Returns Refund Determination - Advanced Returns Management 

Purpose

Returns refund determination comprises customer refund determination and internal refund determination. Customer refund determination is used to define the refund amount that the customer is to receive for returned materials. Internal refund determination belongs to intercompany billing. In this process step you define, in the material receiving company code, the refund amount that another company code is to receive for returned materials. In cross-company-code store returns, it is the company code of the material issuing plant that is refunded.

If you create a returns order with one company code for the sales organization as part of the sales area at header level and receiving plants that belong to a different company code at item level, then the company code of the receiving plant must refund the company code associated with the sales organization for the returned materials because it is the company code associated with the sales organization that actually refunds the customer.

The Customer Refund Determination and Internal Refund Determination transactions provide you with a comprehensive view of all the data from previous process steps. You can see the returns-specific data entered in either the returns order or the returns stock transport order, data from the material inspection performed in the company warehouse or by the vendor, as well as data from the credit memos received from external vendors or other company codes.

Customer refund determination results in the creation of credit memo requests that are then converted into credit memos for the customer using standard billing procedures. In internal refund determination, you create the credit memos for the material issuing company code directly.

Prerequisites

Within the Customer Returns and Supplier Returns business processes, the process step of returns refund determination is usually performed after you have inspected the returned materials in the warehouse, after you have forwarded the returned materials, or after you have received the credit memo from the supplier (external vendor or material receiving company code). However, you can perform this step at any time within the returns process once the materials have been received.

Process Flow

You make the required Customizing settings for customer refund determination in Customizing for Sales and Distribution by choosing Sales ® Advanced Returns Management. For internal refund determination, choose Materials Management ® Purchasing ® Purchase Order ® Returns Order ® Advanced Returns Management.

To perform returns refund determination and then create credit memo requests or credit memos within Advanced Returns Management in SAP ERP, you proceed as follows:

       1.      .Select worklist for returns refund determination

On the selection screen that appears when you start the Customer Refund Determination transaction you define, by entering the appropriate selection criteria, those returns order items for which you want to perform customer refund determination. Choose one of the options in Refunding Status of Returns Orders area in order to narrow your selection according to the status of previous steps.

When you start the Internal Refund Determination transaction, you select items of inbound deliveries that were created to transport the materials between locations, or you select items of returns deliveries related to returns orders containing different company codes.

You can define a selection variant for both selection screens in the usual way. Choose Edit ® User Settings to configure that a certain selection variant is pre-selected for the selection screen, and also to specify that the worklist is displayed immediately with this variant. Choose Edit ® Delete Variant or Edit ® Maintain Variant to manage your selection variants.

After you have made your selection in customer refund determination, the system displays the selected returns orders with the corresponding returns order items in the worklist tree. The returns orders are sorted by customer. The system also displays the customer name, the creation date of the returns order, and the material description of the item’s material.

For internal refund determination, the system displays the selected inbound deliveries or returns deliveries with the corresponding delivery items in the worklist tree. The returns deliveries, which appear first in the worklist, are sorted by the sales organization (taken from the returns order’s header). Then the inbound deliveries appear, sorted by the supplying plant with nodes for sales organizations and supplying plants. The system also displays the sales organization or plant name, the creation date of the returns or inbound delivery, and the material description of the item’s material.

The worklist also indicates the processing status for the different tree levels. Choose  (Display Icon Legend) to get an overview of the icons used and their meaning.

Choose Hide Worklist Tree if you do not want to display the worklist tree anymore, for example after you have selected a returns order (or returns / inbound delivery) for processing and you only want to see data of this returns order (or returns / inbound delivery). Choose Show Worklist Tree if you want to display the worklist tree again.

Choose  (Refresh Worklist) to rebuild the worklist tree according to the previous selection criteria, for example, when you want to filter out processed returns orders (returns or inbound deliveries).

At any time, you can choose Goto ® Session Log or Goto ® Active Document Log from the menu to see information about the processing of returns orders (or returns / inbound deliveries) during your current session or about credit memo requests (or credit memos) that you have created.

       2.      Select returns order or inbound delivery for processing

You double-click a returns order or returns order item (or an inbound delivery or inbound delivery item) to open it for processing in the work area. If the worklist contains only one returns order or inbound delivery after the selection, this document is automatically opened in the work area, and the worklist is not displayed.

The system displays general document information in the header area of the work area and then the relevant items in the Items for Processing area of Unprocessed Items tab page. The columns of the table contain information from previous process steps, for example returns-specific data entered in the returns order or the returns stock transport order, or data from the material inspection performed in the company warehouse. The only fields available for input – besides the Copy to CMR checkbox – are the Returns Refund Code and the Reason for Rejection. These are the key features of this transaction. You can change the layout of the SAP List Viewer (ALV) or create and manage own layouts in the usual way.

If splits were created for a returns order item (or inbound delivery item) in previous steps, the system displays additional lines for these splits with the corresponding quantities. Splits may have been created during a material inspection in the warehouse, or they may be due to different results from a material inspection by the vendor or the receipt of several credit memos from an external vendor or another company code. You can choose theView Inspection details or View Invoice Document details icons in the Inspection and Invoice Document objects to navigate directly to the inspection or invoice document. Choose  (Hide split lines) and  (Show split lines) in the Split Items column to collapse and expand additional lines.

You have two navigation options to display further information of the returns process. Choose Display beside the returns order (returns / inbound delivery) number to display the returns order (or returns / inbound delivery). Choose Returns Overview in the header area to display additional returns data for the returns order (or returns / inbound delivery) in the Returns Overview transaction.

       3.      Enter returns refund code and rejection reason (customer refund determination only)

In either the Items for Processing area of Unprocessed Items tab page or in the Credit Memo Request Preview (or Credit Memo Preview) area of the Processed Items tab page, you enter the returns refund code and the rejection reason for returns order items or relevant split lines, and you enter the returns refund code for inbound delivery items or relevant split lines.

       4.      Move document items to Processed Items tab page (optional)

In the Items for Processing area of Unprocessed Items tab page, select the relevant lines and then choose Move to Processed Items. They are then moved to the Processed Items tab page. Depending on whether or not you have chosen the Copy to CMR (or Copy to CM) checkbox for the selected entries, the items are moved either to the Credit Memo Request Preview (or Credit Memo Preview) area or to the Delayed Items area on the Processed Items tab page. The Copy to CMR (or Copy to CM) checkbox is selected accordingly and no longer available for selection.

If there are split lines for a returns order item (or an inbound delivery item), ensure that the sum of the Open Quantity for Refunding of those items selected for copying to a CMR or CM does not exceed the order quantity of the returns order item (or inbound delivery item). If this is the case, the system identifies the quantity conflict. You can only cancel processing. If you have already moved lines to the preview area and you want to move further lines, the system performs the same quantity check. If there is a quantity conflict, you can decide whether you want to cancel the processing or whether you want to accept the new decision.  

You can use this processing step for example when you work on large documents with many items. You move items for which you have decided the refund code and maybe rejection reason to the Processed Items tab page so that you can concentrate on the remaining open items.

You cannot create a credit memo request (or credit memo) anymore from the Unprocessed Items tab page when you have moved items to the Processed Items tab page (the Create Credit Memo Request (or Create Credit Memo) pushbutton becomes inactive), as it is assumed that you want to create the credit memo request (or credit memo) for processed items only.

       5.      Move items within the Processed Items tab page (optional)

You can move document items from the Credit Memo Request Preview (or Credit Memo Preview) area to the Delayed Items area if you no longer want to consider these items for the credit memo request (or credit memo). Select the required items and choose Move to Delayed Items.

You can also move documents items from the Delayed Items area back into the Credit Memo Request Preview (or Credit Memo Preview) area. Select the required items and choose Move to Preview Items.   

       6.      Create split manually (optional)

You can create a split for a returns order item (or returns / inbound delivery item) in the Items for Processing area of the Unprocessed Items tab page or in the Delayed Items area of the Processed Items tab page manually if you need to split the refund for the item differently to existing split lines. You cannot create a manual split for split lines. To perform the manual split, select the returns order item (or returns / inbound delivery item) and choose Create Split Manually.

In the Manual Split dialog box, you enter the manual split items with the corresponding split quantity and the returns refund code. Ensure that the sum of the split quantities matches the order quantity of the returns order item (or returns / inbound delivery item). Choose Copy to copy your entries to the Items for Processing or Delayed Items area, or Copy to Preview Items if you are already sure that you want to use your manual split items to create the credit memo request (or credit memo).    

       7.      Create credit memo request or credit memo

Enter the order type for the credit memo request (or credit memo) in the Credit Memo Request (or Credit Memo) area of the header. Select the Foreground Processing checkbox if you want to subsequently change the credit memo request (or credit memo) that the system creates.

You can create the credit memo request (or credit memo) from both the Unprocessed Items and Processed Items tab pages. On the Unprocessed Items tab page, select the Copy to CMR (or Copy to CM) checkbox for required items in the Items for Processing area, and then choose Create Credit Memo Request (or Create Credit Memo). On the Processed Items tab page, the Copy to CMR (or Copy to CM) checkbox is selected by default in the Credit Memo Request Preview (or Credit Memo Preview) area. Simply choose Create Credit Memo Request (or Create Credit Memo).

The system creates the credit memo request (or credit memo) automatically and, if you have not selected the Foreground Processing checkbox, displays information about the created document in the Active Document Log dialog box. The Unprocessed Items tab page is displayed.

If you have not processed the complete returns order (or returns / inbound delivery), you can continue to work on remaining items. Processed items can no longer be edited. The open refunding quantity for these items is zero.

Alternatively, you can select another returns order (or returns / inbound delivery) from the worklist.

       8.      Change credit memo request or credit memo (optional)

If you have selected the Foreground Processing checkbox, the system displays the credit memo request (or credit memo) in change mode. You can make the usual changes, for example, you can adjust the pricing if the entry of a refund code is not sufficient to determine the correct refund amount. In particular, you can also change the target quantity for the credit memo request item (or credit memo item).

Choose Save to save the credit memo request (or credit memo). The system displays information about the created document in the Active Document Log dialog box. The Unprocessed Items tab page is displayed.

If you have not processed the complete returns order (or returns / inbound delivery) document, you can continue to work on remaining items. You can also continue to work on items for which you decreased the target quantity during credit memo request (or credit memo) processing. The open refunding quantity for these items is still greater than zero.

Alternatively, you can select another returns order (or returns or inbound delivery) from the worklist.

You can cancel the creation of credit memo requests or credit memos. For more information, see Cancel Process Steps in Customer Returns – Advanced Returns Management.

In internal refund determination, you can create a credit memo based on split lines so that there is a 1:n relationship between the inbound delivery items and the credit memo items. However, when you transfer this credit memo to the material issuing company code using the standard ALE scenario, the credit memo lines are merged. In such cases, the credit memo in the material issuing company differs from the credit memo in the material receiving company code.

Result

You have determined the refund for the customer return using customer refund determination.

You have determined the refund for the material issuing company code in case of cross-company-code store returns, or the refund for the company code that refunds the customer in case of returns orders with different company codes using internal refund determination.