In general, it is not possible to transfer business volume data from your legacy system directly, because the conditions and business volume data are stored in a number of different database tables.

For this reason, the SAP System transfers data in two steps using a data file. This procedure is based on an interface that can be supplied with data from an external data file, for example. This interface ensures automatic assignment to the relevant conditions requiring subsequent settlement and the relevant business volume statistics in the Logistics Information System.

The interface contains the communication structure for subsequent settlement of the Logistics Information System and the communication structure for price determination, the condition type and the date of performance. You can also enter important administrative data of your own which is included in the data displayed in the case of error handling and update analysis. This ensures comparability and traceability between the update data of the SAP System and that of the non-SAP or legacy system.

The purpose of the communication structure for subsequent settlement is to import business volume data relevant to subsequent settlement into the statistics of the SAP System in accordance with the update definition. The data is thus posted in the system in exactly the same way as if you had carried out the updating directly in the SAP System (via SAP System documents).

The date of performance has two purposes. On the one hand it facilitates the determination of the date on which the LIS statistics were updated. On the other, it is used (together with the condition type and the communication structure for price determination) to determine the conditions that require subsequent settlement in the SAP System that were valid on the date of performance and for which updating is necessary.

In rebate arrangement maintenance in the SAP System, you enter conditions requiring subsequent settlement valid for certain periods for various areas of application (key combinations) and condition types you have defined yourself. The area of application is defined by an associated condition table. You specify the fields that are allowed for condition tables in Subsequent Settlement in Customizing for Subsequent Settlement using a field catalog, a selection of the communication structures for price determination. In turn, this field catalog is now the basis for ensuring the linkage between the conditions of the non-SAP or legacy system and those of the R/3 System.

The business volume data of the non-SAP or legacy system is placed in the communication structure for subsequent settlement.

This automatically ensures that the data is correctly adopted in the statistics of the SAP System.