SD / O2Cadvanced

SD Billing Part 4: Billing Due List, Collective Billing and Split Criteria

Key takeaway

Create invoices at scale: the billing due list (VF04) and background billing (VF06), how deliveries and orders are combined into one invoice, which header fields force a split, adding custom split criteria via copy control routines, split analysis, and invoice lists.

Explanation

📌 KEY POINTS
✅ VF04 selects billing-due documents (deliveries after PGI, order items due for order-related billing) and creates invoices collectively; VF06 schedules it in the background.
✅ Items are combined into one invoice when all header (VBRK) fields are identical — payer, billing date, billing type, payment terms, currency, incoterms, etc.
✅ Additional split criteria (or combination) can be added via data transfer routines in copy control (field ZUKRI).
✅ Split analysis in the billing log explains why documents were split.
⚠️ Different payment terms or billing dates in orders are the most common cause of unwanted invoice splits.

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▶ WHERE WE ARE
Part 3 covered revenue accounts. Now invoicing at volume.

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▶ 1. BILLING DUE LIST

Selection: billing date, sales org, sold-to, document type, delivery- or order-related.
Simulation, individual or collective processing.
Logs with errors (incomplete, pricing error, blocks).

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▶ 2. BACKGROUND BILLING

VF06 / job with VF04 variant; parallel jobs by sales org or payer range.
Scheduled after PGI jobs.

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▶ 3. COMBINATION AND SPLIT

Combination: same payer and all header fields equal.
Split: any different header field (billing date, payment terms, incoterms, currency, tax classification…).
Customer-specific rules: e.g. one invoice per order (via routine) or per delivery.

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▶ 4. CUSTOM SPLIT CRITERIA

Data transfer routine (VOFM) in VTFL/VTFA header level fills VBRK-ZUKRI with the split field (e.g. customer PO).
Keep logic simple and documented.

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▶ 5. INVOICE LISTS

Periodic list of invoices to a payer (e.g. head office) with invoice list type LR and factoring conditions.
Customer calendar for invoice list dates.

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▶ STEP BY STEP

Create several deliveries for one payer with different payment terms.
Run VF04 and read the split analysis.
Align payment terms and rerun — one invoice.
Add a PO-based split routine if the customer requires one invoice per PO.

✅ CHECKPOINT: you can explain every split in a collective billing run.

Code example

ABAP Code

===== STEP 1: due list and background =====VF04 billing due list (variants per sales org) | VF06 background billing | VF31 output from billingLog: Environment > split analysis (compare two billing documents) ===== STEP 2: typical split fields (VBRK) =====Payer | billing date | billing type | payment terms | incoterms | currency | shipping conditiontax fields (departure/destination country) | ZUKRI (custom combination criteria) ===== STEP 3: custom split via data transfer routine (copy control header) =====VOFM > Data transfer > Billing documents > 9xx: fill VBRK-ZUKRI with e.g. customer PO numberAssign in VTFL LF → F2 header level "Data VBRK/VBRP" ===== STEP 4: invoice list =====Billing type LR (invoice list) | customer factory calendar for invoice list dates | VF21 create

Real project scenario

A retail client's nightly collective billing created 3,000 invoices for 4,000 deliveries, though the business expected one invoice per payer per day. Split analysis showed differing payment terms and incoterms entered manually on orders by different sales teams. Order entry was aligned to take payment terms and incoterms from the customer master (changes only with authorization), and the invoice count dropped to about 900 per night.

Common mistakes

Manual changes of payment terms/incoterms on orders creating splits.
Complex ZUKRI routines that are hard to explain.
Running billing before PGI jobs finish.
Ignoring the billing log.
No monitoring of documents not billed.

Best practices

Keep header-relevant fields consistent from master data.
Use split analysis before changing configuration.
Schedule billing after logistics jobs.
Document custom split criteria.
Monitor billing due list backlog.

Interview angle

Questions: "How does collective billing work?", "Why are invoices split?", "How do you add a custom split criterion?"
Strong answer: VF04/VF06 selection and processing; combination when VBRK header fields match, splits otherwise; split analysis; custom criteria via data transfer routine filling ZUKRI; invoice lists for periodic statements.

Practice this lesson

Quick check

1. When combining multiple outbound deliveries into a single billing document, which header-level difference between the deliveries typically causes SAP to split the billing document instead of combining them?

2. When running the billing due list to select documents ready for invoicing, which combination of factors primarily determines whether a sales order or delivery appears in the list?

3. A nightly collective billing job leaves many deliveries unbilled. What should be reviewed first?

Interview questions

1. A customer expects a consolidated invoice list combining multiple individual invoices, but the invoice list is not picking up all eligible billing documents. What are the common configuration and master data causes?

Answer it in your own words first, then compare.

2. What configuration steps are required to enable invoice lists in SD, and how does this feature interact with FI-AR customer statements?

Answer it in your own words first, then compare.

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Reference-verified: the steps are checked against official SAP documentation and tutorials, and object and field names in the sample code are checked for consistency. The code has not been compiled or run on an SAP system by ERPClimb. Syntax marked release-dependent varies by SAP release, so check it in your own system.