Determining a Reference Customer 

You must know the (or a) reference customer before you can execute the BAPI_CUSTOMER_CREATEFROMDATA BAPI. This BAPI is used in the following examples provided in the SAPforms documentation:

The reference customers used in your company (and therefore the other sales data) are normally known. If this is not the case, you can determine the reference customers from the internal number ranges. You can only do so, however, if the reference customer was created with the internal number assignment function.

In other words, there are two ways of finding a suitable reference customer:

From a business perspective, it makes more sense to create a separate reference customer for the form application. To do so, use the transaction V-09.

Procedure

Determine the Internal Number Ranges

  1. Start transaction SPRO and choose Basic functions ® Enterprise IMG ® Display. The Structure screen is then displayed: Enterprise IMG.
  2. Expand the tree structure by choosing Financial Accounting ® Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable ® Customer Accounts ® Master Records ® Preparations for Creating Customer Master Records Create and choose number ranges for customer accounts. The Customer Number Ranges screen is then displayed.
  3. Choose Display intervals. The Display Number Range Intervals screen is then displayed. All of the number ranges that have been defined for customers are listed here. Number ranges with internal number assignment are those where the Ext box is not selected. Make a note of the internal number ranges.

Determine the Reference Customer

  1. Choose the transaction VD03. The Display Customer: Sales Area Data Initial Screen is then displayed. Sales Area Initial Screen.
  2. Click the F4 Help in the Customer field and choose Customers per sales group on the window that then appears. This dialog box is displayed as standard the first time you click the possible entries button. Your selection is stored, which means that this dialog box (in this case Customers per sales group) will be displayed in future whenever you choose the possible entries help.
  3. Choose the multiple selection function for the Customer field on this dialog box. Enter the number range intervals here.
  4. Exit the multiple selection by choosing Copy. Then choose Continue. A list of customers and associated sales data is then displayed. Sales organization, division and distribution channel.
  5. Choose a customer for which all of the sales data has been entered. You can now use this customer as a reference customer.

It is important that the sales data and company code data have been maintained for this customer. You can maintain this data, if necessary, with the transaction XD03. This applies in particular to the reconciliation account in the company code data. You can find this account under Account info in this transaction.

Create a Reference Customer

To create a reference customer start transaction V-09.

  1. From the Create Customer: Initial Screen, select the Sales areas button.
  2. Double-click a sales area on the following dialog box.
  3. Enter a company code. The company code must be assigned to the selected sales organization. These assignments are listed in the Enterprise IMG (transaction SPRO ) under Enterprise Structure ® Structure maintenance ® Assignment ® Sales and Distribution ® Assign sales organization to company code.
  4. Enter an account group. Use the possible entries button for this purpose (F4). Choose an account group that uses internal number assignment (see above).
  5. Choose Enter. Maintain the data for your reference customer on the screens that follow.