The multi-company software: in a give folder, it is possible to manage all the legal companies that have a product ledger and a customer in common, because the stock is managed in distinct warehouses.

When there are several companies, there may be an inter-company flow of goods It then becomes essential that these flows can be identified in order that the corresponding invoicing can take place. These flows can be defined by way of reciprocal orders or reciprocal open orders. But in this case, it is useful to have available automatic mechanisms that originate in a source document in one of the companies (for example a purchase order in company X to company Y), to automatically create a destination document in another company (Company Y sales order to company X).

It is useful to know how to define this type of automatic exchange site by site; in effect where a company has multiple site, the rules can depend on the individual site.

The objective of this function is to set up the automatic functioning of reciprocal document generation in the case of inter-company exchanges. The automatic functioning of the generation can also be set up for inter-site exchanges. In this type of exchange, the invoicing is inhibited.

The automatic functions that can be set up are the following :

    • automatic creation of a sales order from a purchase order. The principle is as follows: a purchase order is created for purchase site A to be sent to sales site B. In an automatic function, the site B sales order for site A is then created as a mirror image. The completion of the circle is then carried out in the classic way: site B decides to ship either all or part of the order then at site A the receipt is made by direct picking from the shipments made by B.
      The generation of the customer invoices being made at site B, the invoice at site A can then be automatically generated, it is then possible to manually record it by picking the sales invoice ( a matching will be carried out with the receipts),
    • automatic creation of the purchase invoice from a sales invoice. This automatic functioning completes the first, in that the invoice validation by the picking of sales invoices is not longer required: the generation is made on the validation of sales invoices.
      This automatic functioning also functions when the sales invoices not attached to shipments (financial invoices) are created automatically.
      In this case the picking, as with the automatic generation, creates a purchase invoice that is neither attached to a purchase order nor to a receipt.

In addition, certain documents can always be created by picking the original document. It is the case for supplier receipts that are pre-loaded by picking customer shipments, and also the case for customer returns that are pre-loaded by picking supplier returns.

Pre-requisites

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Screen management

The entry screen, comprising a single tab, contains a group of setups to be entered in several grids. The validation of this screen updates the setups entered.

Entry screen

Amongst the setups to be assigned, there is the following information:

"Automatic flows'

This grid defines the automatic creation function put in place.

SEEINFO The user can define rules for all sites of all companies without defining any company group of site group. The Authorization flag is used to specify if a creation automatism exists or not for a type of flow.

It should be noted that it is possible to define the rules for all the sites in a company not explicitly listed elsewhere, by assigning a company code and leaving a site code empty, and that as a result of an Authorization flag, having the values Yes or No, is used to identify if automatic creation functioning exists or not (this makes it possible to say that "all the sites for a company have the automatic functioning, except those explicitly listed with the value No or on the other hand "no site for a company has the automatic functioning except for those explicitly listed that have the value Yes ).

A flow is defined by a source document and a destination document. The source document can be a Purchase order and a Sales order. The corresponding destination document is displayed (it's either the Sales order or Purchase invoice). The contract orders are not affected by this setup. A purchase contract order will always generate a sales contract order whatever the setup carried out (same thing for the associated shipment requests).

Invoicing element codes correspondence

This grid defines the connection between the Sales and Purchase invoice elements.  These elements must be of the same type (Both either of the type Rate or Amount) and in the both same sense (both either of the type Increase or Reduction).

Specificities for invoicing elements in tax included amounts: they can be associated to a purchase invoicing element in amount if the sales invoicing element is not subject to a Product rate tax rule. The invoicing element remains expresses in ex-tax on purchase documents.

If the generation of variances is to be avoided, it is also necessary that the tax rules are consistent. In this way, the creation of a sales order from a purchase order, or that of a purchase invoice from a sales invoice, will be able to include all the annex elements.

SEEINFO If the invoicing elements have not been linked by this setup table and a sales invoice uses an invoicing element of this type (value not equal to zero), it will not be possible to create the purchase invoice validation. It will then be necessary to put the necessary invoicing elements in agreement.

Posting the purchase variances

This section is used to compensate for problems linked to an imperfect setup of the links between sales and purchasing. In this case it is possible that variances might occur at the different ex-tax bases between the sales and the purchases, if the set up VAT conditions are not in perfect agreement.
In order to avoid blocking the generation in this case, it is possible to set up two purchase invoice elements to store the variances (a field for the positive variances and another for negative variances, that would be recorded on the creation of the purchase invoice).
This way, the user can manage manually these variances and decide to process to their accounting posting during the control of the invoice.

"Invoice type correspondence"

This grid defines the links between Sales and Purchase invoice types, in order to generate on the purchase side the appropriate account type taking into account the sales invoice type generated (when the automatic generation is set up). The correspondence can be defined between companies within a group.
The system verifies that the accounting document sign is the same (a customer invoice, a customer debit note or a customer proforma can be associated with a supplier invoice or a supplier credit note.
Conversely, a customer credit note or a customer credit memo can be associated with a supplier credit note or a supplier debit note).

"Order types"

This section is used to define, for each order category and each group of companies, which order type will be used at the time of creation of the sales order.

Upon creating the purchase order, it will not be possible, in an inter-company scenario, to combine the products that will be book in during receipt and those that are not. If a purchase order only contains products that can be booked in during receipt, then during the generation of a sales order, the order will be of the type Normal (basic).
If a purchase order only contains products that are not booked in, then the order type used in the generation of the reciprocal sales order will be of the type Direct invoice (without delivery).

Grid Automatic flows

Type (field TYPBET)

Specify if the automatic flow is of type 'Intra-company' (within the same company) or 'Inter-companies' (between two distinct companies).
Source co./group (field GRPCPYORI)

This field is used to enter a company or a group of companies from which the flow comes.
SEEINFO The field can remain empty and, in that case, the type of flow applies to all the companies in the folder.
Source site/group (field GRPFCYORI)
Document (field VCRTYP)

Choose in the drop-down list the source document for the flow.
This document can be a 'Purchase Order' or a 'Sales invoice'
SEEINFO In the case of an inter-site flow the source document 'Sales invoice' cannot be entered.
Target co./group (field GRPCPYDES)

This field is used to enter a company or a group of companies from which the destination document will be managed.
SEEINFO The field can remain empty and, in that case, the type of flow applies to all the companies in the folder.
Target site/group (field GRPFCYDES)

This field is used to enter a site or a group of sites from which the destination document will be managed.
SEEINFO The field can remain empty and, in that case, the type of flow applies to all sites of the company or group of company that have been entered.
Document (field VCRTYPDES)

This field indicates the destination document which is automatically deducted from the original document.

Authorization (field AUZBETFLG)

This information is used to specify if this automatic flow is possible or not.

Price transfer (field TRFPRI)

This field can only be accessed when the source is a Purchase order.
It is used to specify if a price transfer must be performed from the purchase order to the sales order.

Yes

Prices, discounts, expenses (etc.)  are initialized on each sales order line based on the price and discount information entered on the purchase orders. If the calculated sales price is null because the purchase price is null, the price list search will be applied to determine the sales prince.

No

No price transfer is performed. The price list search is applied in order to determine the sales price.

SEEINFO This setup only concerns standard sales orders and not open orders.
Invoice elements (field VLTFOOINV)

This drop-down menu is used to specify if the invoicing elements are taken from the Purchase or Sales document:

  • If 'Purchase' is selected, it means that upon generation of the Customer order, the invoicing elemenrs taken from the Purchase order are reused as they are,
  • If 'Sales' is selected, it means that during initialization of the invoicing element value on the Purchase order, the values coming from the Sales module are reused (Customer and Setup Sales invoice footer). Possible modifications carried out on the invoicing elements of the Purchase order are not transmitted. Reconciliations are always carried out on the Puchase invoice control.

SEEINFO Indicator 'Invoice elements' can only be entered if the source document for the flow is the order.

Grid Associated Invoice Elements

Sales (field SFINUM)

This field indicates the sales invoicing element to use in an inter-company context.
Value type (field AMTCOD)

This field is used to specify whether the invoicing element is expressed in percentage or in amount.
Purchasing (field PFINUM)

Grid Associated invoice types

Sales co./group (field GRPCPYTSV)

This field is used to enter a company or a group of companies from which invoice type derives.
SEEINFO The field can remain empty and, in that case, the type of flow applies to all the companies in the folder.
Legislation (field LEGGRPTSV)
Sales (field SIVTYP)

This field indicates the type of original sales invoice.

Purchase co./group (field GRPCPYTPV)

This field is used to enter a company or a group of companies from which the flow derives.
SEEINFO The field can remain empty and, in that case, the type of purchase invoice applies to all the companies in the folder.
Legislation (field LEGGRPTPV)
Purchasing (field PIVTYP)

This is the type of purchase invoice to apply according to the type of origin sales invoice, the origin group of companies and the group of companies in which the purchase invoice control will be created.

Grid Order types to generate

Category (field SOHCAT)

This field indicates the order category for which a type of order is defined.

Sales co./group (field GRPCPYTSO)

This field is used to enter a company or a group of companies for which the user wants to define an order type.
If it is left empty, the order category will be used for all companies in the folder.
Legislation (field LEGGRPTSO)
Order type (field SOHTYP)

This is the type of order to use for the generation of a sales order.

Purchase variance allocation

Positive (field PFIDEFPOS)

This is the purchase invoicing element used in the purchase invoice check in order to retrieve positive variances. These variances can be linked to differences in tax calculation that derive from setup problems.
Negative (field PFIDEFNEG)

This is the purchase invoicing element used in the purchase invoice check in order to retrieve negative variances. These variances can be linked to differences in tax calculation that derive from setup problems.

3: Annex

Algorithm for the assignment of invoicing elements on the purchase order

CASE 1: Initialization of the purchase invoice elements according to the purchase elements
  • The invoicing elements come from the supplier and only appear if a link exists with the sales side (customer or sales order elements).
  • The purchase invoice elements are initialized by the supplier elements. The purchase invoice elements values are transferred into the sales order invoice elements (only at creation).
CASE 2: Initialization of the purchase invoice elements according to the sales elements
  • The invoice elements come from the customer and the sales order elements and only appear if a link exists (at the level of the inter-company setup).
  • The purchase invoice elements are initialized by the sales elements. The purchase invoice elements values are not transferred into the sales order invoice elements.

In all cases, the sales order invoicing elements are always present even if no link exists with the purchase side. It they exist on the purchase side and if the setup specifies that the elements come from purchasing, then their value will be that of the purchase order. In all other cases, it will be initialized as if it is a classic sales order.

Analytical dimensions.

During the creation of the reciprocal document, it will be possible via the setup of the default dimensions to inherit the analytical dimensions present in certain axes of the original document (e.g. analytical tracking of a project). The list of documents and the default dimension codes used are defined in the following table:

Destination document

Source document

Dimension code by default

Setup line

Sales order

Purchase order

SOH (header)

SOP (line)

Source document

Customer return

Supplier return

SRD (line)

Source document

Receipt

Delivery

PTD (line)

Source document

Purchase invoice

Sales invoice

PID (line)

Source document

Reports

By default, the following reports are associated with this function :

  PRTSCR : Screen print

This can be changed using a different setup.

Copy

Block number 1

field OBJET
field CLES

Block number 2

From folder (field DOSORG)

Use this field to define the folder from which the record will be copied. The possible syntaxes are described in the Dedicated appendix.
All folders (field TOUDOS)

Use this option to copy the record to all the folders defined in the dictionary (ADOSSIER table of the current solution).
To folder (field DOSDES)

Use this field to define the folder to which the record will be copied. The possible syntaxes are described in the Dedicated appendix.

This button is used to copy the setups from or to another folder.

Error messages

In addition to the generic error messages, the following messages can appear during the entry :

This is not a site of company XXX

A site has been entered that does not belong to a previously entered company.

Purchase element i: Sales element amount j: Rate
Purchase element i: Sales element increase j: reduction

An attempt has been made to link non-consistent invoice footer elements.

Tables used

SEEREFERTTO Refer to documentation Implementation