F.13 — Automatic Clearing
F.13 is used to automatically clear open items that match configured criteria on G/L, customer or vendor accounts. It is most useful during period-end or routine reconciliation when large volumes of matching open items should clear without manual selection. Start with the exact organizational keys and business date, then prove the result from SAP documents, balances or logs before changing configuration or reposting data.
This page explains F.13 — Automatic Clearing — from a consultant's point of view: what it changes or displays, when it belongs in the process, which keys matter, how to prove the result, and the mistakes that create avoidable reconciliation work.
Published 19 Sept 2026· 631 words
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Purpose
automatically clear open items that match configured criteria on G/L, customer or vendor accounts. The transaction should be read in the context of the full accounting or logistics flow: source document, organizational assignment, posting date, configuration and resulting document all matter. A technically successful save is not enough; the output must reconcile to the intended business event.
When it is used
F.13 is typically used during period-end or routine reconciliation when large volumes of matching open items should clear without manual selection. In project testing it is equally useful for proving configuration and master data with a controlled example. In production, narrow the scope first and capture the before-state so any posting, clearing, settlement or master-data change can be reconciled afterward.
How to use it in practice
- Run a proposal/test-oriented selection first where your process allows it.
- Restrict company code, account range and date so the population is auditable.
- Review why unmatched items remain before changing criteria.
- Execute clearing only after the matching logic is understood.
- Reconcile cleared and remaining items in the relevant line-item report.
Key data objects
These are the fields and business objects that usually explain the result in F.13. Capture them in test evidence and incident handovers, because a mismatch in company code, plant, fiscal period, account or reference document is often more important than the screen message itself.
- company code and account type — verify the exact value, validity/date context and source of derivation.
- clearing date — verify the exact value, validity/date context and source of derivation.
- selection fields — verify the exact value, validity/date context and source of derivation.
- tolerance and matching criteria — verify the exact value, validity/date context and source of derivation.
- clearing document — verify the exact value, validity/date context and source of derivation.
How to prove it in the data
Prove the result end to end: identify the source document/master record, inspect the transaction's proposal or status, then open the resulting accounting or logistics document and reconcile amounts, quantities and account assignments. Use document flow, line-item displays and master-data history with the same fiscal period and organizational scope. That distinguishes a true configuration defect from a selection, timing or historical-data difference.
ECC vs S/4HANA
Automatic clearing remains available in S/4HANA; Universal Journal changes storage, not the accounting need to control and reconcile clearing criteria. On S/4HANA, Universal Journal, Business Partner, Material Ledger or Fiori may change the preferred analysis surface, but the business control behind the transaction still has to be understood and tested.
Common pitfalls and how to diagnose them
- Using broad matching criteria that clear economically unrelated items. Reconcile the exact document and period before making a configuration change.
- Changing assignment/reference data just to force a match. Reconcile the exact document and period before making a configuration change.
- Running across a new fiscal period without validating the clearing date. Reconcile the exact document and period before making a configuration change.
Whose problem this is
Primary ownership is Finance/Controlling, with Basis or ABAP involved only when runtime, authorization or custom-code evidence points there. A useful escalation includes the business document, organizational keys, posting/valuation date, expected accounting result and the exact mismatch already proven.
Related SAP objects
Reviewed pages this object connects to in the ERPClimb knowledge graph.
Source: ERPClimb — https://erpclimb.com/sap-tcodes/f-13ERPClimb is an independent platform and is not affiliated with SAP SE. Reference pages are written and reviewed by SAP consultants for learning and troubleshooting.