When working with telephone sales, it is frequently the case that at the start of the telephone call, you do not know whether the customer would just like a quotation or to make a purchase order.

You can change the sales document type during document processing, which enables you, for example, to create an inquiry and change it later to a quotation, or convert an inquiry that has been saved into a standard order.

You can use the settings in Customizing for sales document types to decide which sales document types can be offered as alternatives during document processing.

In document processing, you can change the sales document type in the overview screen (Sales tab page) simply by selecting the required document type.

The following prerequisites must be met before you can change the document type during sales order processing:

• There must not be any subsequent documents
• The document itself must not be a status-relevant subsequent document
• The document must not have been generated from service notification or a contract

Because the item categories have to be redetermined when you change the sales document type, the following requirements also apply:

• The item category must be changeable (for example, a make-to-order item for which the costs have already been posted can no longer be changed)
• If a listing exists for the new document type and you have already entered items, these items must also be contained in the list
• If you have already entered items the new sales document type may not have an exclusion

If you choose a new order type, the system checks the following:

• Document determination procedure: if different, it re-runs pricing
• Material determination procedure: if different, it re-determines the material
• Listing/exclusion determination procedure: if different, it re-determines them
• Free goods procedure: if different, it re-determines them

You can define two alternative document types for each sales document type in Customizing for sales document types (use the Alt.sales doc. type1 and Alt.sales doc. type2 fields).

The system runs certain checks on the sales document types that you have defined as alternatives in Customizing.
Only those document types that pass these checks can be configured as alternative documents.

The following sales document categories can be used: inquiries (category A), quotations (category B), orders (category C), contracts (category G), returns (category H), free-of-charge deliveries (category I), credit and debit memos.

Settings in Customizing for sales document types:

• The sales document type must not be blocked (Sales document block field)
• The sales document type must not have an indicator (Indicator field)
• The settings in the Item division fields must agree for both types (the division in the sales document header is valid for all items)

The document types must have the same:

• Payment guarantee procedure
• Partner determination procedure
• Text determination procedure
• Status procedure
• Hierarchy category for pricing
• Billing plan type/invoice plan
• Payment card planning type
• Promotion/receiving point determination (settings in Customizing for Retail)
• Commitment data
• Checking group for payment cards