This process allows you to create rebate arrangements by grouping together conditions requiring end-of-period settlement agreed with a "condition granter" that are valid within the same overall timeframe and which are due for settlement at the same points in time.

Vendors may agree to refund a certain portion of the purchase price to purchasers in the wholesale/retail industry on condition that a certain quantity or value of goods is bought (incentive rebates), that payment is effected promptly, or that promotional activities are carried out, for example. End-of-period refunds of (retrospective discounts allowed on) part of the total spend with a certain vendor may also be payable as the vendor’s contribution towards disposal costs incurred by retailers and wholesalers (in connection with packaging, waste materials returned such as spent batteries, etc.). If a vendor agrees to enter into an such an arrangement with you, he is regarded in the SAP System as "granting conditions".

Conditions can be divided into two groups: those having immediate effect based on individual invoice dates, and those requiring "subsequent" settlement (retrospective settlement at the end of a certain period).

Conditions having immediate effect are taken into account immediately in the vendor invoices or at the time of payment of the latter (and therefore do not form part of this module).

Conditions having subsequent effect have to be taken into account at a later date: that is, some time after the submission of an invoice relating to an individual purchase transaction. In this case, settlement is based not on individual transactions but on the total volume of purchases - expressed in money or quantity terms - over a period. This is what is meant by "subsequent settlement."

You can enter rebate arrangements negotiated with the "condition granter" (comprising the agreed conditions involving subsequent settlement) in the system. Later, settlement with regard to such arrangements can be effected automatically, when payment becomes due. (Process: settlement accounting for conditions requiring subsequent settlement.)

Rebate arrangement processing in the SAP System provides the following options:

• Conditions apply on the one hand to goods/merchandise and on the other to organizational units of an enterprise (area of application).
• If a condition applies to several articles that do not belong to the same vendor sub-range, you can assign these articles to a "settlement group" for joint processing.
• Conditions relating to a group of articles (a vendor sub-range or a settlement group, for example) are created with a "settlement article." The latter serves to facilitate any necessary conversions between different units of measure.
• A volume rebate arrangement can contain scaled or non-scaled conditions/main conditions and period conditions.
• Furthermore, you can extend the validity of such an arrangement to cover a longer time-span or "until further notice". For example, an arrangement created for one calendar year can be automatically replaced by a new, identical one that is valid for the following calendar year.