FI / FICOintermediate

FICO Accounts Payable Part 3: Invoice Posting, Payment Terms and Three-Way Match

Key takeaway

Post supplier invoices correctly: PO-based invoices via logistics invoice verification (three-way match with GR/IR), non-PO invoices in FI, how payment terms calculate due dates and discounts, tax and withholding tax on invoices, credit memos and invoice blocks.

Explanation

📌 KEY POINTS
✅ PO invoices (MIRO) match PO price and GR quantity; the invoice clears GR/IR and credits the supplier.
✅ Non-PO invoices (FB60) post directly to expense with cost objects.
✅ Payment terms calculate baseline date, cash discount dates and net due date.
✅ Variances beyond tolerance block invoices for payment until released.
⚠️ Parked invoices are not in the ledger — they don't create liabilities until posted.

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▶ WHERE WE ARE
Part 2 set up suppliers. Now invoices.

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▶ 1. PO-BASED INVOICE

Three-way match: PO, GR, invoice; GR/IR cleared.

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▶ 2. NON-PO INVOICE

Expense account + cost object; approval workflow.

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▶ 3. PAYMENT TERMS

Baseline date + days → discount and net due.\n\n━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━\n▶ 4. TAX\n• Input tax codes; withholding tax at invoice or payment.

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▶ 5. EXCEPTIONS

Credit memos, parked invoices, blocked invoices (MRBR release).

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▶ STEP BY STEP

Post MIRO for a PO with GR.
Post FB60 for a service without PO.
Check due dates in FBL1N.

✅ CHECKPOINT: you can calculate the due and discount dates from the terms.

Code example

ABAP Code

===== POSTINGS =====MIRO: Dr GR/IR 1,000 | Dr Input tax 180 | Cr Supplier 1,180FB60: Dr Consulting expense 500 (cost center) | Dr Input tax 90 | Cr Supplier 590 ===== PAYMENT TERMS EXAMPLE (2% 10, net 30) =====Baseline 01.03 → discount until 11.03 → net due 31.03 ===== EXCEPTIONS =====FB65 credit memo | FV60 park | MRBR release blocked invoices

Real project scenario

A company missed 2% discounts because the baseline date was the posting date, often days after receipt. Switching the baseline to document date for key suppliers and speeding up approvals recovered significant discounts.

Common mistakes

Non-PO invoices for PO spend.
Wrong baseline dates.
Parked invoices forgotten.
Blocks released without analysis.
Wrong tax codes.

Best practices

PO-based invoicing.
Clear baseline rules.
Monitor parked items.
Analyse blocks.
Validate tax codes.

Interview angle

Questions: "How does three-way match work?", "How are due dates calculated?", "Parked vs posted invoice?"
Strong answer: MIRO vs FB60, GR/IR, terms and baseline date, tax, blocks and parking.

Practice this lesson

Quick check

1. A user sets a payment block directly on a specific vendor invoice line item (not in the vendor master). What is the effect of this action?

2. A company misses cash discounts because due dates start days after invoice receipt. What should be reviewed?

3. When a vendor invoice is posted with payment terms that include a cash discount period, which date is used as the starting point (baseline date) for calculating the due date and discount deadlines?

Interview questions

1. Walk through how withholding tax on a cross-border vendor invoice is calculated at invoice posting versus at payment posting under Extended Withholding Tax, and explain how this interacts with the outgoing payment's bank accounting output (e.g., payment media/DME) that must carry WHT certificate information.

Answer it in your own words first, then compare.

2. Walk through the end-to-end process of withholding tax calculation on a vendor invoice, and how the outgoing payment posting relates to it under Extended Withholding Tax.