billing data is saved for every defined cycle depending on the period length. If two cycles are defined in a portion, the dates for both cycles are saved in the budget billing table, regardless of which cycle is entered as the default cycle in the portion.

The TERMTDAT field in table TE423 is always the same as the end date of the portions billing period. If the dates are different, this normally means that the portion has been changed without regenerating the schedule records.

Regenerate Schedule Records for PortionYou can use the following transactions to regenerate schedule records:

Create Schedule Record for Portion or Meter Reading Unit (transaction EA43) Create Schedule Record for Portion and/or Meter Reading Unit (transaction E43A)

You can only regenerate schedule records that do not have any billing orders.

If you have changed a portion, you can regenerate the schedule records directly by saving the portion. This is not possible for dynamic scheduling. In this case, you must use transaction E1DY to regenerate the schedule records.

Generate Schedule Records for the Meter Reading UnitYou can use the following transactions to generate schedule records:

Create Schedule Record for Portion or Meter Reading Unit (transaction EA43) Create Schedule Record for Portion and/or Meter Reading Unit (transaction E43A) Create Schedule Record for all Meter Reading Units of a Portion (transaction E43B)

Intervals defined in the meter reading unit are calculated using the end of the meter reading period. They are then saved in the schedule record. However, the date for a meter reading by a customer is not calculated using the interval up to the end of the meter reading period. In this case, the system uses the defined interval minus the order creation date. If meter reading orders or meter reading results exist for the period of the schedule record to be generated, this schedule record cannot be overwritten.

When schedule records are generated, any existing schedule records that do not have any meter reading results or meter reading orders are overwritten.

Regenerate Schedule Records for a Meter Reading UnitYou can use the following transactions to regenerate schedule records:

Create Schedule Record for Portion or Meter Reading Unit (transaction EA43) Create Schedule Record for Portion and/or Meter Reading Unit (transaction E43A) Create Schedule Record for all Meter Reading Units of a Portion (transaction E43B)

You can only regenerate schedule records that do not have any meter reading results or meter reading orders.

Master Data Purpose This component contains data for the Utilities Industry (IS-U) component that remains unchanged

over a long period of time. The graphic below illustrates the master data and shows how the various objects are related to each other.

Master Data in IS-U

There are 2 different types of master data: technical and business. These are shown in the

graphic below:

SAP Business Partner (SAP BP) Purpose

The component SAP Business Partner enables you to create and manage business partners centrally. This is of prime interest if a business partner plays different roles for a company, such as sold-to party and ship-to party.

SAP Business Partner is designed to utilize technical benefits such as data integrity and freedom from data redundancy, and to place greater emphasis on aspects relating to customer maintenance and acquisition of new customers.

Features You can create a business partner in different business partner roles, and during

the course of the business relationship the business partner can assume other business partner roles. No new data has to be created each time, meaning that redundant data creation and retention is avoided, and there can be no inconsistencies.

By using SAP Business Partner, it is possible to merge the partner data already held by a company in more than one system in such a way that the potential for new contracts within the same customer contact can be identified.

When you enter data, the central data related to SAP Business Partner, and the application-specific data are integrated seamlessly on the processing screen.

Seamless integration of customer-specific data is possible without modification, ensuring full future maintenance, because defined interfaces exist for this purpose.

BP Role Contract Partner DefinitionA contract partner is connected with the company through contract accounts and through the conclusion of contracts. Contract accounts can therefore only be assigned to a business partner and services billed accordingly if you have created this business partner in the role of contract partner.

UseSince a contract partner receives services from the company and has to be billed for these services, you also have to store control and payment data for the contract partner.In addition to bank details, you can enter general data on the contract partner, such as the business partner type and creditworthiness. Creditworthiness is determined and updated automatically, but you can overwrite this.A company must have the following information on a contract partner:

Address: Name, form of address, academic title, name suffixes and prefixes, personal data, street address, postbox address, communication methods

Control/payment transactions: Bank details and general data (creditworthiness)

Relationships: Relationships to other business partners (see Relationship Categories)Data in the future

You do not have to activate business partner master data changes to have immediate effect; instead you can enter a date from which the changes are effective. This data is not written to the database but recorded in change documents. To activate such data, you should start report BUSPCDACT daily if possible, as it writes the planning to the database. You can also make scheduled changes using direct input; however, you need the primary key to do this.

You can delete inconsistent data when you are in display mode for change documents. Tax numbers for business partnersYou can define any number of tax numbers. You assign these to tax number categories that control the usage and check of tax numbers. Checking dependencies of master data changesIf you delete the bank details of a business partner, but these are still used in a contract account, you receive a corresponding message and can go to maintenance of the contract account to remove this inconsistency. This check does not apply to scheduled master data changes. Check digit for contract partnersWhen you create a contract partner, you can add a check digit to the contract partner number. The prerequisites are as follows:

You add the check digit procedure using event 1051. Sample function module FKK_SAMPLE_1051_2_CHECKDIGITS for two check digits is supplied by SAP.

The contract partner is created with internal number assignment. The number range is configured such that it begins with a leading zero (check digit procedure

with one check digit) or with two leading zeros (procedure with two check digits). Utilities Industry (IS-U) componentIn the Utilities industry component, you can define additional data for the contract partner, for example, the following general data:

Driving license number Social insurance number (USA) Employee classification Account category (as default value for contract account)

BP Role: Contract Partner (IS-U) When you create a contract partner, you can also create a standard customer in the background in the Sales and Distribution (SD) component. This standard customer may, for example,

use services or maintenance services purchase goods pay charges and taxes

You can use a predefined standard customer as a reference and then change the data.

BP Roll Installer (IS-U) DefinitionAn installer is a person licensed by a utilities company to carry out installation work.

StructureWith the BP role installer you can enter general data and status management in addition to the usual address data. In the general data you can define data such as the license for certain divisions, operating purpose of the company and the identification number of the license. In the status management you can define data such as the type of license and the date of the initial license.

Changes to Payment Data UseChanging bank data and payment card details in the master record of a business partner.

IntegrationYou can change payment data in the master record of the business partner and in dependent objects simultaneously. For example, you can change the bank details of a customer who changes from a cash payer to a direct debit payer in his business partner master record and his contract account.

FeaturesIn the transaction Maintain Bank Data (FPP4), you can do the following centrally for a business partner:

Create new bank/payment card details Change existing bank/payment card details Delete existing bank/payment card details in the contract account and subsequently in the

business partner master record Create customer contacts Print confirmation letters

You can also control follow-up actions, such as reversing dunning notices, by means of flexible rules.

The processing takes place in three steps:

Mode Function Call via Button

Create Create New Bank/Payment Card Details with quick info Create

Change Change Existing Bank/Payment Card Details with quick info Change

Delete Delete Existing Bank/Payment Card Details with quick info Delete

ActivitiesMake the system settings required in the Implementation Guide for Contract Accounts Receivable and Payable under Basic Functions Contract Partner Changes to Payment Transactions. If you set the indicator Create Bank ID in the client-specific settings in Customizing, in event 1053, you can determine a new bank details ID for a business partner. If you set the indicator Create Credit Card ID, in event 1054, you can determine a payment card ID for a business partner. As standard, the first ID for the bank/payment card details is created with 0001, the second with 0002. If no ID is determined here, the system prompts the user to enter a new ID in a dialog box (see function module FKK_EVENT_1053_DIAL).

With a function module processed in event 1083, you can make further changes to the contract account when you save the data. In this event, you can, for example, define that the field Posting Control Group changes in the contract account if a customer changes from being a cash payer to a direct debit payer.

You define the event modules specified under Program Enhancements Define Customer Specific Function Modules. See also the documentation for the sample function modules FKK_SAMPLE_1053, FKK_SAMPLE_1054, and FKK_SAMPLE_1083.

If you want to send confirmations, define the form required for the correspondence types 0036 and 0040. To define a standard form proceed as follows:

1. 1. In the Implementation Guide for Contract Accounts Receivable and Payable, choose Basic Functions Correspondence Define Standard Form Classes for Correspondence and define the form class FI_CA_BANK_MAINTAIN for correspondence type 0036, and form class FI_CA_CCARD_MAINTAIN for correspondence type 0040.

2. 2. Create a copy of the standard form FI_CA_BANK_MAINTAIN_SAMPLE or FI_CA_CCARD_MAINTAIN_SAMPLE and adjust it accordingly.

3. 3. In the Implementation Guide for Contract Accounts Receivable and Payable, choose Basic Functions Correspondence Define Application Forms for Correspondence and enter the new forms for the correspondence types 0036 and 0040.

Changing Payment Data PrerequisitesYou have the authorizations to change bank and payment card data. If the existing authorizations are insufficient, the system terminates processing. When you display the contract accounts, only those contract accounts for which you have display authorization appear. You can only select contract accounts for which you have change authorization. If you do not have the relevant authorizations, the system issues an error message for every action that it could not carry out.

Procedure1. ...

1. 1. From the SAP menu, choose Master Data Business Partner Maintain Bank Data.

2. 2. Enter the business partner required and, in the field Valid From, the date from which the change to the bank/payment card data is to be valid.

3. 3. Confirm your entries. 4. 4. Make the desired changes and save your entries.

The system selects the program mode automatically. If there are no bank details for the business partner entered, the system selects the mode Create. In all other cases, the system selects the mode Change. In the Implementation Guide for Contract Accounts Receivable and Payable, under Basic Functions Contract Partner Changes to Payment Transactions Define Processing Variants, you can prevent the system selecting the mode automatically for a processing variant by setting the indicator No Automatic Mode in the area Control. In the field Transaction Mode, you can also define which object the transaction is to start with. You can override this setting during processing via the menu functions Goto Change Bank Data, or Goto Change Payment Card Data. Via the parameter 8UV, you can define the processing variant required in the user data.

With the button with the quick info Other Partner, you can switch to a different

business partner in the maintenance of the bank data. If you select with the quick info Back in the standard toolbar, you can also select a different business partner or change the validity date for the business partner entered and start the processing again.

By selecting the corresponding button in the toolbar, you can change the mode.

Bank Details Area

If bank details already exist for the business partner, these appear in the field Existing Bank Details. You can select the bank details required from the drop-down

list, or determine the details with the button with the quick info Search.

Under New Bank Details, enter the new bank details and with the corresponding selection buttons, define whether these bank details are to apply only as payment method for incoming payments, only for outgoing payments, or for both.

Contract Accounts Area

The following contract accounts appear here:

Contract accounts where the business partner selected is entered as the contract account holder. Contract accounts where the business partner selected is entered as the alternative payer. Contract accounts where the business partner selected is entered as the alternative payee. Contract accounts where the business partner selected is entered as the payer.

If you enter a different date to the current date in the field Valid From, the system selects the contract accounts valid from this date. If, for example, the business partner is not the contract account holder, and only the alternative payer, alternative payee, or payer for the contract account from a date in the future, for technical reasons, the contract account may not be selected under certain circumstances if you call the transaction before this future date. The system only selects the contract account when you call the transaction on the date when the change takes effect and the business partner is, for example, the alternative payer.

If you select a line in the list, when you save, the system only makes the change for the contract account selected. The defaults set by the system automatically and listed below also apply.

Automatic Selection of Contract Accounts in the List

Mode Automatic SelectionCreate If the business partner has no bank details, the system selects all

contract accounts. If the business partner has bank details, the system does not select any contract account.

Change The system selects all contract accounts that contain the bank details selected. You cannot change this selection.

Delete The system selects all contract accounts that contain the bank details selected. You cannot select any other contract accounts for changes.

Correspondence/Contact Area

Here you can create a customer contact. If you set the indicator Print Confirmation, a confirmation is printed when you save.

Special Cases Special Case 1: Alternative Payer/PayeeIf the contract account contains an alternative payer/payee, the payment details entered in the contract account belong to this alternative payer/payee. If you want to change the payment details of the contract account holder, this must not have any influence on the payment details of the alternative payer/payee. Contract accounts with alternative payers/payees appear in the list in the column

Alt.Payer/Payee with the icon with the quick info Alt. Payer/Payee if, for the changes you want to carry out, you have selected a transfer type that would change the payment details for the alternative payer/payee. You can see the business partner number of the alternative payer/payee in the columns Alternative Payer and Alternative Payee.

The contract account contains an alternative payer and you have selected the transfer

type Incoming Payments. The icon with the quick info Alt. Payer/Payee appears.The contract account contains an alternative payee and you have selected the transfer type

Incoming Payments. The icon with the quick info Alt. Payer/Payee does not appear.Which accounts can you select?

Whether you can select a contract account with this icon in the list for changes depends on the transfer type you have selected and the existing data in the contract account.

Case 1You have selected the transfer type Incoming and Outgoing Payments. The contract account contains an alternative payer, but no alternative payee. In this case, you can define the bank details of the contract account holder as the bank details for outgoing payments and therefore select the contract account for the change.

Case 2You have selected the transfer type Incoming Payments. The contract account contains an alternative payer. In this case, you cannot initially select the contract account for changes. However, if the contract account holder wants to be the payer for his contract account, you can

click on the icon with the quick info Alt. Payer/Payee to switch to the maintenance for the contract account and delete the alternative payer there. Once you have saved the contract account, you can select it for the change in the list.

How does the system behave when you save the changed contract account?

There are different cases depending on the option selected:

Case 1You have selected the transfer type Incoming and Outgoing Payments. There is an alternative payer, but no alternative payee.

You save without carrying out any actions.The bank details entered are only stored in the master record of the contract account holder.

You select the contract account and save.The bank details are only defined as the bank details for outgoing payments.

You delete the alternative payer in the contract account, select the contract account, and save.The bank details are defined as the bank details for incoming and outgoing payments.

Case 2You have selected the transfer type Incoming Payments. There is an alternative payer, but no alternative payee.

You save without carrying out any actions.The system only saves the bank details entered in the master record of the contract account holder.

You delete the alternative payer in the contract account, select the contract account, and save.The bank details are only defined as the bank details for incoming payments.

Special Case 2: Alternative Payment Details

In the following cases, the icon with the quick info Alternative Payment Details Exist appears in the column Alternative Payment Details.

Case 1The contract account contains different payment details to those you have selected.

The contract account contains the bank details ID for incoming payments 001, but in the drop-down list, you have selected the bank details ID 002. The transfer type Incoming Payments is selected.

Case 2You have selected the transfer type Incoming and Outgoing Payments. The existing payment details are different.

The contract account contains the bank details ID 001 for incoming payments, and the bank details ID 002 for outgoing payments.The system treats a contract account with alternative payment details as follows:

To prevent you changing the contract account in error, the system does not select it. However, you can select the contract account for changes.

Via the icon with the quick info Alternative Payment Details Exist, you can switch to the maintenance for the contract account and make any changes required.

Special Case 3: Business Partner Is Payer/PayeeIf the business partner entered is not the holder of the contract account, but is

entered as alternative payer/payee in the contract account, the icon with the quick info Is Alternative Payer appears in the column BP Is Payer/Payee. The following is valid for the maintenance:

If the bank details selected are used in the contract account, the system selects this contract account. You cannot change this selection.

If other bank details are used in the contract account, the system does not select the contract account; however, you can select it manually.

If the business partner no longer wants to be the alternative payer/payee for this contract account,

you can switch to the full screen maintenance of the contract account via the icon with the quick info Is Alternative Payer and remove the business partner from the field Alternative Payer or Alternative Payee.

Special Case 4: Business Partner Is PayerIf the business partner entered is not the holder of the contract account, but is

entered as payer in the contract account, the icon with the quick info Paid by appears in the column BP Is Payer. The contract account is only displayed for information purposes and you cannot select it.

If the business partner no longer wants to be the payer for this contract account, via

the icon with the quick info Paid by , you can switch to the maintenance for the contract account and remove the business partner from the field Payer and remove the contract account from the field Paid By.

BAPIs for Central Business Partner (CBP) (IS-U) UseThe Business Object Repository (BOR) contains the following Business Application Programming Interfaces (BAPIs) for business partners:

UtilBusinessPartner.CreateFromData (creating a Business Partner) UtilBusinessPartner.Change (changing a business partner) UtilBusinessPartner.GetDetail (displaying a business partner) UtilBusinessPartner.GetList (displaying a business partner list)

Additional information about BAPIs

for general information, see the BAPI User Guide and the BAPI Programming Guidelines

for specific information, see the documentation on the respective BAPIs in the BOR.

Merging Business Partners (IS-U) PurposeYou can use the business partner merging function in connection with the central business partner (SAP R/3 application component CA-BP Contract Accounting Business Partner) and Contract Accounts Receivable and Payable (FI-CA Financial Accounting Contract Accounting).

Implementation ConsiderationsThe following SAP notes contain further information on business partner merging:

Title of SAP Note SAP Note NumberFAQs for Transferring Open Items (FP40) 616098

IS-U Transactions and Batch Input 432178

Merging Business Partners 624341

Move-In: No Meter Reading Results Proposed 503243

IntegrationPart of the central business partner concept is that every natural or legal person as well as every group is only created once in a system. There are different reasons why a business partner is created several times in one system. Business partners that have been created more than once are referred to as duplicates. Duplicate can occur due to the following reasons:

Migration from legacy systems without merging business partners Migration from different legacy systems without a duplicate check New creation of business partners in SAP R/3 Systems without duplicate checks

Data CleansingThe Cleansing Tool (transaction CLEAR_INT) enables you to process duplicates. It has been available since ABAP Release 5.0A and is already used by the SAP business partner (as of SAP CRM Release 3.0, for example).

These data cleansing functions are not released for systems with industry add-ons.For further information, see the release information about Changes to Data Cleansing on the SAP Service Market Place under http://service.sap.com/releasenotes mySAP.com Application Components SAP R/3 SAP R/3 Enterprise (English) Chapter 04 Cross Application Components (page 12).

FeaturesFor further details about business partner merging, read the following information on business partner objects and further functions and tools:

Objects in Contract Accounts Receivable and Payable Objects and Enhancements in SAP Utilities Customer Change Objects and Enhancements in SAP CRM Automatic Business Partner Merging

In the following, the business partner to be removed from the system is referred to as the source business partner. The business partner that replaces the source business partner is referred to as the target business partner.

Objects in Contract Accounts Receivable and Payable DefinitionBusiness partner-dependent objects from Contract Accounts Receivable and Payable (FI-CA) must be handled separately during business partner merging in order to ensure that they remain consistent after the business partners have been merged. These objects include, the contract account, the business partners open items, his or her creditworthiness and clarification cases.

UseMaster data

Contract accountEach contract account is only allocated to one business partner. You cannot immediately allocate the contract account to another business partner. First of all, you must close the contract account and create another one before you can do this. Set the indicator Mark Contract Account for Deletion (field LOEVM in table FKKVKP) in the old contract account

However, the source business partner can still be used as a reference in the following contract account fields:

1. Payer (field GPARV in contract account table FKKVKP)2. Alternative Payer (field ABWRE in contract account table FKKVKP)3. Alternative Payee (field ABWRA in contract account table FKKVKP)4. Alt. Dun. Recipient (field ABWMA in contract account table FKKVKP)

5. Correspondence Recipient (field RECEIVER in contract account table FKKVK_CORR)6. Alt. Bill Recipient (field ABWRH in contract account table FKKVKP)

When business partners are merged, you must determine the corresponding contract accounts and change the fields above to the target business partner.

When you do this, note the following:1. ...

1. You must also enter a contract account in the Paid By field (VKONV in table FKKVK) for the payer

2. When you change the alternative payer and recipient, you must also change the bank details and payment card data accordingly.

3. You must also change any addresses defined in the contract account for the business partners mentioned above.

Transaction Data

Open ItemsIn Contract Accounts Receivable and Payable (IS-U-CA), you can use the Transfer Items (FP40) transaction to transfer items to another contract, contract account or another business partner. During this process, the system creates transfer documents, which you can also reverse.

This is also possible for open items that have been entered in installment plans and collective bills.

The system can create the corresponding histories (dunning and installment plan histories) for documents created in the target account.

Note the following points for open items:1. Items that have been submitted to a collection agency cannot

be transferred.2. The returns history for transferred items is not updated.3. The interest history and accompanying interest supplement are

not updated.In SAP Utilities, transferring open items is part of the customer change (see customer change).

SAP note 616098 contains frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the Transfer Items function.

For further information about transferring items, see the SAP Utilities documentation in the SAP Help Portal under http://help.sap.com SAP for Industries SAP for Utilities Contract Accounts Receivable and Payable Business Transactions Transferring Open Business Partner Items.

Clarification casesWhen you process clarification cases, there is no a function that automatically recognizes merged business partners.

You can enter the source business partner number in the following fields and evaluate the payment lot during processing:

1. External Business Partner Number (field BPEXT in the business partner table BUT000)2. Contract Account Number in Legacy System (field VKONA in the contract account table

FKKVK)3. Reference Number of Business Partner in Contract Account (field EXVKO in the contract

account table FKKVK)The disadvantage of this procedure is that you can only enter and evaluate one number for each field.

Business partner creditworthinessEvery business partner has creditworthiness data (defined in the Utilities Industry Menu under Business Master Data Business Partner Display/Change Creditworthiness). If necessary, this data can be transferred from the source to the target business during business partner merging.

Creditworthiness data is not transferred with the functions Customer Change (SAP Utilities) or Transfer Items. As a result, you must manually transfer the source business partners creditworthiness to the target business partner.

Automatically transferring data causes problems here because a separate decision has to be made in each case as to whether the creditworthiness is transferred or not. A company that takes over an insolvent company, for example, does not necessarily want the insolvent companys creditworthiness to be transferred.

Objects and Enhancements in SAP Utilities DefinitionIn addition to FI-CA objects, SAP Utilities also contains objects and enhancements that are dependent on the business partner and must, therefore, be taken into consideration when business partners are merged.

UseMaster data

Utility contractIn a utility contract, you cannot change a business partner who was allocated using the contract account. As a result, you must end the existing utility contracts before you can allocate another business partner to the utility contract.

You can use the customer change function to do this.

Owner allocationsEvery premise can be allocated to a business partner, who is then defined as the owner. All existing owner allocations for the business partners to be merged must be allocated to a single business partner.

Depending on the Customizing settings made under SAP Utilities Customer Service Process Execution Owner Allocation Define Type of Owner Allocation, you must execute the following actions:

Maintenance via Premise You must enter the owners target business partner directly in the premise. Owner Allocation: You must change the owner allocation in the Utilities Industry menu under Customer Service

Process Execution Owner Allocation Change Owner Allocation (transaction ES52).

Transaction Data

Budget billing plansDuring a customer change, you can deactivate the budget billing plans for the terminated contracts without invoicing them and transfer them to the new contracts.

All budget billing plan items must be open. If necessary, you must use a clearing reversal to make the payments on account. Once you have successfully changed the customer, you must use account main