Hi All,
I would like to share the difference between Dunning Run and Balance Confirmation Run.
1)
Key point to notice:
- Dunning Run: In SAP ByDesign system, this functionality is provided to generate the dunning letter which contains the overdue payment information of the customer. Dunning run creates a dunning letter which is a legal document.
- Balance Confirmation Run: Balance Confirmation is a way of checking that receivables from customers are correct. Here you notify your customer with the individual amounts for which you require confirmation. You ask for a reply, irrespective of whether the amounts at their side is in sync or not. Balance confirmation is more being a yearend or period end statement of accounts for your customers.
2)
Prerequisites /Mandatory settings
Dunning Run:
- In the Business Configuration work center ---> Fine tune activities:
- Dunning Strategies: You can create dunning strategies for which the dunning run will use to create a list of dunning proposals. You can then release these proposals to issue dunning notices or reminders to customers. In this activity, you can maintain country-specific default dunning strategy and based on an individual customer account.
- Dunning Block Reason: If you want to block and item during the dunning process then you must specify a dunning block reason.'
- In the Customer Account master data: Under the Financial Data tab you can maintain:
- Dunning Strategy
- Dunning Block Reason
- Dunning Expiration date.
- In the Application and User Management work center:
- Output Channel Selection view: If you want to send a dunning letter through email or print the form and send the hard copy to your customer. This setting is with respect to the dunning strategy. Now, whatever dunning strategy you maintain for the customer account, the system will decide whether to print or email the dunning letter.
- Form Template Selection view: Here, you can maintain the settings if you want Dunning notice to be legally effective.
Balance Confirmation Run:
- No settings required to be maintained under Business Configuration work center ---> Fine tune activities.
- No Settings required to be maintained under Customer Account master data.
- In the Application and User Management work center:
- Output Channel Selection view: If you want to send a Balance Confirmation letter through email or print the form and send the hard copy to your customer. This setting is with respect to the business partner and business document.
- Form Template Selection view: Here, you can maintain the settings if you want to send balance confirmation 1) With Return Letter 2) Balance Confirmation Request & 3) Balance Notification.
3)
Create/Execute Dunning Run:
- Company: Select the company. This is a mandatory field.
- Customer from/to ID: You can define a value range, which enables you to select several customers for one dunning run. If you do not make an entry here, the system includes all customers for the selected company.
- Dunning Strategy: Select a dunning strategy. If you do not make a selection, the system uses the dunning strategy defined as standard in business configuration.
- Execute the Dunning Run.
- You can see the Dunning proposals with status - In preparation under Dunning view.
- Here, you can preview the dunning letter or release the Dunning. Based on the output channel selection(Email/Fax/Print) system will take actions.
Note:
- If you want to cancel the dunning, then you have to choose Postpone option. This will change the status to Rejected.
- Once the Dunning is released then you cannot delete. However, you can Cancel it.
4)
Create/Execute Balance Confirmation Run:
- Select Balance Confirmation Type:
- Without Return Letter: If you do not want return letter from your customer then you have to enter the Confirm or Veto by Date. This date must be after the current date. You can detect and correct any discrepancies that might exist between your records and those of your customers. Till the Confirm or Veto Date your customer has to reply, if no objection/response is received by this date then the balance is considered to be accepted.
- With Return Letter: This option enables you to contact your customers to discuss the details of the open items. Your company issues a letter containing the details of the open items. This letter asks the customer to confirm whether the data is consistent with their records and specify any discrepancies using the return letter provided.
If you want a return letter, then you have to enter the Return Letter Date. This date must be after the current date. This is the date by which return letter should be sent by your customer. If the return letter is not received by this date, then the balance is considered to be accepted.
- Request: This option enables you to contact your customers or suppliers to check the balance of your accounts from their point of view. You can request simply the account balance or also additional details relating to the balance.
- Cutoff Date: This is a mandatory parameter in any of the Balance confirmation type. The system will capture open items based on this date. This date can be in past/current/future.
- Choose Use Posting Date for Open Amounts option: This flag is to evaluate open amounts based on the posting date of items. Balance Confirmation Runs view will have this option as a personalization hidden flag. When selected, this flag will adjust the behavior of the run only in cases where the item’s document date is after the posting date and the cut-off date of the run lies between these dates.
- Example: An item with the posting date of 1st January, document date 4th January a run, and with a run cut-off date of 2nd January, will by default return a zero-open amount. The open amount will be zero since the document date is used to gather the open amount. However, if this flag is selected, the open amount will be calculated against the posting date and a non-zero amount will be generated.
- Restriction Type:
- Automated Selection of Customer/Supplier: Using this option, the system will include all the customers with respect to the company. However, you still have an option to select the customer IDs (Series - From ID & To ID) based on your business requirement in the 2nd tab - Restrictions. For example - From Customer ID 1000 To Customer ID - 4000. If you select this restriction type, then you can have two more options to filter the data:
- Choose Criteria for Customer: This option will help you to select the customers by their country or postal codes. If you select the country, then enter the country name for which you want to execute the dunning. If you choose postal codes, then you have to enter custom Zip-Code.
- Choose Criteria for Considering Balance of Accounts: This option will help you to select the customers based on account balance. If you select the option - "Consider Account Balances Greater Than”, then you have to enter some threshold amount and execute the balance Confirmation Run. If you select the option - "Consider only Accounts with Balances", the system will include on those accounts which has balance.
- Manual Collection of Customer/Supplier: Using this option, the system will include all the customers with respect to the company. However, you still have an option to select the customer IDs(randomly) based on your business requirement in the 2nd tab - Restrictions. For example - Customer ID - 1000, 1111, 1234, 2256 and execute balance confirmation. If you select this restriction type, then you can have only one option to filter the data:
- Choose Criteria for Considering Balance of Accounts: This option will help you to select the customers based on account balance. If you select the option - "Consider Account Balances Greater Than”, then you have to enter some threshold amount and execute the balance Confirmation Run. If you select the option - "Consider only Accounts with Balances", the system will include on those accounts which has balance.
- Release Immediately: If you want the system to release all the Balance Confirmations after execution then select this flag.
Note:
1) If you do not want to release the balance confirmation then you can either Void or delete it.
2) Once the Balance confirmation is released then you cannot make any changes.
KBAs for Dunning Run:
2695616 - Dunning Letter/Proposal Not Generated After Executing Dunning Run
1942412 - No Invoices Shown in Dunning Letter for Dunning Level XYZ
2034715 - Dunning Run Creates Dunning Proposals For Customers With Dunning Block
1929912 - Configure Output Channel for Dunning Letter per Company
1888509 - Dunning Run: 'Relevance messages per account skipped due to the high number of accounts'
2504506 - Dunning Letter Considers Wrong Output Channel
1602508 - Use of a Deviating Dunning Address During Dunning Process.
1875846 - Dunning Letter is Addressed to the Main Address, not the Bill-To Address of the Customer
2028053 - Dunning Runs are generating Reminder Letters instead of Dunning Letters
2103882 - Dunning Run Does Not Create Dunning Proposals With The Next Dunning Level
1953693 - Dunning Letters without Relevant Information
1721938 - Customized Form Template "Dunning Letter" is Not Used as Expected
1171550 - Dunning process and Direct Debit
2450040 - Not Due Invoices are not Showing in the Dunning Letter
KBAs for Balance Confirmation Run:
2145775 - Open Items List in Balance Confirmation Displays Document ID Instead of External Document ID
2468747 - Receivables Balance Confirmation: Credit Memo ID is switched by Invoice ID in the Account Statement PDF
2196437 - Balance Confirmation Run for Cleared Items
2372214 - Suppliers with Balance = 0.00XXX are not included in Balance Confirmation Run
2290753 - Customer ID/Supplier ID is Not shown in Balance Confirmation Run.
