How to carry forward any open documents in a new SAP B1 Implementation

[rajesh_khater]

Hi,

I want to know what are the best practices to record any open documents during a fresh SAP B1 implementation.

The client has an existing running business and may be implementing SAP B1 at the start of the financial year or during the middle of the financial year.

How do I enter the open documents as on the go-live date; documents like open Purchase Orders, open Sales Orders, open GRPO, open Deliveries, etc.

What are the multiple approaches / alternatives to evaluate and what are the best practices?

Note: I am not talking merely about the GL or Inventory Opening Balances, but the entire set of open documents!

Thanks.

[former_member217514 · Accepted solution]

I have always created Service Type documents for my open documents. 

My opening process is:

1. Goods Receipt for Opening Inventory (Quantity and G/L). 

     - This can be done through the Inventory Count as well

2. Service Type documents for Open A/R Invoice, A/P Invoice, GRPO, and Delivery. 

     - Basically any document that creates a journal entry should be posted as a Service Type document.

     - This takes care of all of your Accounts receivables and Payables.

     - The Line Item Description I add the parts and description so that they can be identified.

3. Open Purchase Orders and Sales Orders are the only documents I place as Item Type documents so they can still go through pick and pack.

4. Then perform opening balance on any other accounts

5. Adjustments through journal entries.

[rajesh_khater · Accepted solution]

Hi Jeff,

A few clarifications needed:

1. If the client wants to go live on SAP B1 from 1-Sep-2014, and some of the open documents are dated Jan 2014 or in Oct 2013, then do I create the documents in the previous financial year?

2. In a particular PO, if partial items have been received, then should I create PO for the full items and GRPO for the items received, or should I create PO for the balance items only?

3. Similarly, for any open A/R invoice, if I want to facilitate ageing analysis, should I create the full original A/R invoice on the original date and the Incoming Payment for whatever partial amount received, or should I just create a Service Type A/R Invoice with only the balance due amount? What should be the date of this document - the SAP go-live date or the actual document date?

4. For Service Type Documents, you mentioned "The Line Item Description I add the parts and description so that they can be identified" - do you mean that you type the item name in the Description field for identification? If so, and if the A/R invoice is partially paid, then which item descriptions will you enter?

5. Any advantage of entering opening Inventory through Goods Receipt Vs. Inventory Count?

Thanks.

[former_member217514 · Accepted solution]

1. When it comes to documents that post to the G/L you want those posted the day you go live as this is part of your opening balance.  This would be for you A/R and A/P Invoices.  Just make sure the Due Dates are correct and the G/L account is your Opening Balance account.  Why?  So you can run a trial balance for that day.  So in your case I would either do 1-SEP-2014 or 31-Aug-2014.  Again I prefer to enter them in as the day before go live so that I can easily run a Trial Balance on my opening transactions.  I have yet to have the opening balance balance out on these imports.

2.  I would go with the open items on the PO.  Why?  Less work and still accomplishes the need for open items.  In all cases add the original document # from the legacy system in the remarks so you can always find the original.

3. Once again, I would go with only the open balance.  Why?  It is less work and you can always record any audit remarks in the remarks section of the document.  Remember the goal is to import your opening balance.  You do not want to step into historical data, it is not easy and takes a long time.  So unless the customer is paying for it, this can become a money loser.  If analysis is need on historical data, then they have their legacy system to look at.

4.  The whole reason for the Service Type invoices is purely for the opening balance of the Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable opening balances.  The document total should be the total for the amount that is owed as this is your opening balance for the A/R and A/P accounts along with the customers and vendors sub ledger.

5. Yes.  It can be done through the DTW.  I haven't tried the new features on the Inventory Counting, but I believe they have added an import feature.  Either way should work as long as you get the inventory in the correct places and the inventory accounts to the correct value. 

Remember, opening balances are meant to be the values of the legacy system as a snapshot in time.  This means that inventory is correct and in the correct place and most importantly the accounts are correct.  The reason for the Opening Balance account is as an offset account to the journal entries you create for importing these opening documents.  In the end, the Opening Balance account should be 0 if the legacy system is balance.

[rajesh_khater · Accepted solution]

Thanks Jeff.

1. Going by your suggestion of entering the document on 31-Aug, if an A/R invoice is dated 1-Nov-2013 and it was due on 15-Jul-2014 but unpaid till the go live date 1-Sep-2014,

then the Posting Date should be 31-Aug-2014

Document Date should be 1-Nov-2013

and Due Date should be 15-Jul-2014.

Please confirm if I understood it right.

2. If I create a PO for only the open items, and the PO has some Freight Costs, then should I manually apportion such costs while entering the PO for only the Open Items?

3. In your very first response, you mentioned "The Line Item Description I add the parts and description so that they can be identified" - Please elaborate on this, since you told that you will be entering the Service Type Invoice only for the opening balance. Then what do you mean by Line Item Description and "parts"?

[rajesh_khater · Accepted solution]

Hi Jeff,

Can you reply to Points 2 and 3 in my reply above, and confirm whether my understanding in Point 1 is correct?

Thanks.

[former_member217514 · Accepted solution]

Sorry.  Was in the middle of a GO LIVE and Support.

1. Correct.  You will have to make sure you set your allowed document dates for the posting period to include the document date and due dates.

2. You will need to use the additional expenses for each line.  It is another DTW template for the lines.  You also have the option of importing all of the lines and using the line status to close the line.

3.  The description can be anything.  I just like to make it meaningful so when the user looks back at the invoice in the future, they know what it was for.  Business One will all zero description, the description is purely for what can I do to help the customer.

[KennedyT21]

Hi Rajesh..

I also go with the Jeff answer  which is accepted by the audit team also for the data migrations ..

Regards

Kennedy

[rajesh_khater]

Hi Jeff, Kennedy and Gordon,

Please reply to my followup question to Jeff's reply.

Is there any document which says this is accepted by the audit team? If yes, please share the link. It will be really helpful.

Thanks.

[KennedyT21]

Hi Rajesh..

I dont think there is a document for it , but as a consultant you can explain to the audit team the pros and corns to them regarding the mid year implementation..

Regards

Kennedy

[rajesh_khater]

Ok. Please reply to my followup questions.

[KennedyT21]

If you have got answer close the thread with the Correct or helpful answer..

Rgds,

Kennedy

[rajesh_khater]

Hi Kennedy,

I will wait for Jeff's final reply. If you have any responses to my queries to Jeff, please do respond.

Thanks.

[Former Member]

Hi,

Jeff's methods are preferred way to add those open documents.

You may not have many options for these task though. Let us know what is your plan/concern. Then it would be easier for us to answer.

Thanks,

Gordon

[kothandaraman_nagarajan]

Hi,

1. You can import open documents by using Data transfer work bench (DTW).

2.  Check this link for DTW guide for reference. For latest guide, refer Help file from your installed DTW

http://www.dei.isep.ipp.pt/~jmendes/SINFI-2005/SAPB1_Documentation/_Material/Exercices/02_Introducti...

3. Refer this link:

SAP Business One – How to Import AR Invoices, and then Import Applied Cash Receipts | Clie...

4. There are lot of discussion for importing open documents in this forum. Please search and refer

Thanks & Regards,

Nagarajan

[rajesh_khater]

Thanks. I will go through the links and revert