A business partner is defined by means of a unique identification key.

The business partner identification key can either be assigned by the system (internal number assignment), or you can assign it yourself (external number assignment). In Customizing for IS-H, you can specify which of these two assignment methods is to be used. You can either use only internal number assignment, only external number assignment, or both types of number assignment. In Customizing, you can also define the number range authorized for internal and external number assignment.

The system ensures that unique identification keys are always assigned. When internal number assignment is used, the system selects the next number from the internal number range in each case. When external number assignment is used, the system prevents a number that has already been used from being assigned again.

A business partner along with its functions is managed within the IS-H System by means of a unique identification key. However, you define a number range for the general business partner and for each function in Customizing for IS-H. These number ranges can, but need not be identical.

For instance, to manage insurance providers with identification keys from a particular number range and hospitals with identification keys from a different number range, you define a separate number range for each function. In this case, you have to create the business partners via their functions and not as general business partners in order for you (or the system) to assign an identification key from the required number range.

You should define a common number range for insurance providers and customers. Since insurance providers usually exist as customers, it is not practical to divide the identification keys into two separate number ranges.

When you create an IS-H customer, you can have the system automatically create the corresponding IS-H customer in Financial Accounting. For this to be possible, you need to have set up external number assignment for the creation of customers in Customizing for Financial Accounting.

If you want to ensure that the identification key of the FI customer is identical to that of the business partner, the number interval of the external number range in Financial Accounting must comprise the business partner number range.

The type of number assignment and the valid number range for a customer master record in Financial Accounting are determined by means of the account group.

For more information about number ranges, see the Financial Accounting Implementation Guide and the IS-H Implementation Guide.