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A/P Invoice Financials
accounts payable invoice · vendor invoice · supplier invoice · purchase invoice
An A/P invoice is an invoice from a vendor. In SAP Business One it is a document with a value flow: it posts the liability, the input VAT and — if a goods receipt came first — the clearing of the goods receipt account. If you enter it without reference to the goods receipt, the stock is posted twice, which is laborious to correct later.
More on this: Automated document capture Source: SAP Help: A/P Invoice See also: Goods Receipt PO, Marketing Document, G/L Account
Accruals and deferrals Financials
accrual · deferral · prepaid expenses · Abgrenzung
An accrual or deferral spreads an expense or income over the months to which it economically belongs — such as an annual insurance premium paid in January, spread over twelve months. SAP Business One has no dedicated tool for this as standard; the documentation treats accruals as a manual closing task. The usual workaround is recurring postings, which repeat a stored posting at fixed intervals. However, they do not distribute a document amount by themselves, they only remind you of the posting that is due.
More on this: AbgrenzungPro Sources: SAP Help: Accruals in year-end closing, SAP Help: Recurring postings See also: Journal Entry, Posting period lock
Add-on Technology and extensions
add-on · extension · add-on solution
An add-on is an extension that adds functions the standard does not cover — from payroll to document filing. Two questions decide whether you will have peace later on: who maintains the add-on during a version upgrade, and does it also run in the Web Client. Add-ons without a clear answer to this become an obstacle at the next update.
More on this: Add-on solutions Source: SAP Help: Add-on administration See also: coresuite, cks.DMS, Web Client
Authorization Technology and extensions
authorisation · user authorizations · authorization groups · permissions
The control of which user may see and change which function, maintained per user or via authorisation groups. Two things are often confused here: the licence decides which screens are available at all, the authorisation decides within that limit. A Limited licence cannot be extended through authorisations.
More on this: Our SAP expertise Source: SAP Help: Authorizations window See also: Limited User licence, Company (company database)
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Batch Management Logistics and inventory
batch numbers · lot tracking · batches
Batch management tracks quantities with a common characteristic — production lot, expiry date, inbound delivery. Unlike serial numbers, a batch identifies a quantity, not a single unit. Mandatory in food, pharmaceuticals and anywhere a recall has to be narrowed down in a verifiable way.
More on this: SAP Business One for wholesale distribution Source: SAP Help: Batch numbers on every transaction See also: Serial Number, Item Master Data
Bill of Materials Logistics and inventory
BOM · bill of materials · parts list
A bill of materials describes how an item is made up of its components. SAP Business One knows four types: production, sales, assembly and template. The choice determines whether the components appear individually in the document when selling and whether the parent product is managed as an inventory item at all — with sales and assembly BOMs it is only a sales item. A decision with consequences for inventory and accounting, not just for presentation.
Source: SAP Help: Defining a bill of materials See also: Production Order, Item Master Data
Business Partner Logistics and inventory
BP · customer · vendor · business partner master data
A business partner is a customer, vendor or lead — in SAP Business One the same master data object, distinguished by type. A company that acts in both roles therefore needs two master records, because receivables and payables have to be kept separately. The two can be linked, however: the aging report then shows the consolidated balance, and through reconciliation between the business partners you can offset receivable and payable against each other. Payment terms, price lists and dunning terms are attached to the master record.
More on this: SAP Business One at a glance Source: SAP Help: Inter-business-partner reconciliation See also: Master Data, Dunning
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cks.DMS Technology and extensions
CKS.DMS · document management · DMS for SAP Business One
cks.DMS is a document management system from ck.solution GmbH that is embedded directly in SAP Business One: documents are filed against the business transaction, not in a separate archive. Within today's cks.DIGITAL product family, cks.DMS is the archive module. The benefit lies less in storing than in finding again — the A/P invoice is attached to the posting and not in a folder that someone must have named correctly.
More on this: cks products Source: ck.solution GmbH See also: Add-on, A/P Invoice, GoBD
Company (company database) Logistics and inventory
company database · company · Mandant
A company is a separate company database with its own chart of accounts, its own master data and its own document numbers. Every legal entity needs its own company — but not below that: for sites, departments or business units the standard offers the multiple branches function, with separate transactions, separate stock and separate reporting. Consolidation across several companies, on the other hand, is not part of the standard. This is the point where groups of companies regularly underestimate what they need.
More on this: SAP Business One at a glance Source: SAP Help: Enabling multiple branches See also: Starter Package, Authorization
coresuite Technology and extensions
coresuite designer · Designer AI · coresuite customize · coresuite country package
coresuite is a family of tools for SAP Business One from Coresystems AG, now bundled in the Country Package: Enterprise Search, Designer, Accounting, Customize and the framework on which the other modules are built. Two of them are particularly widespread. Designer — now Designer AI — designs document forms without Crystal Reports. Customize adapts the system without programming, from simple to complex adjustments; the adjustments are stored as rules, can be exported to other systems and, via the Coresuite Service, can also run without a running client. The time tracking tool coresuite Time and the reporting module Cube are no longer being developed.
More on this: coresuite products Source: Coresystems AG: coresuite See also: Add-on, Crystal Reports
Cost Center Financials
cost centre · profit center · distribution rule
A cost center is the unit to which an expense or income is allocated — department, site, project. In SAP Business One the object is called Kostenstelle (cost center) in the German user interface, technically it is a profit center; it does not match the business management term in every respect. Each cost center belongs to exactly one dimension, and you can create any number per dimension, including hierarchically. On the document line, however, it is not the cost center itself that appears, but one distribution rule per dimension; for each cost center the system automatically creates a direct rule for this.
More on this: For CFOs and finance leaders Sources: SAP Help: Working with cost centers, SAP Help: Working with distribution rules See also: Dimension, G/L Account
Crystal Reports Technology and extensions
Crystal Reports layout · print layout · report layout
Crystal Reports is one of the two tools included for print forms and reports in SAP Business One, alongside the Print Layout Designer: invoices, delivery notes, dunning letters, reports. Layouts are designed externally and assigned per document type in the Report and Layout Manager. In an implementation this is regularly underestimated effort — every document a customer gets to see needs its own designed template.
More on this: Add-on solutions Source: SAP Help: Report and Layout Manager See also: Query Manager, Marketing Document
Customizing Project and implementation
customisation · configuration · customization
Customizing is setting up the standard for your own company: numbering series, G/L account determination, price lists, document templates, user-defined values. The difference from development lies less in whether code is created — a formatted search is an SQL query — than in what happens during a version upgrade: customizing lives in the company database and is carried over, add-ons and your own developments need a version that matches the target release and have to be checked.
More on this: ERP Readiness Check Source: SAP Help: Add-on compatibility See also: Formatted Search, UDF
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Data migration Project and implementation
data transfer · migration · data import
Data migration is the transfer of master data, open items and stock from the legacy system. The effort almost never lies in the technology, but in deciding what comes along at all. A useful rule of thumb: master data complete and cleaned up, transaction data only as a balance at the cut-off date, history remains readable in the legacy system.
More on this: SAP Business One implementation See also: Master Data, Go-Live
DATEV FI interface Technology and extensions
DATEV interface · DATEV export · DATEV
The export of postings and master data for the tax adviser in Germany, officially the DATEV FI interface. SAP Business One includes it in the German localisation, along with templates for SKR03 and SKR04 and a cover sheet for the accounting firm. Coordination mainly concerns three points: chart of accounts, treatment of VAT and the point in time at which a period counts as closed.
More on this: Accounting as a Service Source: SAP Help: DATEV FI interface See also: G/L Account, Posting period lock, GoBD
DI API Technology and extensions
Data Interface API · DI-API · DIAPI
The programming interface through which an application creates and changes business objects without writing directly to the database. It runs through the same business logic as the user interface, which is why a document posted via the DI API is just as consistent as one entered manually. It requires a local Windows installation and, since version 10.0, is only supported in 64-bit.
More on this: Add-on solutions Source: SAP Help: Data Interface API See also: Service Layer, UI API
Dimension Financials
cost accounting dimension · dimensions · analytical dimension
A dimension is an analysis axis in cost accounting. It groups cost centers and is not itself a posting level — postings are made via the distribution rules within the dimension. You can use up to five dimensions, such as department, site, project, product line and sales channel; more than one first has to be switched on in the general settings via the multiple dimensions option. The decision belongs in the implementation: introducing dimensions later means the reporting is only comparable from the changeover date.
More on this: For CFOs and finance leaders Sources: SAP Help: Working with dimensions, SAP Help: Cost accounting settings See also: Cost Center, G/L Account
Down Payment Financials
down payment invoice · down payment request · advance payment
A down payment is a payment made before the service is delivered. SAP Business One has two documents for this in each direction. The down payment request creates no posting at all — the VAT only arises when the payment against it is received. The down payment invoice, by contrast, posts immediately to the account for down payments received, including VAT. Offsetting it against the final invoice is where things regularly get stuck: it has to be done in the final document itself, not as a separate posting.
Sources: SAP Help: A/R down payment invoice, SAP Help: Drawing a down payment in the final invoice See also: A/P Invoice, Tax Code
Draft Document Logistics and inventory
draft · document draft · parked document
A draft document is a document that has not yet been posted. Drafts create no posting and no stock movement, and they do not reserve a document number: only the current highest free number is shown, which is why several drafts can carry the same one. They are the usual route for approval procedures. After posting, the draft remains in the system and has to be deleted by hand — a detail that regularly surprises people in practice.
Source: SAP Help: Managing parked documents See also: Marketing Document
Dunning Financials
dunning wizard · payment reminder · dunning letters
Dunning is the multi-level run that identifies overdue receivables and generates dunning letters. The levels, deadlines and fees are defined per dunning term and can be assigned to individual business partners. A prerequisite for useful results is clean reconciliation — dunning works with open items, not with balances.
More on this: Accounting as a Service Source: SAP Help: Dunning Wizard See also: Reconciliation, Business Partner
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E-Rechnung (e-invoice) Law and compliance
e-invoice · electronic invoice · e-invoicing Germany
An E-Rechnung is an invoice in a structured format that can be processed further without manual entry. A PDF is not an E-Rechnung. Since 1 January 2025, companies in Germany must be able to receive e-invoices in domestic business; for sending, the German VAT Act (Umsatzsteuergesetz) staggers the transition periods: paper and other formats until the end of 2026 for everyone, in 2027 only with prior-year turnover of up to 800,000 euros, from 2028 no longer. For SAP Business One this primarily means a decision about the inbound channel and the matching to the purchase order.
More on this: Accounting as a Service Sources: Section 14 UStG, Ausstellung von Rechnungen (German VAT Act, issuing invoices; German federal law portal, in German), Section 27 UStG, Übergangsvorschriften (German VAT Act, transitional provisions; German federal law portal, in German) See also: XRechnung, ZUGFeRD, Peppol
ERP system Project and implementation
Enterprise Resource Planning · ERP · ERP software
An ERP system is a system in which a company's value-adding processes run on a common database: purchasing, inventory, sales, finance. The difference from an inventory management system with attached accounting is integration — every movement in logistics immediately creates the corresponding value flow. This is where the real project effort comes from: the work is not the software, but deciding how the processes should look in future.
More on this: ERP Readiness Check See also: Go-Live, Key User
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FIFO Logistics and inventory
First In First Out · FIFO layers · FIFO valuation
The stock received first is consumed first, and each receipt layer keeps its own price — SAP Business One calls them FIFO layers and provides a dedicated report for them. This reflects actual acquisition costs more accurately than the moving average and is the more honest figure when purchase prices fluctuate strongly. The price for this is traceability that takes effort: the layers have to be correct, and correcting receipts far in the past affects all later consumption.
Source: SAP Help: FIFO layers report See also: Moving Average, Standard Cost, Inventory valuation method
Financial Accounting Financials
financials · general ledger accounting · bookkeeping
Financial accounting is the area in which all business transactions come together in terms of value. In SAP Business One it is not downstream but integrated: every delivery and every invoice immediately creates the corresponding posting. This saves the handover between systems and in return requires G/L account determination to be set up correctly from the start.
More on this: Accounting as a Service See also: G/L Account, Journal Entry, Cost Center
Fixed Assets Financials
fixed asset accounting · asset management · depreciation
The management of fixed assets with acquisition, scheduled depreciation and retirement. SAP Business One includes it as standard, including the depreciation types common in Germany. If you use it, you do not need separate fixed asset accounting in Excel or at the tax adviser — that is less a question of functionality than of coordination.
More on this: Accounting as a Service Source: SAP Help: Depreciation in Fixed Assets See also: G/L Account, Posting period lock
Formatted Search Technology and extensions
FMS · User-Defined Values · formatted searches
A formatted search is a query bound to a field that automatically fills in a value or offers a selection list when a field changes; in the current documentation the function is called User-Defined Values. It is the most widely used tool for adapting a system to your own processes without programming, and since version 10.0 it allows several triggers per field. The limit is reached where several fields depend on one another — then a chain of searches quickly becomes unmaintainable.
More on this: Our SAP expertise Source: SAP Help: Setting up user-defined values See also: Query Manager, UDF
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G/L Account Financials
general ledger account · GL account · Sachkonto
A G/L account is an account in the chart of accounts to which business transactions are posted. SAP Business One ships a chart of accounts template for each country localisation, which you can adapt to your own company. G/L account determination controls which G/L account a document hits automatically — defined per warehouse, item group and item, and with advanced G/L account determination also by business partner and further criteria. That is exactly where most posting errors arise during an implementation.
More on this: Accounting as a Service Sources: SAP Help: Choosing a chart of accounts, SAP Help: Advanced G/L account determination See also: Journal Entry, Reconciliation
Go-Live Project and implementation
go live · cutover · production start
Go-live is the day on which the new system takes over live operations. Technically it is usually unspectacular; the difficult part is the days before and after — stock as at the cut-off date, open items, running orders, and staff who are not yet routine. A go-live at the start of the month is not convention; it reduces the number of transactions that run through two systems.
More on this: SAP Business One implementation See also: Data migration, Key User
GoBD Law and compliance
GoBD Germany · Grundsätze ordnungsmäßiger Buchführung · GoBD compliance
The GoBD are the administrative regulation of the German Federal Ministry of Finance on the proper keeping and retention of tax-relevant data, last amended by letter of 14 July 2025 and applicable in that version since then. For an ERP system this mainly means: posted documents cannot be altered, changes are traceable, data can be evaluated electronically, and there is a procedural documentation (Verfahrensdokumentation). Since this amendment, for an e-invoice it is sufficient to retain the structured part. SAP Business One provides the technical prerequisites — the procedural documentation remains the company's responsibility, even if the bookkeeping is outsourced.
More on this: Accounting as a Service Sources: GoBD in the official AO-Handbuch of the BMF (German Federal Ministry of Finance, in German), BMF letter of 14 July 2025 amending the GoBD (in German) See also: Journal Entry, Marketing Document
Goods Receipt PO Logistics and inventory
goods receipt · GRPO · goods receipt purchase order
The goods receipt PO is the posting of the delivered goods against a purchase order. It increases stock and posts against the allocation account, which the subsequent A/P invoice clears again. The balance of this account is one of the most useful figures in day-to-day operations: it reflects open goods receipts and goods returns — if an amount stays there permanently, invoices are missing or someone posted around the purchase order.
Source: SAP Help: Allocation account and goods in transit account See also: A/P Invoice, Marketing Document
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Integration Framework Technology and extensions
B1if · B1 Integration Framework · SAP Business One integration framework
The integration layer included with SAP Business One, through which predefined scenarios run between the system and its environment, such as country-specific electronic invoicing procedures. It is powerful and unwieldy at the same time: for your own integrations, the Service Layer is usually the more direct route. It has nothing to do with the Web Client — that is built on the Service Layer. The Intercompany Integration Solution for cross-company scenarios, formerly based here, is no longer supported after version 10.0 FP 2202.
More on this: Add-on solutions Source: SAP Help: Integration Framework See also: Service Layer, Interface, Company (company database)
Interface Technology and extensions
integration · API integration · connector
An interface is the connection between SAP Business One and another system — web shop, payroll software, shipping provider, tax adviser. What matters is less the technology than the question of which system wins in a conflict and what happens if the connection fails for a day. If you clarify this beforehand, you save yourself most of the later troubleshooting.
More on this: Add-on solutions See also: Service Layer, DATEV FI interface
Inventory Counting Logistics and inventory
stocktaking · stock count · physical inventory
Inventory counting is the recording of actual stock and its comparison with book stock. In SAP Business One the steps are called inventory counting and inventory posting; for recurring counts there are cycle count recommendations. The order matters: first post all stock transactions, then count, then enter the difference as an inventory posting with value correction — otherwise the difference becomes a puzzle.
More on this: SAP Business One for wholesale distribution Sources: SAP Help: Inventory counting, SAP Help: Cycle count recommendations See also: Inventory valuation method, Item Master Data
Inventory valuation method Logistics and inventory
valuation method · stock valuation · inventory valuation
The method SAP Business One uses to update the value of the stock. There are four to choose from: moving average, FIFO, standard cost and valuation by serial or batch numbers. The choice applies per item and has a direct effect on the cost of goods sold posting and therefore on profit. A change is possible as long as stock is zero in all warehouses and there are no open documents — in practice that means: decide once, then stick with it.
More on this: SAP Business One for wholesale distribution Sources: SAP Help: Changing the valuation method, SAP Help: Valuation by serial and batch numbers See also: Moving Average, FIFO, Standard Cost, Item Master Data
Item Master Data Logistics and inventory
item master · item master record · item
The master record of an item with purchasing, sales, inventory and planning data. Two decisions have an effect far beyond creation: the valuation method and whether the item is managed by serial or batch numbers. Both can only be changed later if stock is zero in all warehouses and no open documents refer to the item — in a live system that is rarely the case. If you set this up wrongly, in practice you create the item again.
More on this: SAP Business One for wholesale distribution Source: SAP Help: Item master data, Inventory Data tab See also: Inventory valuation method, Master Data
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License Server Licences and users
License Manager · licence server · license service
The service that holds the licence file and checks at logon whether a licence is assigned to the user. You can install it on any machine in the landscape; licence administration is opened via the web interface of the System Landscape Directory. If it fails, nobody can get into the system, even if the database and application are running — a failure scenario that is easily overlooked during planning. The licence file is tied to a hardware key: adding hardware does not change it, but renaming or reinstalling the machine does.
Source: SAP Administrator's Guide 10.0 (PDF) See also: Named User
Limited User licence Licences and users
Limited User · Limited CRM · Limited Logistics · Limited Financials
A licence restricted to one area of work, available in three variants: Limited CRM, Limited Logistics and Limited Financials. Which windows each variant may open is defined by SAP in the License Comparison Chart. The limits are tighter than the name suggests: Limited Logistics posts goods receipts and A/R invoices, but not A/P invoices — those belong to Limited Financials. What matters is the nature of the boundary: it does not follow what a person is allowed to do, but which windows their licence can open in the first place. You cannot extend it through authorisations, but you can upgrade it to a Professional licence for an additional charge. List price: 1,400 EUR to buy or 47 EUR per month.
More on this: SAP Business One at a glance Source: SAP Help: Licensing See also: Professional User licence, Named User
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Maintenance Licences and users
SAP maintenance · maintenance contract · support fee
Maintenance is the annual fee on purchased licences that covers updates, new versions and access to SAP Support. It is calculated as a percentage of the licence value, with us 21% per year. If you cancel it, SAP supplies neither updates nor support, and sooner or later your installation drops out of the supported versions. If you want to come back later, you either pay maintenance for the entire interruption period retroactively or buy the licences again — whichever is cheaper. A pause therefore rarely saves money.
More on this: Support information See also: Subscription, Named User
Marketing Document Logistics and inventory
marketing documents · document · sales document · purchasing document
In SAP Business One, document is the umbrella term for all transactions in the sales and purchasing chain: sales quotation, sales order, delivery, invoice, purchase order, goods receipt. Documents build on one another and take over the lines of their predecessor when copied, which keeps the document chain fully traceable. Once added, a document can no longer be deleted — not even a sales quotation that creates no posting at all — it can only be cancelled or closed. The system behaves this way in all countries; the GoBD are the reason you need it in Germany, not the cause of the behaviour.
More on this: SAP Business One at a glance See also: Draft Document, Journal Entry, GoBD
Master Data Logistics and inventory
master data · master records
Master data is the permanently maintained basic data of a system: business partners, items, G/L accounts, employees. It is the prerequisite for every document and at the same time the item that takes the most time in an implementation — not because of the transfer, but because of the clean-up. Twenty years of a legacy system bring duplicates, dead items and addresses nobody checks any more.
More on this: SAP Business One implementation See also: Business Partner, Item Master Data, Data migration
Microsoft SQL Server Technology and extensions
MS SQL · SQL Server · SQL Server version
Microsoft SQL Server is the second database option for SAP Business One alongside SAP HANA. It is cheaper to acquire, needs less memory and is sufficient for many mid-sized installations. Some functions, however, require HANA, including advanced available-to-promise, the cash flow forecast, Pervasive Analytics and the semantic layer views. Enterprise Search and Interactive Analysis in Excel can be added later, but that requires an additional HANA server. The Web Client runs on both databases.
More on this: HANA migration at a fixed price Sources: SAP Help: Advanced available-to-promise, SAP Help: Interactive Analysis See also: SAP HANA, Query Manager
Moving Average Logistics and inventory
moving average cost · average cost method · weighted average
With the moving average, every receipt recalculates the stock value: the average price is the total value divided by the total quantity. With this method you cannot set your own item cost by hand; every stock receipt updates it. The method is robust against price fluctuations and widely used in trade. Returns and subsequent invoice corrections need attention, because they affect the average value of the entire stock.
Source: SAP Help: Item cost with moving average See also: FIFO, Standard Cost, Inventory valuation method
MRP Logistics and inventory
Material Requirements Planning · MRP Wizard · MRP run
The run that calculates procurement requirements from orders, forecasts, stock and bills of materials and creates purchase or production recommendations; you execute it via the MRP Wizard. The quality of the result depends entirely on the planning data in the item master: lead time, order multiple as lot size, minimum order quantity. The minimum stock level, on the other hand, sits in the inventory data and is only included if the scenario takes it into account. If this data is not maintained, the run produces recommendations nobody takes seriously — and the tool is dead.
More on this: SAP Business One for wholesale distribution Source: SAP Help: Item master data, Planning Data tab See also: Production Order, Item Master Data
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Payment Wizard Financials
payment run · payment wizard · payment proposal
The wizard that creates a payment proposal from open items — outgoing payments to vendors as well as incoming payments and SEPA direct debits from customers. Selection criteria are due date, cash discount period, payment method and business partner. The bank file is not produced by the wizard alone, but via the file format assigned to the payment method; if this assignment is missing, the run writes no file. You can save the run and continue it later — important, because someone usually takes a look between proposal and approval.
More on this: Accounting as a Service Source: SAP Help: Working with the Payment Wizard See also: A/P Invoice, Reconciliation
Peppol Law and compliance
Peppol network · PEPPOL · Peppol e-invoicing
Peppol is a European network for exchanging invoices and orders via approved access points. Instead of bilateral connections to each business partner, one connection to the network is enough. In Denmark, Peppol together with NemHandel has been everyday practice for years; in Germany it is gaining importance with the e-invoicing obligation.
More on this: SAP Business One in Denmark Source: OpenPeppol: About Peppol See also: E-Rechnung (e-invoice)
Pick and Pack Logistics and inventory
picking · pick list · Pick and Pack Manager
Picking is putting together the goods for an order. SAP Business One covers this with the Pick and Pack function, which besides sales orders also processes A/R reserve invoices, production orders and inventory transfers and allows partial quantities. Without this intermediate step, the process jumps straight from order to delivery — acceptable with few lines, unworkable as soon as several people work in the warehouse at the same time.
More on this: SAP Business One for wholesale distribution Source: SAP Help: Pick and Pack See also: Marketing Document, Serial Number
Posting period lock Financials
period-end closing · month-end closing · posting period status · locking posting periods
Locking a posting period so that nobody posts retroactively into a closed month. In SAP Business One every period has one of four statuses: unlocked, unlocked except sales, closing period or locked. In the closing period, only users with the corresponding general authorisation may still post — a back door that is often left open and then wrecks the reconciliation between accounting and the tax adviser. With locked, nobody gets through any more, not even for a reversal.
More on this: Accounting as a Service Source: SAP Help: Changing the period status See also: Accruals and deferrals, Journal Entry
Price List Logistics and inventory
price lists · pricing · special prices
A price list is the basis of pricing in the document. The price list on the business partner is the starting point; on top of it come special prices per customer and item with quantity scales and time-limited promotions, plus discount groups for entire item or customer groups. If you see an unexpected price in a sales order, the cause almost always lies in one of these overriding sources and not in the list itself — in wholesale especially often in a forgotten discount group.
More on this: SAP Business One for wholesale distribution Sources: SAP Help: Discount groups, SAP Help: Determining prices in documents See also: Item Master Data, Business Partner
Production Order Logistics and inventory
production order · manufacturing order · work order
A production order is the order to manufacture a product from components. It issues the components, receives the finished product and collects the actual costs against the planned costs. Contrary to common belief, route stages, resources with daily capacity and both forward and backward scheduling are part of the standard in version 10.0. What it does not include is a graphical planning board with real capacity checking — for that you need an extension.
Sources: SAP Help: Production Order window, SAP Help: Creating resource master data See also: Bill of Materials, MRP
Professional User licence Licences and users
Professional User · Professional licence · Professional license · full user
The Professional licence is the full licence with access to all areas, including administration, company management and licence assignment. A system with regular licences needs at least one of them — in practice two, so nobody is locked out during holidays or illness. For anyone who only works in one area, it is more than they need. The list price is 2,700 EUR to buy; as a subscription it costs 64 EUR to 91 EUR per month, tiered by the number of Professional users.
More on this: SAP Business One at a glance Source: SAP Help: User licences See also: Limited User licence, Named User
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Sales Opportunity Project and implementation
opportunity · sales pipeline · opportunities
A sales opportunity is a sales process with stages, probability and expected closing date — the CRM element in SAP Business One. Sales quotations come from sales opportunities and sales orders from those, which lets you analyse the pipeline without a second system. The benefit stands or falls with whether sales maintains the stages; a half-maintained funnel is worse than none.
More on this: SAP Business One for service providers Source: SAP Help: Managing opportunities See also: Business Partner, Marketing Document
SAP HANA Technology and extensions
HANA · in-memory database · HANA database
The column-oriented in-memory database on which SAP Business One runs as an alternative to Microsoft SQL Server. The difference does not show when entering a sales order, but in reports over large data volumes and in functions that only exist there — such as advanced available-to-promise, the cash flow forecast and Pervasive Analytics. The decision is therefore not purely a technical question, but one about the planned scope of functions. When bought, HANA is licensed per 64 GB of memory, at 2,000 EUR per unit; in the subscription it is included.
More on this: HANA migration at a fixed price Sources: SAP Help: Advanced available-to-promise, SAP Help: Cash flow forecast See also: Microsoft SQL Server, Query Manager
Serial Number Logistics and inventory
serial numbers · serial number management · serialised items
A serial number is the unique identifier of a single unit, traceable from goods receipt to the customer. For each item you define whether serial numbers are managed and when they have to be assigned: on every transaction, that is on receipt and issue, or only on release. As long as there is stock, you cannot change this setting — it only becomes possible once stock is zero in all warehouses and there are no open documents with assigned numbers.
More on this: SAP Business One for wholesale distribution Source: SAP Help: Serial number settings per item See also: Batch Management, Item Master Data
Service Call Logistics and inventory
service call · service order · service ticket
The transaction through which a service case is handled from report to billing. In SAP Business One it is called a service call and is linked to equipment cards, service contracts and warranty. In the Web Client there is a dedicated app for it, which makes on-site entry at the customer possible as standard. For job scheduling and technician dispatching it is still not enough.
More on this: SAP Field Service Management Source: SAP Help: Working with service calls See also: Marketing Document, Business Partner
Service Layer Technology and extensions
B1 Service Layer · SAP Business One Service Layer · OData API
The Service Layer is the REST interface of SAP Business One through which external systems read and write documents, master data and postings. It follows the OData conventions and can be addressed from any platform — unlike the DI API, which requires a Windows installation. For every new integration, from web shop to automation, it is the intended route. Since Feature Package 2405, OData version 4 is the standard; version 3 is deprecated.
More on this: RC.MCP: SAP data for AI systems Source: SAP Help: Using the Service Layer See also: DI API, UI API
Standard Cost Logistics and inventory
standard price · standard costing
Standard cost is a fixed valuation price that does not change with receipts. If the actual purchase price differs, under certain conditions the difference is posted to a variance account that only exists with this method. Common in manufacturing, where calculated costs are to be compared with actual costs; in trade it regularly leads to variance accounts that nobody clears any more.
Source: SAP Help: Defining primary G/L accounts See also: Moving Average, FIFO, Inventory valuation method
Starter Package Licences and users
Starter Package licence · Starter licence · Starter-Paket
The Starter Package is an entry-level package for at most 5 users that cannot be combined with other user licences within one system. Tills running SAP Customer Checkout count towards this limit. Moving to Professional or Limited licences works through dedicated upgrade items: you pay a surcharge per user, not the full price. List price: 1,140 EUR to buy or 38 EUR per month per user. The package makes sense for a small team that will foreseeably stay at no more than five users — not as a budget option for a company that is about to grow.
More on this: SAP Business One implementation Source: SAP Help: Starter Package See also: Professional User licence, Company (company database)
Subscription Licences and users
subscription licence · rental licence · SaaS licence
Subscription means using the software for an ongoing fee instead of buying it. Purchased licences are fixed assets and entail annual maintenance; rented ones are an ongoing expense. The SAP Business One Cloud subscription includes maintenance and the HANA database, but not a Microsoft SQL Server. Which option works out cheaper depends on the price sheet currently in force and on the term; in practice the decision is usually made elsewhere anyway — whether capital should be tied up and how certain the number of users is over the period.
More on this: SAP Business One at a glance See also: Named User, Maintenance
System Landscape Directory Technology and extensions
SLD · SAP Business One SLD · System Landscape Directory service
The System Landscape Directory is the central service that knows which companies, servers and services belong to an installation, and through whose web interface licence administration is also opened. For administrators it is the first port of call for logon problems. Because it can be reached via a web interface, it belongs behind the firewall and not on the open internet.
Source: SAP Help: Installing the primary SLD See also: License Server, Company (company database)
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Tax Code Law and compliance
VAT code · tax code · Steuerkennzeichen
The code that determines the tax rate and G/L account of a line — and at the same time controls how the transaction appears in the Umsatzsteuervoranmeldung (the German advance VAT return). SAP Business One determines it from the business partner, item and document type. Errors often only show up in the advance return, because the amount on the document is correct and only the assignment is wrong.
More on this: Accounting as a Service Source: Section 12 UStG, Steuersätze (German VAT Act, tax rates; German federal law portal, in German) See also: G/L Account, DATEV FI interface
Transaction Notification Technology and extensions
SBO_SP_TransactionNotification · TransactionNotification · TN procedure
The Transaction Notification is a database procedure that SAP Business One calls when business objects are written and that can cancel the operation with an error message. It is the usual way to implement mandatory checks the standard does not know — for example: no sales order without a cost center. On SAP HANA and Microsoft SQL Server it has the same name and differs only in the SQL dialect; since version 10.0 it can be switched on and off per business object. Because it runs with every posting, it is also the most sensitive point for system performance: whatever is slow here slows everything down.
More on this: Validation Guard Source: SAP Administrator's Guide 10.0 (PDF) See also: Formatted Search, UDF
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UDF Technology and extensions
User-Defined Field · user defined field · custom field
A UDF is an additional field on a standard table, such as your own flag on the business partner. SAP Business One creates it with the prefix U_, carries it over during updates and makes it available in queries, user-defined values and layouts. The title determines the column name and cannot be changed later; the description shown on screen, on the other hand, can be changed at any time. A meaningful title from the start therefore saves work.
More on this: Add-on solutions Source: SAP Help: Updating user-defined fields See also: UDT, Formatted Search
UDO Technology and extensions
User-Defined Object · user defined object · custom object
A UDO is the registration of your own table as a full business object. This gives it authorisation control and access via the DI API and Service Layer; numbering series and the change log can be switched on during registration, numbering series however only for objects of type document. The difference from a plain table is considerable: only as a UDO does the extension behave like part of the system rather than a foreign body bolted on.
More on this: Add-on solutions Source: SAP Help: Registering UDOs See also: UDT, Service Layer
UDT Technology and extensions
User-Defined Table · user defined table · custom table
A UDT is your own table for data that has no place in the standard — mapping lists, configurations, small additional master records. It carries the prefix @ and can be queried like any other table; for maintenance, SAP provides a simple standard window. What it lacks without a UDO are numbering series, its own authorisation control, the change log and a form that behaves like a document of the system.
Source: SAP Help: Entering values in user-defined tables See also: UDO, UDF
UI API Technology and extensions
User Interface API · UI-API · Web Client UI API
The UI API is the interface you use to extend the Windows client: your own forms, additional fields, reactions to user actions. It is the basis of classic add-ons and hooks into the running user interface. It does not apply to the Web Client — since Feature Package 2405 there is a separate Web Client UI API, which is only open for released views and controls and whose extensions are distributed via the Extension Manager. So a classic add-on does not automatically run in the browser.
More on this: Add-on solutions Source: SAP Help: User Interface API See also: DI API, Web Client
Umsatzsteuervoranmeldung (advance VAT return) Law and compliance
UStVA · advance VAT return · VAT return Germany
The report of VAT to the tax office in Germany. The rule is quarterly; it becomes monthly if the tax for the previous year was more than 9,000 euros, and if it was no more than 2,000 euros the tax office can exempt you entirely. SAP Business One includes the report in the German localisation; for submission there is a dedicated add-on for ELSTER, or it is done via the tax adviser. The quality of the return depends entirely on the tax codes on the documents.
More on this: Accounting as a Service Sources: Section 18 UStG, Besteuerungsverfahren (German VAT Act, taxation procedure; German federal law portal, in German), SAP Help: Add-on for ELSTER See also: Tax Code, Posting period lock
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