Your Order to Cash - Billing & Invoicing Data Template

The Invoice Number, known as the Billing Document Number in SAP, uniquely identifies each billing transaction. It acts as the central key that links all related activities, from invoice creation and posting to payment receipt and reconciliation.

In process mining, this attribute is essential for case correlation. All events sharing the same Invoice Number are grouped into a single process instance, allowing for a complete, end-to-end analysis of the billing lifecycle for each individual invoice. This enables tracking of cycle times, identifying deviations, and analyzing the journey of each invoice.

It is the fundamental identifier that connects all related billing activities into a single case, making end-to-end process analysis possible.

SAP Table: VBRK, Field: VBELN

The Activity Name describes a specific step or milestone in the billing lifecycle. These activities are derived from various data points in SAP, such as transaction codes, document status changes, or specific log entries, to create a sequential process flow.

Analyzing the sequence and frequency of these activities is the core of process mining. It helps visualize the process map, discover common and rare process variants, identify bottlenecks between steps, and measure the frequency of non-value-added activities like rework or cancellations.

This attribute defines the steps in the process, enabling the visualization of process maps and the analysis of process flow, variations, and bottlenecks.

Derived from various sources including transaction codes (SY-TCODE), change document statuses (tables CDHDR/CDPOS), or business workflow logs (e.g., SWW_WI2OBJ).

Event Time provides the date and time for each activity, forming the chronological backbone of the process. This timestamp is crucial for calculating durations, cycle times, and waiting times between different steps in the billing process.

In analysis, Event Time is used to order activities sequentially, calculate key performance indicators like Days Sales Outstanding and Invoice Generation Cycle Time, and identify time-based bottlenecks. It enables a dynamic view of the process, showing how performance changes over time and how long each stage of the billing cycle takes.

It provides the chronological sequence of events, which is essential for calculating all time-based metrics, such as cycle times and durations.

Extracted from various date and time fields depending on the activity, such as creation date and time (VBRK-ERDAT, VBRK-ERZET), change timestamps (CDHDR-UDATE, CDHDR-UTIME), or posting date (BKPF-BUDAT).

This attribute identifies the legal name of the customer being billed. It is sourced from the central customer master data in SAP.

Analyzing the process by customer allows for the identification of patterns specific to certain accounts. For instance, it can reveal which customers consistently pay late, which ones raise the most disputes, or for whom the billing process is most inefficient. This enables targeted customer relationship management and tailored collection strategies.

It enables customer-centric analysis, helping to identify payment behaviors, dispute frequencies, and process inefficiencies for specific accounts.

Retrieved from customer master data table KNA1 (Field: NAME1), linked via the Payer ID in the invoice header (VBRK-KUNRG).

The End Time marks the completion of an activity. In process mining, this is often inferred as the Start Time of the subsequent activity in the case, or it can be sourced directly if the system logs both start and end events.

This attribute is essential for calculating the Processing Time of individual activities. By subtracting the Start Time from the End Time, one can measure the duration of each step, which is crucial for bottleneck analysis, such as identifying delays in the invoice approval stage.

It enables the calculation of the exact duration (processing time) of each activity, which is fundamental for bottleneck analysis.

This is a derived attribute for process mining. It is typically calculated as the StartTime of the next event in the case sequence. In some scenarios, specific tables might log completion times.

This attribute represents the total monetary value of the goods or services being billed, excluding taxes. It is a fundamental financial data point for each invoice case.

Invoice Amount is used in a wide range of analyses. It allows for the segmentation of the process by value, for example, to see if high-value invoices are processed differently or experience more delays. It is also the basis for financial reporting and for calculating the total value of outstanding receivables.

It quantifies the financial value of each invoice, enabling value-based analysis, prioritization of collections, and financial impact assessment.

SAP Table: VBRK, Field: NETWR

The Invoice Date, also known as the billing date in SAP, serves as the starting point for many financial calculations. It is the date from which payment terms, due dates, and the age of the receivable are determined.

This date is a critical case-level attribute for financial analysis. It is the baseline for calculating the Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) KPI and for creating outstanding invoice aging reports, which are essential tools for managing cash flow and collections.

It is the primary date for financial calculations, acting as the starting point for DSO, payment due dates, and invoice aging analysis.

SAP Table: VBRK, Field: FKDAT

The Payment Due Date is calculated based on the invoice date and the agreed-upon payment terms. It represents the deadline for receiving payment without the invoice becoming overdue.

This attribute is essential for monitoring collections effectiveness and cash flow forecasting. It is used directly in calculating the On-Time Payment Rate KPI and for segmenting invoices in aging reports. Analyzing deviations between the due date and the actual payment date helps evaluate the effectiveness of different payment terms.

It sets the deadline for customer payment, making it crucial for calculating on-time payment rates and managing accounts receivable.

This date is not directly stored but is calculated based on the Invoice Date (VBRK-FKDAT) and the Payment Terms key (VBRK-ZTERM) using SAP's standard date determination functions.

The Region attribute indicates the geographical area, such as a state or province, associated with the customer's address. This data is typically part of the customer master record.

This attribute is key for the Regional Billing Performance dashboard. It allows for benchmarking key metrics like cycle times, error rates, and DSO across different regions. This comparison can highlight regional differences in process execution, compliance, or efficiency, paving the way for targeted improvements and standardization of best practices.

It enables comparison of billing performance across different geographical areas, helping to identify regional disparities and standardize processes.

Retrieved from customer master data table KNA1 (Field: REGIO), linked via the Payer ID in the invoice header (VBRK-KUNRG).

This attribute captures the SAP user ID responsible for a particular event, such as creating an invoice, posting a document, or clearing a payment. It provides a link between process steps and the individuals or teams performing them.

Analyzing by User Name helps identify high-performing individuals, training needs, or workload distribution imbalances. It is also crucial for compliance analysis, showing who performed critical activities, and for understanding variations in how different users execute the same process.

It links process activities to specific users, enabling analysis of workload, performance, and compliance at the individual or team level.

For creation events, this is in VBRK-ERNAM. For subsequent changes, it's found in change history tables like CDHDR-USERNAME or in workflow logs.

The Billing Document Type is a key field that categorizes transactions within the billing process. It controls how the document is processed, including its number range and accounting posting rules.

This attribute allows for filtering the process to analyze specific types of transactions. For example, one could create a separate process view just for credit memos to understand the reasons and process flow for financial corrections, or analyze standard invoices separately from cancellations to get a clearer picture of the primary billing process.

It classifies transactions, enabling focused analysis on specific document flows like standard invoices, credit memos, or cancellations.

SAP Table: VBRK, Field: FKART

The Company Code is a fundamental organizational entity in SAP Financials, representing a legally independent company for which financial statements are created. Each billing document is assigned to a specific company code.

Analyzing by Company Code is essential in multi-company organizations to compare process performance, financial metrics like DSO, and compliance across different legal entities. It provides a high-level organizational filter for all process dashboards.

It allows for process analysis to be segmented by legal entity, enabling performance comparison and financial consolidation across the organization.

SAP Table: VBRK, Field: BUKRS

When an invoice is incorrect and needs to be credited, a reason is typically assigned to the credit memo document. This provides a structured way to categorize the sources of billing errors.

This attribute directly supports the Billing Error Rate KPI. By aggregating and analyzing the reasons for credit memos, a company can identify the most common types of errors, such as pricing mistakes or product returns. This analysis drives process improvements aimed at reducing the need for financial corrections and rework.

It categorizes the reasons for issuing credit, which helps pinpoint the most frequent sources of billing errors and drives quality improvements.

SAP Table: VBRK, Field: AUGRU (Order Reason). This field is used on credit/debit memo requests that are then billed.

This attribute specifies the currency in which the invoice amounts are denominated, such as USD, EUR, or JPY. It provides the necessary context for all monetary values.

In a global organization, currency is essential for correct financial analysis and reporting. It allows for proper aggregation of financial data by converting all amounts to a common reporting currency and enables comparison of billing performance across regions with different local currencies.

It provides essential context for all monetary values, ensuring accurate financial analysis and reporting, especially in multi-national operations.

SAP Table: VBRK, Field: WAERK

When a customer contests an invoice, the reason for the dispute is often recorded. This could be due to pricing errors, incorrect quantities, or damaged goods. This information may be stored in the SAP Dispute Management module or as text notes.

Analyzing dispute reasons is fundamental to the Billing Error Rate KPI and the associated error analysis. It helps identify the root causes of billing inaccuracies, allowing the business to address systemic issues in upstream processes, improve invoice quality, and enhance customer satisfaction.

It explains why invoices are being disputed, providing direct insight into the root causes of billing errors and customer dissatisfaction.

If SAP Dispute Management is used, this information can be found in tables like UDM_DISPUTE. Otherwise, it may be derived from reason codes on related documents or text fields.

This is a calculated attribute that compares the actual payment date with the scheduled payment due date. It resolves to 'true' if the payment was on time and 'false' if it was late.

This flag simplifies the calculation and visualization of the On-Time Payment Rate KPI. It allows for easy filtering and segmentation to analyze the characteristics of invoices that are paid late versus those paid on time. This can help uncover patterns related to specific customers, regions, or payment terms that lead to late payments.

It simplifies performance measurement by clearly flagging each invoice as 'on-time' or 'late,' directly supporting the On-Time Payment Rate KPI.

This is a calculated field. The logic compares the timestamp of the 'Customer Payment Received' activity against the value in the 'PaymentDueDate' attribute.

This attribute records the date and time of the last data pull from the source system. It is a metadata field that is critical for understanding the freshness of the data being analyzed.

This information is used to validate the recency of the analysis and to manage data refresh schedules. It ensures that stakeholders are aware of the data's timeliness when making decisions based on the process mining dashboards and insights.

It indicates the freshness of the data, which is vital for trusting the analysis and understanding its relevance to the current state of operations.

This timestamp is generated and stamped onto each record during the data extraction and loading (ETL) process.

Payment Status provides a snapshot of where an invoice is in the collections lifecycle. This is not a single field in SAP but is derived by checking the clearing status of the corresponding accounting document.

This attribute is essential for the Outstanding Invoice Aging dashboard. It allows for the segmentation of all open invoices by their status and age, helping the collections team prioritize their efforts effectively. Tracking the transitions between statuses is also a way to monitor the collections process itself.

It provides a clear, at-a-glance view of an invoice's collections status, which is vital for managing receivables and prioritizing collection efforts.

Derived by checking the clearing status of the accounting document (VBRK-BELNR) in financial tables like BSID (open items) and BSAD (cleared items).

Payment Terms are predefined conditions agreed upon with a customer that dictate when an invoice payment is due. Examples include 'Net 30' (payment due in 30 days) or '2/10 Net 30' (a 2% discount if paid in 10 days, otherwise due in 30 days).

Analyzing by payment terms helps assess their effectiveness. By correlating different payment terms with the actual time taken to receive payment, a business can determine which terms are most successful in encouraging prompt payment and optimize its terms to improve cash flow.

It defines the agreed payment schedule, allowing for analysis of which terms are most effective at ensuring timely payment from customers.

SAP Table: VBRK, Field: ZTERM

Processing Time measures the time spent actively working on a task, as opposed to waiting time between tasks. It is calculated as the difference between the End Time and Start Time of an activity.

This calculated metric is a cornerstone of performance analysis. It is used in dashboards like the Invoice Approval Bottleneck Analysis to quantify how long specific steps take. High processing times for certain activities can indicate inefficiencies, complexity, or a need for automation.

It measures the active duration of process steps, helping to identify inefficient activities that are prime candidates for optimization or automation.

Calculated metric, derived by subtracting the 'StartTime' from the 'EndTime' during the data transformation process.

The Sales Order Number links the billing document back to the preceding sales activities. A single sales order can result in one or more invoices, and this link provides the complete document flow.

This attribute is critical for a true end-to-end Order-to-Cash analysis. It allows the process view to be extended upstream, connecting billing issues with their potential root causes in the sales order creation or fulfillment phases. For instance, it helps calculate the overall Invoice Generation Cycle Time starting from when the order was fulfilled.

It links the invoice to the original sales order, enabling a broader, end-to-end view of the Order-to-Cash process beyond just billing.

SAP Table: VBRP (Billing Document Item Data), Field: AUBEL

This attribute specifies the origin of the data, which is particularly useful in environments with multiple SAP instances or other integrated systems. It typically includes the system ID and client number.

In analysis, it helps differentiate processes and performance across different systems or organizational entities. It ensures data lineage and provides context, especially when data from multiple sources is combined for a holistic process view.

It provides crucial context about the data's origin, ensuring clarity in multi-system environments and supporting data governance.

This is typically a static value defined during data extraction, often combining the system ID (SY-SYSID) and client (SY-MANDT).