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Assign Reference Flow Types

In this section, you define reference flow types.

What are reference flow types?

Example:

If a rental unit is occupied by an external tenant, a posting record is determined from the conditions of the rental agreement by means of the flow type:

Customer to revenue from third-party usage.

If the same rental unit is assigned to an internal tenant with the same conditions, the following posting record should apply, unlike the above posting:

Costs (at the expense of the renting cost center) to revenue from own use.

This alternative posting is achieved as follows:

The flow type is derived from the conditions of the rental agreement.

This would result in the posting "Customer to revenue from third-party usage". The "Own usage" indicator, however, has the effect that not the original flow type is used for the account determination but a reference flow type assigned to it. Which flow type this is, is set in this menu option.

The method of the reference flow types, described here as an example for own usage, is also used for other business activities that make postings in dependency of the conditions of the rental agreement or the rental unit. These activities are distinguished by means of the relationship key.

Relationship keys for Real Estate Management

1. 002 Follow-up postings due to condition increase

The reference flow type '002 Follow-up postings due to condition increase' is used in cases where a rent receivable is increased retrospectively (that is, after debit position has already been carried out). Flow types to which the reference flow type refers can also be flow types for own usage and vacancy, in addition to the basic flow types (flow types assigned directly to a condition type).

1. 003 Credit from settlement

The relationship key '003 Credit from settlement' is used in cases where credit memos were posted to settlement units, which are passed on to the tenants in the service charge settlement.

1. 004 Receivables from settlement

The reference flow type '004 Receivables from settlement' is used to post receivables resulting from the service charge settlement for a condition type. For the relationship type '004', you have to maintain the reference flow types for all flow types of the flow categories '3VZB', '3VZH', '3VZN', '3VZU' (advance payments).

1. Accrual/deferral

Rental payments for rental agreements,may in some cases be prepaid for several months or paid in arrears. In these cases, the total amount due is posted by the debit position run of the month in which the rent payments are due. This means that the revenue is also posted in this period, (strictly speaking, it should really be allocated across several accounting periods). To map revenues and receivables on an accrual basis, you can make accrual/deferral postings. The accounts are determined via reference flow types.

Maintain reference flow types for relationship keys 005, 006, 007, 008 for each flow type for which accrual/deferral postings have to be made. Relationship keys 005 and 007 are used for the deferral of receivables in advance while relationship keys 006 and 008 are used for receivables in arrears.

a) 005 Deferral: debit
The reference flow type for relationship key '005 Deferral: debit' is used if receivables and revenues are already posted in a debit position posting and should be allocated to subsequent account periods.
Example : The quarterly rent is due in the first month of the quarter, meaning that the debit position is run at the start of the quarter for subsequent months. When the deferral of the debit position is made, the receivables and revenue are deferred from 'Provision for rent revenue in advance' to 'Deferred items'. Make the setting for the corresponding account determination using the reference flow type.
b) 006 Accrual: debit
The reference flow type for relationship key '006 Accrual: debit' is used if a revenue will be posted in the current accounting period, although the debit position does not take place until the next month.
Example : The quarterly rent is not due until the end of the quarter, meaning that the debit position takes places at a later date. Make the setting for the corresponding account determination using the reference flow type (via 'other receivables' to 'rent revenue in arrears').
c) 007 Deferral: Credit
The reference flow type for relationship key '007 Deferral: credit' is used to retransfer the 'Deferral: debit'. See the explanations on '005 Deferral: debit'. You need to make the corresponding account determination settings for 'deferred items' to 'provision for rent revenue in advance'.
d) 008 Accrual: credit
The reference flow type for relationship key '008 Accrual: credit' is used to retransfer the 'Accrual: debit'. See the explanations for '006 Accrual: debit'. The posting record of the reference flow type should be 'Rent revenue in arrears - used' to 'other receivables'.

Note:

The accrual/deferral posting is only carried out for condition types with an accrual/deferral setting in Customizing.
1. 032 Follow-up postings due to condition reduction

The relationship key '032 Follow-up posting due to condition reduction' is the counterpart of the relationship key '002 Follow-up posting due to condition increase'. The reference flow type is used in cases where a backdated reduction of the rent receivable has taken place (that is, after the debit position has been carried out). Flow types, to which the reference flow type refers, can also be flow types for own usage and vacancy, as well as basic flow types (the flow types assigned directly to a condition type). Normally the reference flow type is based on reverse account determination (i.e. debit and credit are swapped), as is the case for the original flow type.

1. 033 Vendor postings management contract

A flow type for the customer posting is derived from the fee types in the management contract
Customer-owner to Revenue from management contract.
This posting has to be offset against a posting to a vendor account in the company code of the owner:
Costs from management to Vendor-manager
The flow type responsible for the last-specified posting record is derived from the first-specified flow type by means of relationship key 033. These reference flow types have to be maintained for all flow types used for the management contract settlement. This involves the flow types derived from periodic or event-driven fee types. You have to assign the flow types for the credit-side postings using the company code in which the managed objects are situated.
You have to again create reference flow types for follow-up postings for the reference flow types determined here.

1. 038 Vacancy

The reference flow type '038 Vacancy' is used in cases where the rental unit is vacant since no active rental agreement is assigned.
Caution : Vacancy flows are basically created and posted only for condition types if a reference flow is defined here for the corresponding flow type.
By means of the definition of the vacancy flow types, you can control whether a condition type on the rental unit is used merely for information (default value for the rental agreement) or whether vacancy postings are to be made for this condition type.
You have to define a G/L account posting as account determination. For the reference flow types for the relationship type "038 Vacancy", you also have to define reference flow types with the relationship keys '002 Follow-up postings due to condition increase' and '032 Follow-up postings due to condition reduction'.

1. 039 Own usage

The reference flow type for the relationship key '039 Own usage' is used, provided that the cash flow is created from:

a) An own usage rental agreement, or
b) A general contract of the category "internal contract".

Caution: All flow types for condition types that are to be used on own usage contracts require a reference flow type at this point, otherwise the contract cannot be activated.

You have to define a G/L account posting as account determination. For the reference flow types "039 Own usage", you also have to define reference flow types with relationship key "002 Follow-up postings due to condition increase" and "032 Follow-up postings due to condition reduction'.

1. 050 Service charge legacy data transfer

The legacy data transfer for the tenant's advance payments for service charges is normally handled on the basis of the flow types that differ from those of the debit position posting for service charge advance payments. To make sure that advance payments copied in this way are taken into account in the service charge settlement, they have to be linked with the flow type belonging to the advance payment item to be settled using this relationship key.

Example:

Service charge advance payments for elevator costs were posted with flow type 9530. Normally, elevator advance payments are posted with flow type 2300. The service charge settlement can only take account of the items from the legacy data transfer if reference flow type 9530 is linked to flow type 2300 via posting key 050.

1. 034 Transfer posting general contract objects

When you use the Real Estate

general contract, the periodic posting generates a primary posting based on the condition type. In the case of vendor contracts, this the costs are posted to the contract. If the contract states that costs are to be distributed to objects, you have to determine a reference flow type, defined via relationship key 034, for the transfer posting of costs to the objects. For more information, see also: Account Determination General Contract .

Overview

The following functions are available:

1. Maintain reference flow types:

In this section, you configure the reference flow types.

2. Help function:

Copy the settings to other company codes

Activity:

Maintain reference flow types for Real Estate Management

Precondition

Both the original flow types and the reference flow types are created in the transaction type table. The "Flow type definition" activity has to be defined.

1. Choose the relationship key, for which you want to maintain the reference flow types.
2. Check whether all reference flow types you need exist. If this is not the case, create the missing flow types by means of the New entries function.
1. Save your entries.

Activity:

Copy reference flow types between company codes

You can copy the settings of the reference flow types from a source company code to a target company code by means of the "Copy reference flow types" function. You can determine, for which activities:

Follow-up postings

Settlements

Accrual/deferral

Vacancy

Own usage

the reference flow types have to be copied.

Requirement

The target company code has to be created and have the indicator "Financial Assets Management active".

Output

List of the copied entries or - in the test run - list of entries to be copied.

Note:

In the "Check Settings" activity you can check whether the Customizing settings are complete, after handling the "Flow Types" and "Condition Types" sections.