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Background documentation Clearing Down Payments  Locate the document in its SAP Library structure

You can clear a down payment manually or have the payment program clear it. You can clear manually at any time: No special measures are necessary.

When you enter an invoice, the system issues a warning message that there is an outstanding down payment. In doing so, the system indicates that a down payment commitment exists. You can then decide immediately whether or not to clear the down payment. However, this message depends on the configuration of your system. You can specify whether or not down payments are indicated. You can make this specification for each special G/L indicator. This option is provided for all down payment types in the standard system. You can find more information on this in "Special G/L Transaction Properties".

If you want the payment program to clear down payments, you must specify the special G/L indicators when you define your company code specifications for the payment program. If you do this, the system automatically sets a payment block when you enter a down payment. This block indicator prevents the down payments from being cleared straight away. By canceling the block indicator with the document change function, you release the down payment for clearing. You can also enter a due date for the down payment. This specifies from which date the payment program can then clear the down payment.

The payment program clears by subtracting the down payment amount from the corresponding invoice amounts and paying the difference. The program clears the down payment automatically. With the gross procedure, the program also creates the offsetting entry for tax and corrects the input tax account. If you have collection authorization and collect a down payment with the payment program, the program makes the appropriate adjustment posting to the output tax account.

Example

You make a down payment for 11,400 (see the figure below, 1). After receiving the closing invoice, you post the payable to the vendor account via an offsetting entry to a balance sheet account. The system posts input tax (see the figure below, 2). The payment program balances the down payment with the invoice and carries out all the necessary postings (see the figure below, 3).

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In addition to the information you have already defined, to be able to make these postings, the payment program requires the document types you want to use. You enter these when you define your company code specifications for the payment program.

To make the necessary settings to enable clearing by the payment program, access Configuring the System Using the Implementation Guide and choose the activity Configure payment program followed by Company codes ® All.