SD Sales Documents Part 2: Sales Document Type Configuration (VOV8)

📌 KEY POINTS
✅ VOV8 (table TVAK) holds the header-level control of a sales document: category, numbering, checks, follow-on document types, blocks, dates and procedures.
✅ Delivery type and billing type in VOV8 define the follow-on documents (e.g. OR → LF delivery → F2 invoice).
✅ Document pricing procedure key (with customer pricing procedure and sales area) determines the pricing procedure.
✅ Always copy a standard type (OR → ZOR) — copying also copies dependent settings like copy control and item category assignments when using the copy function.
⚠️ Changing settings on a document type in use (e.g. number range, category) affects every open and future document of that type.

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▶ WHERE WE ARE
Part 1 showed the document categories. Now we configure a document type.

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▶ 1. NUMBER SYSTEMS AND CATEGORY

• Document category (A, B, C, G, H, K…).
• Internal and external number range (VN01).
• Item number increment (10) and sub-item increment.

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▶ 2. GENERAL CONTROL

• Reference mandatory (e.g. order must reference a quotation).
• Check division: dialog/error if item division differs from header.
• Read info record, check customer PO number, enter PO number.
• Credit group (credit check), screen sequence group, transaction group.

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▶ 3. SHIPPING AND BILLING

• Delivery type (LF, LR for returns) and default delivery block.
• Shipping conditions override (otherwise from customer).
• Delivery-related and order-related billing type (F2, G2, RE), default billing block.
• Immediate delivery (rush order), cash sale behavior.

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▶ 4. DATES AND CONTRACTS

• Lead time in days, proposed delivery date, propose PO date.
• Contract profile, validity periods, billing plan type for contracts.

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▶ 5. PROCEDURES AND RESTRICTIONS

• Incompletion procedure (assigned via VUA2).
• Document pricing procedure key for pricing determination (OVKK).
• Assignment to sales areas (OVAZ) — restrict which sales areas may use the type.
• Output determination procedure/output type via output management settings.

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▶ STEP BY STEP

1. Copy OR to ZOR in VOV8.
2. Set number range, reference and division checks.
3. Set delivery type, billing type, blocks and date proposals.
4. Assign incompletion procedure and document pricing procedure key.
5. Restrict to sales areas, maintain copy control and item category assignment (Copy Control / Item Category topics).

✅ CHECKPOINT: an order of ZOR gets its number from the correct range, creates an LF delivery and an F2 invoice.

A client created ZOR by simply creating a new entry in VOV8 instead of using the copy function. The document type worked for order entry, but orders created with reference to quotations failed ("copying not possible"), and items had no item category. The copy function would have copied copy control and item category assignments from OR. The team deleted ZOR, recreated it with the copy function, then adjusted only the differing fields. They also added a VOV8 change checklist: number range, VUA2, OVKK, OVAZ, VOV4, VTAA and output.

• Creating document types from scratch instead of copying a standard type.
• Forgetting VOV4 item category assignment or VTAA copy control for the new type.
• Changing the number range of a type that is in use without planning.
• Missing document pricing procedure key, so the wrong pricing procedure is found.
• Setting default billing blocks without a release process.

• Always copy a standard document type with the copy function.
• Maintain a checklist of dependent settings per document type.
• Restrict custom types to the sales areas that need them (OVAZ).
• Use default blocks only with a clear release owner.
• Document why each custom type exists.

Questions: "Which settings do you maintain in VOV8?", "How is the delivery and billing type of an order determined?", "What must be done after creating a new document type?"
Strong answer: category, number ranges, reference and division checks, credit group, delivery type, billing type, blocks, dates, contract data; incompletion via VUA2, pricing via document pricing procedure key and OVKK, sales area restriction OVAZ, plus VOV4 item category assignment and VTAA copy control. Copy from a standard type.