When an invoice is blocked, Financial Accounting cannot pay the invoice. Invoices can be blocked either automatically or manually.

When you enter an invoice, the system suggests the values that it expects an invoice to contain as a result of the purchase order or goods receipt. If the invoice item differs from the default values, you must determine the reason for the variance by contacting the purchasing or goods receipt department or the vendor.

An invoice can be blocked for payment due to one of the following reasons:

It is too time-consuming to investigate small variances. You can therefore define tolerance limits in the system for such variances. If variances in an invoice item are within these limits, they are accepted by the system.

If a tolerance limit is exceeded, you receive a system message. You can post the invoice in the system, but it is automatically blocked for payment if an upper tolerance limit is exceeded.

When you post an invoice, two things occur:

• The account postings resulting from the invoice are made.
• The system enters an R in the field Payment block in the document header data, so that Financial Accounting cannot pay the invoice.

If an invoice is blocked, all items are blocked, even if the invoice only displays variances in one item.

When an invoice is blocked, the period in which the vendor grants a cash discount may expire.