If you are selling a product or a service, e-commerce might be a smart way to do business.
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Internet E-Commerce
E-Commerce is about selling products or services over the Internet.
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E-Commerce Systems
It is not a very good idea to build your own e-commerce system. Building an e-commerce system is a complicated process, with the potential for a lot of errors.
You might buy a ready-to-use system and run it on your own server. Many systems are available on the market today, and most of them will cover your basic needs for order management and processing. But again, if you are not familiar with hosting your own web site, starting with an e-commerce site is not the right thing.
The best solution, in our opinion, is to find an ISP that offers an e-commerce solution.
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E-Commerce and Hosting Providers
E-commerce covers a huge range of products. With different ISPs you will find anything from very simple to very complex solutions.
Most ISPs offer a simple and inexpensive solution, that allow you to run a "virtual store".
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Your Checklist
How does it handle customers?
How does it handle product catalogs?
How does it handle orders?
How does it handle inventory?
How does it handle back orders?
How does it handle shipment?
How does it handle accounts?
How does it handle billing?
How does it handle payment?
How does it handle foreign currency?
How does it handle credit cards?
How does it handle taxes?
How does it handle security?
How does it handle integrity (encryption)?
Also check if the most time-consuming tasks are automated. Look for automated billing, invoice handling, accounting, and report generation.
Before you sign up with an ISP, surf some other e-commerce sites on their servers. Find out how it works. Try some shopping, and see if you get a good feeling. Also compare the other sites against yours, to see if it looks like you have the same needs. Contacting some of the other customers is also a valuable option.
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Tax Issues
Taxes is a complex issue for on-line stores. Especially VAT (Value Added Tax).
If you are selling on-line, you will most likely be in the export business.
Exporting goods may not be the subject of VAT in your country, but often your customers will have to pay their local VAT when they pick up the goods.
In addition, there will be the issue of income tax for your shop, depending on how you report your income from sales.
Before starting an on-line store, be sure to consult a tax adviser.
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Thursday, July 16, 2009
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Web Hosting Types
Hosting can be FREE, SHARED or DEDICATED.
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Free Hosting
Some ISPs offer free web hosting.
Free web hosting is best suited for small sites with low traffic, like personal sites. It is not recommended for high traffic or for real business. Technical support is often limited, and technical options are few.
Very often you cannot use your own domain name at a free site. You have to use a name provided by your host like http://www.freesite.com/users/~yoursite.htm. This is hard to type, hard to remember, and not very professional.
Good:
Low cost. It's free.
Good for family, hobby or personal sites.
Free email is often an option.
Bad:
No domain names.
Few, limited, or no software options.
Limited security options.
Limited or no database support.
Limited technical support.
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Shared (Virtual) Hosting
Shared hosting is very cost effective.
With shared hosting, your web site gets its own domain name, and is hosted on a powerful server along with maybe 100 other web sites.
Shared solutions often offer multiple software solutions like e-mail, database, and different editing options. Technical support tends to be good.
Good:
Low cost. Cost is shared with others.
Good for small business and average traffic.
Multiple software options.
Own domain name.
Good support
Bad:
Reduced security due to many sites on one server.
Restricted software support.
Restricted database support.
Restrictions on traffic volume.
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Dedicated Hosting
With dedicated hosting, your web site is hosted on a dedicated server.
Dedicated hosting is the most expensive option. This option is best suited for large web sites with high traffic, and web sites that use special software.
You should expect dedicated hosting to be very powerful and secure, with almost unlimited software solutions.
Good:
Good for large business.
Good for high traffic.
Multiple domain names.
Powerful email solutions.
Powerful database support.
Strong (unlimited) software support.
Bad:
Expensive.
Requires higher skills.
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Collocated Hosting
Collocation means "co-location". Collocated hosting lets you place your own web server on the premises (locations) of a service provider.
This is pretty much the same as running your own server in your own office, only that it is located at a place better designed for it.
Most likely an ISP will have dedicated resources like high-security against fire and vandalism, regulated backup power, dedicated Internet connections and more.
Good:
High bandwidth.
High up-time.
High security.
Unlimited software options.
Bad:
Expensive.
Requires higher skills.
Harder to configure and debug.
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Your Checklist
Before you choose your web host, make sure that:
The hosting type suits your needs
The hosting type is cost effective
Upgrading to a better server is possible
If needed, upgrading to a dedicated server is possible
Before you sign up with an ISP, surf some other web sites on their servers, and try to get a good feeling about their network speed. Also compare the other sites against yours, to see if it looks like you have the same needs. Contacting some of the other customers is also a valuable option.
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Example: eUKhost
eUKhost is a leading web hosting company in the United Kingdom.
eUKhost offers services including:
Shared Hosting
Reseller Hosting
VPS Hosting
Dedicated Servers
24/7/365 Support
on Linux and Windows platforms, powered by control panels such as cPanel/WHM, Plesk and DotNetPanel.
An account can be setup within a few minutes.
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Free Hosting
Some ISPs offer free web hosting.
Free web hosting is best suited for small sites with low traffic, like personal sites. It is not recommended for high traffic or for real business. Technical support is often limited, and technical options are few.
Very often you cannot use your own domain name at a free site. You have to use a name provided by your host like http://www.freesite.com/users/~yoursite.htm. This is hard to type, hard to remember, and not very professional.
Good:
Low cost. It's free.
Good for family, hobby or personal sites.
Free email is often an option.
Bad:
No domain names.
Few, limited, or no software options.
Limited security options.
Limited or no database support.
Limited technical support.
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Shared (Virtual) Hosting
Shared hosting is very cost effective.
With shared hosting, your web site gets its own domain name, and is hosted on a powerful server along with maybe 100 other web sites.
Shared solutions often offer multiple software solutions like e-mail, database, and different editing options. Technical support tends to be good.
Good:
Low cost. Cost is shared with others.
Good for small business and average traffic.
Multiple software options.
Own domain name.
Good support
Bad:
Reduced security due to many sites on one server.
Restricted software support.
Restricted database support.
Restrictions on traffic volume.
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Dedicated Hosting
With dedicated hosting, your web site is hosted on a dedicated server.
Dedicated hosting is the most expensive option. This option is best suited for large web sites with high traffic, and web sites that use special software.
You should expect dedicated hosting to be very powerful and secure, with almost unlimited software solutions.
Good:
Good for large business.
Good for high traffic.
Multiple domain names.
Powerful email solutions.
Powerful database support.
Strong (unlimited) software support.
Bad:
Expensive.
Requires higher skills.
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Collocated Hosting
Collocation means "co-location". Collocated hosting lets you place your own web server on the premises (locations) of a service provider.
This is pretty much the same as running your own server in your own office, only that it is located at a place better designed for it.
Most likely an ISP will have dedicated resources like high-security against fire and vandalism, regulated backup power, dedicated Internet connections and more.
Good:
High bandwidth.
High up-time.
High security.
Unlimited software options.
Bad:
Expensive.
Requires higher skills.
Harder to configure and debug.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Your Checklist
Before you choose your web host, make sure that:
The hosting type suits your needs
The hosting type is cost effective
Upgrading to a better server is possible
If needed, upgrading to a dedicated server is possible
Before you sign up with an ISP, surf some other web sites on their servers, and try to get a good feeling about their network speed. Also compare the other sites against yours, to see if it looks like you have the same needs. Contacting some of the other customers is also a valuable option.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Example: eUKhost
eUKhost is a leading web hosting company in the United Kingdom.
eUKhost offers services including:
Shared Hosting
Reseller Hosting
VPS Hosting
Dedicated Servers
24/7/365 Support
on Linux and Windows platforms, powered by control panels such as cPanel/WHM, Plesk and DotNetPanel.
An account can be setup within a few minutes.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Web Hosting Database Technologies
MS SQL Server or Oracle for high traffic database-driven web sites.
MySQL for low-cost database-access.
MS Access for low traffic web sites.
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Web Databases
If your web site needs to update large quantities of information via the web, you will need a database to store your information.
There are many different database systems available for web hosting. The most common are MySQL, SQL Server, Oracle, and MS Access.
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Using the SQL Language
SQL is the language for accessing databases.
If you want your web site to be able to store and retrieve data from a database, your web server should have access to a database-system that uses the SQL language.
If you want to learn more about SQL, please visit our SQL tutorial.
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SQL Server
Microsoft's SQL Server is a popular database software for database-driven web sites with high traffic.
SQL Server is a very powerful, robust and full featured SQL database system.
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Oracle
Oracle is also a popular database software for database-driven web sites with high traffic.
Oracle is a very powerful, robust and full featured SQL database system.
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MySQL
MySQL is also a popular database software for web sites.
MySQL is a very powerful, robust and full featured SQL database system.
MySQL is an inexpensive alternative to the expensive Microsoft and Oracle solutions.
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Access
When a web site requires only a simple database, Microsoft Access can be a solution.
Access is not well suited for very high-traffic, and not as powerful as MySQL, SQL Server, or Oracle.
MySQL for low-cost database-access.
MS Access for low traffic web sites.
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Web Databases
If your web site needs to update large quantities of information via the web, you will need a database to store your information.
There are many different database systems available for web hosting. The most common are MySQL, SQL Server, Oracle, and MS Access.
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Using the SQL Language
SQL is the language for accessing databases.
If you want your web site to be able to store and retrieve data from a database, your web server should have access to a database-system that uses the SQL language.
If you want to learn more about SQL, please visit our SQL tutorial.
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SQL Server
Microsoft's SQL Server is a popular database software for database-driven web sites with high traffic.
SQL Server is a very powerful, robust and full featured SQL database system.
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Oracle
Oracle is also a popular database software for database-driven web sites with high traffic.
Oracle is a very powerful, robust and full featured SQL database system.
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MySQL
MySQL is also a popular database software for web sites.
MySQL is a very powerful, robust and full featured SQL database system.
MySQL is an inexpensive alternative to the expensive Microsoft and Oracle solutions.
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Access
When a web site requires only a simple database, Microsoft Access can be a solution.
Access is not well suited for very high-traffic, and not as powerful as MySQL, SQL Server, or Oracle.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Web Hosting Technologies
This section describes some of the most common hosting technologies.
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Windows Hosting
Windows hosting means hosting of web services that runs on the Windows operating system.
You should choose Windows hosting if you plan to use ASP (Active Server Pages) as server scripting, or if you plan to use a database like Microsoft Access or Microsoft SQL Server. Windows hosting is also the best choice if you plan to develop your web site using Microsoft Front Page.
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Unix Hosting
Unix hosting means hosting of web services that runs on the Unix operating system.
Unix was the first (original) web server operating system, and it is known for being reliable and stable. Often less expensive than Windows.
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Linux Hosting
Linux hosting means hosting of web services that runs on the Linux operating system.
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CGI
CGI scripts are executables that will execute on the server to produce dynamic and interactive web pages.
Most ISPs offer some kind of CGI capabilities. ISPs often offer preinstalled, ready to run, guest-books, page-counters, and chat-forums solutions in CGI.
CGI is most common on Unix or Linux servers.
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ASP - Active Server Pages
ASP is a server-side scripting technology developed by Microsoft.
With ASP you can create dynamic web pages by putting script code inside your HTML pages. The code is executed by the web server before the page is returned to the browser. Both VBScript and JavaScript can be used.
ASP is a standard component in Windows 95,98, 2000, and XP. It can be activated on all computers running Windows.
If you want to learn more about ASP, please visit our ASP tutorial.
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PHP
PHP is the widely-used, free, and efficient alternative to competitors such as Microsoft's ASP.
PHP is perfectly suited for Web development, and can be embedded directly into the HTML code.
The PHP syntax is very similar to Perl and C.
PHP is often used together with Apache (web server) on various operating systems. It also supports ISAPI and can be used with Microsoft's IIS on Windows.
PHP supports many databases, such as MySQL, Informix, Oracle, Sybase, Solid, PostgreSQL, Generic ODBC, etc.
If you want to learn more about PHP, please visit our PHP tutorial.
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JSP
JSP is a server-side technology much like ASP, developed by Sun.
With JSP you can create dynamic web pages by putting Java code inside your HTML pages. The code is executed by the web server before the page is returned to the browser.
Since JSP uses Java, the technology is not restricted to any server-specific platform.
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Cold Fusion
Cold Fusion is another server-side scripting language used to develop dynamic web pages.
Cold Fusion is developed by Macromedia.
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Chili!Soft ASP
Microsoft's ASP technology runs only on Windows platforms.
However, Chili!Soft ASP is a software product that allows ASP to run on UNIX and some other platforms.
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Microsoft FrontPage
FrontPage is a website design tool developed by Microsoft.
FrontPage allows users to develop a web site without any deep knowledge of web development.
Most Windows hosting solutions support FrontPage server extensions for users that use FrontPage to develop their web site.
If you plan to use FrontPage, you should look for a Windows hosting solution.
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Adobe Dreamweaver
Dreamweaver is a website design tool owned by Adobe Systems.
Dreamweaver allow users to develop a web site without any deep knowledge of web development.
Dreamweaver has support for web technologies such as CSS, JavaScript, ASP.NET, ColdFusion, JavaServer Pages, and PHP.
Dreamweaver is available for both Mac and Windows operating systems.
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Secure Server
A secure server can transmit data encrypted.
If you plan to do online creditcard transactions, or other types of web communication that needs to be protected against unauthorized access, your ISP must provide a secure server.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Windows Hosting
Windows hosting means hosting of web services that runs on the Windows operating system.
You should choose Windows hosting if you plan to use ASP (Active Server Pages) as server scripting, or if you plan to use a database like Microsoft Access or Microsoft SQL Server. Windows hosting is also the best choice if you plan to develop your web site using Microsoft Front Page.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unix Hosting
Unix hosting means hosting of web services that runs on the Unix operating system.
Unix was the first (original) web server operating system, and it is known for being reliable and stable. Often less expensive than Windows.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Linux Hosting
Linux hosting means hosting of web services that runs on the Linux operating system.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CGI
CGI scripts are executables that will execute on the server to produce dynamic and interactive web pages.
Most ISPs offer some kind of CGI capabilities. ISPs often offer preinstalled, ready to run, guest-books, page-counters, and chat-forums solutions in CGI.
CGI is most common on Unix or Linux servers.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASP - Active Server Pages
ASP is a server-side scripting technology developed by Microsoft.
With ASP you can create dynamic web pages by putting script code inside your HTML pages. The code is executed by the web server before the page is returned to the browser. Both VBScript and JavaScript can be used.
ASP is a standard component in Windows 95,98, 2000, and XP. It can be activated on all computers running Windows.
If you want to learn more about ASP, please visit our ASP tutorial.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PHP
PHP is the widely-used, free, and efficient alternative to competitors such as Microsoft's ASP.
PHP is perfectly suited for Web development, and can be embedded directly into the HTML code.
The PHP syntax is very similar to Perl and C.
PHP is often used together with Apache (web server) on various operating systems. It also supports ISAPI and can be used with Microsoft's IIS on Windows.
PHP supports many databases, such as MySQL, Informix, Oracle, Sybase, Solid, PostgreSQL, Generic ODBC, etc.
If you want to learn more about PHP, please visit our PHP tutorial.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JSP
JSP is a server-side technology much like ASP, developed by Sun.
With JSP you can create dynamic web pages by putting Java code inside your HTML pages. The code is executed by the web server before the page is returned to the browser.
Since JSP uses Java, the technology is not restricted to any server-specific platform.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cold Fusion
Cold Fusion is another server-side scripting language used to develop dynamic web pages.
Cold Fusion is developed by Macromedia.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chili!Soft ASP
Microsoft's ASP technology runs only on Windows platforms.
However, Chili!Soft ASP is a software product that allows ASP to run on UNIX and some other platforms.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Microsoft FrontPage
FrontPage is a website design tool developed by Microsoft.
FrontPage allows users to develop a web site without any deep knowledge of web development.
Most Windows hosting solutions support FrontPage server extensions for users that use FrontPage to develop their web site.
If you plan to use FrontPage, you should look for a Windows hosting solution.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adobe Dreamweaver
Dreamweaver is a website design tool owned by Adobe Systems.
Dreamweaver allow users to develop a web site without any deep knowledge of web development.
Dreamweaver has support for web technologies such as CSS, JavaScript, ASP.NET, ColdFusion, JavaServer Pages, and PHP.
Dreamweaver is available for both Mac and Windows operating systems.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Secure Server
A secure server can transmit data encrypted.
If you plan to do online creditcard transactions, or other types of web communication that needs to be protected against unauthorized access, your ISP must provide a secure server.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Web Hosting E-mail Services
Hosting services should include e-mail accounts and e-mail services.
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E-mail Accounts
Hosting solutions should include e-mail accounts for each person in your company.
E-mail addresses should appear something like this:
john@mycompany.com
john.doe@mycompany.com
jdoe@mycompany.com
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POP E-mail
POP stands for Post Office Protocol. POP is a standard client/server protocol for sending and receiving e-mail.
The e-mails are received and held on your internet server until you pick it up with a client e-mail program, like Microsoft Outlook or Mozilla Thunderbird.
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IMAP Email
IMAP stands for Internet Message Access Protocol. IMAP is another standard protocol for sending and receiving e-mail.
The e-mails are received, and held on your internet server, until you pick it up with a client e-mail program, like Microsoft Outlook or Mozilla Thunderbird.
IMAP represents an improvement over POP because e-mail stored on an IMAP server can be manipulated from several computers (a computer at home, a workstation at the office, etc.), without having to transfer messages back and forth between computers. POP was designed to support e-mail access on one single computer.
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Web-based E-mail
Web-based e-mail services enable you to access your e-mail via a web browser. You log into your e-mail account via the Web to send and retrieve e-mail. Being able to access your e-mail from any browser anywhere in the world is a very attractive option.
Examples of web-based e-mail services are Gmail and Hotmail.
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E-mail Forwarding
E-mail forwarding allows you to have multiple e-mail personalities.
With e-mail forwarding, you can setup aliases for other e-mail accounts like:
postmaster@mycompany.com should be forwarded to peter@mycompany.com
sales@mycompany.com should be forwarded to mary@mycompany.com
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Mailing Lists
Some service providers offer mailing list capabilities. This is valuable if you plan to send out e-mails to a large number of users.
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E-mail Accounts
Hosting solutions should include e-mail accounts for each person in your company.
E-mail addresses should appear something like this:
john@mycompany.com
john.doe@mycompany.com
jdoe@mycompany.com
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POP E-mail
POP stands for Post Office Protocol. POP is a standard client/server protocol for sending and receiving e-mail.
The e-mails are received and held on your internet server until you pick it up with a client e-mail program, like Microsoft Outlook or Mozilla Thunderbird.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IMAP Email
IMAP stands for Internet Message Access Protocol. IMAP is another standard protocol for sending and receiving e-mail.
The e-mails are received, and held on your internet server, until you pick it up with a client e-mail program, like Microsoft Outlook or Mozilla Thunderbird.
IMAP represents an improvement over POP because e-mail stored on an IMAP server can be manipulated from several computers (a computer at home, a workstation at the office, etc.), without having to transfer messages back and forth between computers. POP was designed to support e-mail access on one single computer.
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Web-based E-mail
Web-based e-mail services enable you to access your e-mail via a web browser. You log into your e-mail account via the Web to send and retrieve e-mail. Being able to access your e-mail from any browser anywhere in the world is a very attractive option.
Examples of web-based e-mail services are Gmail and Hotmail.
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E-mail Forwarding
E-mail forwarding allows you to have multiple e-mail personalities.
With e-mail forwarding, you can setup aliases for other e-mail accounts like:
postmaster@mycompany.com should be forwarded to peter@mycompany.com
sales@mycompany.com should be forwarded to mary@mycompany.com
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Mailing Lists
Some service providers offer mailing list capabilities. This is valuable if you plan to send out e-mails to a large number of users.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Web Hosting Capacities
Make sure you get the disk space and the traffic volume you need.
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How Much Disk Space?
A small or medium web site will need between 10 and 100MB of disk space.
If you look at the size of HTML pages, you will see that the average size is very small. But if you look at the size of the images used inside these pages, you will often find the images larger than the page.
Expect each HTML page to take up between 5 and 50KB of disk space on your web server, depending on the use of images or other space-consuming elements.
If you use a lot of images or graphic elements (or sound files or movies), you might need much more disk space.
Make sure you know your needs, before choosing a web host.
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Monthly Traffic
A small or medium web site will consume between 1GB and 5GB of data transfer per month.
Calculate the following: average page size * expected page views per month
Example: If your average page size is 30KB and you expect 50,000 page views per month, you will need 0.03MB * 50,000 = 1.5GB.
Larger, commercial sites often consume more than 100GB of monthly traffic.
Before you sign up with a host provider, make sure to check this:
What are the restrictions on monthly transfer?
Will the web site be closed if it exceeds the volume?
Will you be billed a fortune if the web site exceeds the volume?
Is upgrading a simple task?
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Connection Speed
In the early days of the Internet a T1 connection was considered a fast connection. Today connection speeds are much faster.
1 byte equals to 8 bits (and that's the number of bits used to transport one character). Low-speed modems can transport from about 14 000 to 56 000 bits per second (14 to 56 kilobits per second). That is somewhere between 2000 and 7000 characters per second, or about 1 to 5 pages of written text.
One kilobit (Kb) is 1024 bits. One megabit (Mb) is 1024 kilobits. One gigabit (Gb) is 1024 megabits.
These are connection speeds used on the Internet today:
Name Connection Speed per second
Modem Analog 14.4-56Kb
D0 Digital (ISDN) 64Kb
T1 Digital 1.55Mb
T3 Digital 43Mb
OC-1 Optical Carrier 52Mb
OC-3 Optical Carrier 156Mb
OC-12 Optical Carrier 622Mb
OC-24 Optical Carrier 1.244Gb
OC-48 Optical Carrier 2.488Gb
Before you sign up with a host provider, surf some other web sites on their servers, and try to get a good feeling about their network speed. Also compare the other sites against yours, to see if it looks like you have the same needs. Contacting some of the other customers is also a valuable option.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How Much Disk Space?
A small or medium web site will need between 10 and 100MB of disk space.
If you look at the size of HTML pages, you will see that the average size is very small. But if you look at the size of the images used inside these pages, you will often find the images larger than the page.
Expect each HTML page to take up between 5 and 50KB of disk space on your web server, depending on the use of images or other space-consuming elements.
If you use a lot of images or graphic elements (or sound files or movies), you might need much more disk space.
Make sure you know your needs, before choosing a web host.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monthly Traffic
A small or medium web site will consume between 1GB and 5GB of data transfer per month.
Calculate the following: average page size * expected page views per month
Example: If your average page size is 30KB and you expect 50,000 page views per month, you will need 0.03MB * 50,000 = 1.5GB.
Larger, commercial sites often consume more than 100GB of monthly traffic.
Before you sign up with a host provider, make sure to check this:
What are the restrictions on monthly transfer?
Will the web site be closed if it exceeds the volume?
Will you be billed a fortune if the web site exceeds the volume?
Is upgrading a simple task?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Connection Speed
In the early days of the Internet a T1 connection was considered a fast connection. Today connection speeds are much faster.
1 byte equals to 8 bits (and that's the number of bits used to transport one character). Low-speed modems can transport from about 14 000 to 56 000 bits per second (14 to 56 kilobits per second). That is somewhere between 2000 and 7000 characters per second, or about 1 to 5 pages of written text.
One kilobit (Kb) is 1024 bits. One megabit (Mb) is 1024 kilobits. One gigabit (Gb) is 1024 megabits.
These are connection speeds used on the Internet today:
Name Connection Speed per second
Modem Analog 14.4-56Kb
D0 Digital (ISDN) 64Kb
T1 Digital 1.55Mb
T3 Digital 43Mb
OC-1 Optical Carrier 52Mb
OC-3 Optical Carrier 156Mb
OC-12 Optical Carrier 622Mb
OC-24 Optical Carrier 1.244Gb
OC-48 Optical Carrier 2.488Gb
Before you sign up with a host provider, surf some other web sites on their servers, and try to get a good feeling about their network speed. Also compare the other sites against yours, to see if it looks like you have the same needs. Contacting some of the other customers is also a valuable option.
Web Hosting Domain Names
A domain name is a unique name for your web site.
Choosing a hosting solution should include domain name registration.
Your domain name should be easy to remember and easy to type.
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What is a Domain Name?
A domain name is a unique name for a web site, like w3schools.com.
Domain names must be registered. When domain names are registered, they are added to a large domain name register. In addition, information about the web site, including the IP address, is stored on a DNS server.
DNS stands for Domain Name System. A DNS server is responsible for informing all other computers on the Internet about the domain name and the web site address.
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Registering a Domain
Domains can be registered from domain name registration companies.
These companies provide interfaces to search for available domain names, and they offer a variety of domain name extensions that can be registered at the same time.
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Choosing a Domain Name
Choosing a domain name is a major step for any individual or organization.
New domain name extensions and creative thinking still offer thousands of excellent domain names!
When choosing a name, it is important to consider the purpose of a domain name, which is to provide an easy way to reach your web site.
The best domains have the following characteristics:
Short - People don't like to type! A short domain name is easier to type, read, and remember.
Meaningful - A short domain is nothing without meaning, 34i4nh.com is not easy to enter or to remember. Select a domain that relates to your site in a way that people will understand.
Clear - Clarity is important when selecting a domain name. Avoid a name that is difficult to spell or pronounce.
Exposure - Names that are short and easy to remember are an asset. In addition to visitors, also consider search engines. Search engines index your site and rank it for relevance against terms people search for. In order to maximize your sites exposure, consider including a relevant search term in your domain. Of course, only consider this if it still maintains a short, clear and meaningful domain name.
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Sub Domains
Most people are unaware that they use sub domains daily. The famous "www" of the World Wide Web is an example of a sub domain. Sub domains can be created on a DNS server, and they don't need to be registered with a domain name registrar, of course, the original domain name needs to be registered before a sub domain could be created.
Examples of sub domains used on the internet are http://store.apple.com and http://support.microsoft.com.
Sub domains can be requested from your web hosting provider.
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False Domain Names - Directory Listings
Some providers will offer you a name under their own name, like: www.theircompany.com/yourcompany/
This is not a real domain name, it is a directory - and you should try to avoid it.
Directory domains are not desirable, especially for companies.
Typically, directory domains are used for personal web sites and free web sites provided by an ISP, you may have seen www.theircompany.com/~username as an address.
Competition in domain name registration has resulted in a dramatic decrease in pricing, so domain sharing is not common, since it is possible to register a domain name for only $15 per year.
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Expired Domains
Another source for domain registrations is expired domains.
When you register a domain, think of it as a rental, assuming there are no legal or trademark issues with the domain name, you are free to use it as long as you continue to pay the yearly fee (you can now register in advance as many as 10 years). Some people register domains as speculators, hoping that they can later sell them, while others may have planned to use a domain and never had the time. The result is that domains that were previously registered, become available again.
You can see, and search through a list of recently expired domains for free at http://www.dotdnr.com. If you wish to register an expired domain, you pay the same fee as for a new registration.
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Use Your Domain Name
After you have chosen and registered your own domain name, make sure you use it on all your web pages, and on all your correspondence, like e-mail and traditional mail.
It is important to let other people be aware of your domain name, and to inform your partners and customers about your web site.
Choosing a hosting solution should include domain name registration.
Your domain name should be easy to remember and easy to type.
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What is a Domain Name?
A domain name is a unique name for a web site, like w3schools.com.
Domain names must be registered. When domain names are registered, they are added to a large domain name register. In addition, information about the web site, including the IP address, is stored on a DNS server.
DNS stands for Domain Name System. A DNS server is responsible for informing all other computers on the Internet about the domain name and the web site address.
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Registering a Domain
Domains can be registered from domain name registration companies.
These companies provide interfaces to search for available domain names, and they offer a variety of domain name extensions that can be registered at the same time.
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Choosing a Domain Name
Choosing a domain name is a major step for any individual or organization.
New domain name extensions and creative thinking still offer thousands of excellent domain names!
When choosing a name, it is important to consider the purpose of a domain name, which is to provide an easy way to reach your web site.
The best domains have the following characteristics:
Short - People don't like to type! A short domain name is easier to type, read, and remember.
Meaningful - A short domain is nothing without meaning, 34i4nh.com is not easy to enter or to remember. Select a domain that relates to your site in a way that people will understand.
Clear - Clarity is important when selecting a domain name. Avoid a name that is difficult to spell or pronounce.
Exposure - Names that are short and easy to remember are an asset. In addition to visitors, also consider search engines. Search engines index your site and rank it for relevance against terms people search for. In order to maximize your sites exposure, consider including a relevant search term in your domain. Of course, only consider this if it still maintains a short, clear and meaningful domain name.
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Sub Domains
Most people are unaware that they use sub domains daily. The famous "www" of the World Wide Web is an example of a sub domain. Sub domains can be created on a DNS server, and they don't need to be registered with a domain name registrar, of course, the original domain name needs to be registered before a sub domain could be created.
Examples of sub domains used on the internet are http://store.apple.com and http://support.microsoft.com.
Sub domains can be requested from your web hosting provider.
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False Domain Names - Directory Listings
Some providers will offer you a name under their own name, like: www.theircompany.com/yourcompany/
This is not a real domain name, it is a directory - and you should try to avoid it.
Directory domains are not desirable, especially for companies.
Typically, directory domains are used for personal web sites and free web sites provided by an ISP, you may have seen www.theircompany.com/~username as an address.
Competition in domain name registration has resulted in a dramatic decrease in pricing, so domain sharing is not common, since it is possible to register a domain name for only $15 per year.
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Expired Domains
Another source for domain registrations is expired domains.
When you register a domain, think of it as a rental, assuming there are no legal or trademark issues with the domain name, you are free to use it as long as you continue to pay the yearly fee (you can now register in advance as many as 10 years). Some people register domains as speculators, hoping that they can later sell them, while others may have planned to use a domain and never had the time. The result is that domains that were previously registered, become available again.
You can see, and search through a list of recently expired domains for free at http://www.dotdnr.com. If you wish to register an expired domain, you pay the same fee as for a new registration.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Use Your Domain Name
After you have chosen and registered your own domain name, make sure you use it on all your web pages, and on all your correspondence, like e-mail and traditional mail.
It is important to let other people be aware of your domain name, and to inform your partners and customers about your web site.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Web Hosting Providers
To make your web site visible to the world, you'll have to store it on a web server.
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Hosting your own Web site
Hosting your web site on your own server is always an option. Here are some points to consider:
Hardware Expenses
To run a "real" web site, you will have to buy some powerful server hardware. Don't expect that a low cost PC will do the job. You will also need a permanent (24 hours a day ) high-speed connection.
Software Expenses
Remember that server-licenses often are higher than client-licenses. Also note that server-licenses might have limits on number of users.
Labor Expenses
Don't expect low labor expenses. You have to install your own hardware and software. You also have to deal with bugs and viruses, and keep your server constantly running in an environment where "everything could happen".
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Using an Internet Service Provider
Renting a server from an Internet Service Provider (ISP) is a common option.
Most small companies store their web site on a server provided by an ISP. Here are some advantages:
Connection Speed
Most ISPs have very fast connections to the Internet.
Powerful Hardware
ISPs often have powerful web servers that can be shared by several companies. You can also expect them to have an effective load balancing, and necessary backup servers.
Security and Stability
ISPs are specialists on web hosting. Expect their servers to have more than 99% up time, the latest software patches, and the best virus protection.
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Things to Consider with an ISP
24-hour support
Make sure your ISP offers 24-hours support. Don't put yourself in a situation where you cannot fix critical problems without having to wait until the next working day. Toll-free phone could be vital if you don't want to pay for long distance calls.
Daily Backup
Make sure your ISP runs a daily backup routine, otherwise you may lose some valuable data.
Traffic Volume
Study the ISP's traffic volume restrictions. Make sure that you don't have to pay a fortune for unexpected high traffic if your web site becomes popular.
Bandwidth or Content Restrictions
Study the ISP's bandwidth and content restrictions. If you plan to publish pictures or broadcast video or sound, make sure that you can.
E-mail Capabilities
Make sure your ISP supports the e-mail capabilities you need.
Front Page Extensions
If you use FrontPage to develop your web site, make sure your ISP supports FrontPage server extensions.
Database Access
If you plan to use data from databases on your web site, make sure your ISP supports the database access you need.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hosting your own Web site
Hosting your web site on your own server is always an option. Here are some points to consider:
Hardware Expenses
To run a "real" web site, you will have to buy some powerful server hardware. Don't expect that a low cost PC will do the job. You will also need a permanent (24 hours a day ) high-speed connection.
Software Expenses
Remember that server-licenses often are higher than client-licenses. Also note that server-licenses might have limits on number of users.
Labor Expenses
Don't expect low labor expenses. You have to install your own hardware and software. You also have to deal with bugs and viruses, and keep your server constantly running in an environment where "everything could happen".
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Using an Internet Service Provider
Renting a server from an Internet Service Provider (ISP) is a common option.
Most small companies store their web site on a server provided by an ISP. Here are some advantages:
Connection Speed
Most ISPs have very fast connections to the Internet.
Powerful Hardware
ISPs often have powerful web servers that can be shared by several companies. You can also expect them to have an effective load balancing, and necessary backup servers.
Security and Stability
ISPs are specialists on web hosting. Expect their servers to have more than 99% up time, the latest software patches, and the best virus protection.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Things to Consider with an ISP
24-hour support
Make sure your ISP offers 24-hours support. Don't put yourself in a situation where you cannot fix critical problems without having to wait until the next working day. Toll-free phone could be vital if you don't want to pay for long distance calls.
Daily Backup
Make sure your ISP runs a daily backup routine, otherwise you may lose some valuable data.
Traffic Volume
Study the ISP's traffic volume restrictions. Make sure that you don't have to pay a fortune for unexpected high traffic if your web site becomes popular.
Bandwidth or Content Restrictions
Study the ISP's bandwidth and content restrictions. If you plan to publish pictures or broadcast video or sound, make sure that you can.
E-mail Capabilities
Make sure your ISP supports the e-mail capabilities you need.
Front Page Extensions
If you use FrontPage to develop your web site, make sure your ISP supports FrontPage server extensions.
Database Access
If you plan to use data from databases on your web site, make sure your ISP supports the database access you need.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Web Hosting Introduction
How does the Internet work? How can I have my own Web Site?
What is a Web Host? What is an Internet Service Provider?
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What is the World Wide Web?
The Web is a network of computers all over the world.
All the computers in the Web can communicate with each other.
All the computers use a communication protocol called HTTP.
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How does the WWW work?
Web information is stored in documents called web pages.
Web pages are files stored on computers called web servers.
Computers reading the web pages are called web clients.
Web clients view the pages with a program called a web browser.
Popular browsers are Internet Explorer and Firefox.
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How does a Browser Fetch a Web Page?
A browser fetches a page from a web server by a request.
A request is a standard HTTP request containing a page address.
An address may look like this: http://www.example.com/default.htm.
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How does a Browser Display a Web Page?
All web pages contain instructions for display.
The browser displays the page by reading these instructions.
The most common display instructions are called HTML tags.
HTML tags look like this
If you want to learn more about HTML, please visit our HTML tutorial.
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What is a Web Server?
The collection of all your web pages is called your web site.
To let others view your web pages, you must publish your web site.
To publish your work, you must copy your site to a web server.
Your own PC can act as a web server if it is connected to a network.
Most common is to use an Internet Service Provider (ISP).
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What is an Internet Service Provider?
ISP stands for Internet Service Provider.
An ISP provides Internet Services.
A common Internet service is web hosting.
Web hosting means storing your web site on a public server.
Web hosting normally includes email services.
Web hosting often includes domain name registration.
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Summary
If you want other people to view your web site, you must copy your site to a public server.
Even if you can use your own PC as a web server, it is more common to let an Internet Service Provider (ISP) host your site.
Included in a Web hosting solution you can expect to find domain name registration and standard email services.
You can read more about domain name registration, email and other services in the next chapters of this tutorial.
What is a Web Host? What is an Internet Service Provider?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What is the World Wide Web?
The Web is a network of computers all over the world.
All the computers in the Web can communicate with each other.
All the computers use a communication protocol called HTTP.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How does the WWW work?
Web information is stored in documents called web pages.
Web pages are files stored on computers called web servers.
Computers reading the web pages are called web clients.
Web clients view the pages with a program called a web browser.
Popular browsers are Internet Explorer and Firefox.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How does a Browser Fetch a Web Page?
A browser fetches a page from a web server by a request.
A request is a standard HTTP request containing a page address.
An address may look like this: http://www.example.com/default.htm.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How does a Browser Display a Web Page?
All web pages contain instructions for display.
The browser displays the page by reading these instructions.
The most common display instructions are called HTML tags.
HTML tags look like this
This is a paragraph.
.If you want to learn more about HTML, please visit our HTML tutorial.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What is a Web Server?
The collection of all your web pages is called your web site.
To let others view your web pages, you must publish your web site.
To publish your work, you must copy your site to a web server.
Your own PC can act as a web server if it is connected to a network.
Most common is to use an Internet Service Provider (ISP).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What is an Internet Service Provider?
ISP stands for Internet Service Provider.
An ISP provides Internet Services.
A common Internet service is web hosting.
Web hosting means storing your web site on a public server.
Web hosting normally includes email services.
Web hosting often includes domain name registration.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
If you want other people to view your web site, you must copy your site to a public server.
Even if you can use your own PC as a web server, it is more common to let an Internet Service Provider (ISP) host your site.
Included in a Web hosting solution you can expect to find domain name registration and standard email services.
You can read more about domain name registration, email and other services in the next chapters of this tutorial.
Friday, June 19, 2009
SAP Tutorial - Sales & Order - Part 4
Sales and Distribution - Transfer of Requirements
The MRP department is informed about the quantities and deadlines by which incoming orders
should be delivered. The system checks the availability of the goods based on the requested
delivery date of the customer and creates MRP records which contain all necessary information
for passing on to planning. It ensures that the goods are available in time for the delivery.
Materials planning transfers the reported requirements and creates orders or purchase
requisitions from them etc.
For controlling transfer of requirements, you have to carry out the following steps:
1. Each requirement type has to be allocated to one requirement class only.
2. The transfer of requirements must be switched on at requirements class level, the sales
documents at schedule line level.
3. You must define a check group. It is possible to have this check group proposed for the
initial creation of a material master record.
4. Note that a plant must exist for transfer of requirements to be carried out at document
item level.
OVZG - Requirement class
It specifies the following points:
- whether an availability check and a transfer of requirements is carried out for a
transaction (for sales documents, fine tuning using the schedule line category is possible),
- whether the requirements are relevant for MRP,
- the allocation indicator from the sales view which controls the settlement of customer
requirements with requirements
- whether an item is to be settled to an auxiliary account assignment,
- the settlement profile,
- the results analysis key.
(Use transaction SM30 for V_* configuration)
OVZH - Requirements type
V_TVEPZ_V - Assignment of requirement type to Transaction
V_TVEP_V - Schedule line category
OVZ2 - Define Checking Group
V_TMVFU - Define the checking group that the system proposes when you create a new material
master record. You can overwrite the default value for the checking group in the
material master record.
The MRP department is informed about the quantities and deadlines by which incoming orders
should be delivered. The system checks the availability of the goods based on the requested
delivery date of the customer and creates MRP records which contain all necessary information
for passing on to planning. It ensures that the goods are available in time for the delivery.
Materials planning transfers the reported requirements and creates orders or purchase
requisitions from them etc.
For controlling transfer of requirements, you have to carry out the following steps:
1. Each requirement type has to be allocated to one requirement class only.
2. The transfer of requirements must be switched on at requirements class level, the sales
documents at schedule line level.
3. You must define a check group. It is possible to have this check group proposed for the
initial creation of a material master record.
4. Note that a plant must exist for transfer of requirements to be carried out at document
item level.
OVZG - Requirement class
It specifies the following points:
- whether an availability check and a transfer of requirements is carried out for a
transaction (for sales documents, fine tuning using the schedule line category is possible),
- whether the requirements are relevant for MRP,
- the allocation indicator from the sales view which controls the settlement of customer
requirements with requirements
- whether an item is to be settled to an auxiliary account assignment,
- the settlement profile,
- the results analysis key.
(Use transaction SM30 for V_* configuration)
OVZH - Requirements type
V_TVEPZ_V - Assignment of requirement type to Transaction
V_TVEP_V - Schedule line category
OVZ2 - Define Checking Group
V_TMVFU - Define the checking group that the system proposes when you create a new material
master record. You can overwrite the default value for the checking group in the
material master record.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
SAP Tutorial - Sales & Order - Part 3
Define whether the Material can be used at which Sales and Distribution process
Here you define how the system responds when entering a sales and distribution document
with this material in the different Sales and Distribution Process Flow..
You can use the material status, for example, to prevent orders from being entered for
parts to be discontinued.
OR
To temporary block the creation of Sales Order for a certain materials.
Set the material status parameters in transaction SM30, Table Views V_TVMS.
Assign a Cost Center manually in a Sales Order (VBAK-KOSTL)
The Cost Center Determination settings is in OVF3 - but there are some cases where the Cost Center must be exceptionally changed.
If the document category for order type in IMG VOV8 is defined to be "I" which belong to order type FD - Deliv. Free of Charge, then the field cost center is active for input during transaction VA01.
Alternatively, you can specify an order reason and assign a cost center to an order reason.
However the standard SAP works only at the header level though, so it would not work if cost center is needed on the line item.
The cost center are assign for such business transactions as :
- Free deliveries
- Returns
- Deliveries of advertising materials
You can also make cost center allocation dependent on the order reason, for example:
Order reason: Damage in transit
Order reason: Free sample
Both the IMG settings are done in transaction OVF3, either with/without the order reason.
Here you define how the system responds when entering a sales and distribution document
with this material in the different Sales and Distribution Process Flow..
You can use the material status, for example, to prevent orders from being entered for
parts to be discontinued.
OR
To temporary block the creation of Sales Order for a certain materials.
Set the material status parameters in transaction SM30, Table Views V_TVMS.
Assign a Cost Center manually in a Sales Order (VBAK-KOSTL)
The Cost Center Determination settings is in OVF3 - but there are some cases where the Cost Center must be exceptionally changed.
If the document category for order type in IMG VOV8 is defined to be "I" which belong to order type FD - Deliv. Free of Charge, then the field cost center is active for input during transaction VA01.
Alternatively, you can specify an order reason and assign a cost center to an order reason.
However the standard SAP works only at the header level though, so it would not work if cost center is needed on the line item.
The cost center are assign for such business transactions as :
- Free deliveries
- Returns
- Deliveries of advertising materials
You can also make cost center allocation dependent on the order reason, for example:
Order reason: Damage in transit
Order reason: Free sample
Both the IMG settings are done in transaction OVF3, either with/without the order reason.
Monday, June 15, 2009
SAP Tutorial - Sales & Order - Part 2
Auto proposed all the dates when creating Sales Order
How can I make the system auto create all the Sales Order date during creation?
Each Sales Order can have different date proposal settings.
Follows this step to set the default Sales Order Type proposal date:
- Goto VOV8, double click on sales order type.
- Look and tick the fields Propose delivery date and Propose PO date.
After making the necessary IMG changes, you need to input the Delivery Plant field for each Materials that you want the system to propose the default date.
To change the Materials field Delivery Plant:
Goto MM02, Select the View Sales: Sales Org. Data 1 and fill in the Delivery Plant.
Testing:
Now, try creating a new sales order for the material and SAP will auto proposed all the dates in the sales order.
How can I make the system auto create all the Sales Order date during creation?
Each Sales Order can have different date proposal settings.
Follows this step to set the default Sales Order Type proposal date:
- Goto VOV8, double click on sales order type.
- Look and tick the fields Propose delivery date and Propose PO date.
After making the necessary IMG changes, you need to input the Delivery Plant field for each Materials that you want the system to propose the default date.
To change the Materials field Delivery Plant:
Goto MM02, Select the View Sales: Sales Org. Data 1 and fill in the Delivery Plant.
Testing:
Now, try creating a new sales order for the material and SAP will auto proposed all the dates in the sales order.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
SAP Tutorial - Sales Order - Part 1
Default First Date is not Today
When end user created a new sales order with VA01, default First Date wasn't today, why?
Note:
1. Before today, default First Date was always today.
2. Nobody change system configuration.
Although you mention that nobody change the system configuration, it is very unlikely that the system will mis-behaved after one day.
Usually, after checking, you will find that someone have actually change the configuration as it could not be a software bug since you have been using it for quite sometime without any problems.
The date is control by each Sales Order Type for each Sales Document type whether is it a
- OR - Standard Order,
- RE - Returns etc.
Verify the Sales order type configuration with the following path:
IMG: Sales and Distribution --> Sales --> Sales Docs --> Sales Doc Hdr --> Define Sales Doc Types (transaction vov8) will let you control this by sales document type.
There is one field (Lead time in days) which "specify the number of days after the current date that the proposal for the requested delivery date in the sales document should be".
This should be blank if you want the system to propose current day for delivery date.
When end user created a new sales order with VA01, default First Date wasn't today, why?
Note:
1. Before today, default First Date was always today.
2. Nobody change system configuration.
Although you mention that nobody change the system configuration, it is very unlikely that the system will mis-behaved after one day.
Usually, after checking, you will find that someone have actually change the configuration as it could not be a software bug since you have been using it for quite sometime without any problems.
The date is control by each Sales Order Type for each Sales Document type whether is it a
- OR - Standard Order,
- RE - Returns etc.
Verify the Sales order type configuration with the following path:
IMG: Sales and Distribution --> Sales --> Sales Docs --> Sales Doc Hdr --> Define Sales Doc Types (transaction vov8) will let you control this by sales document type.
There is one field (Lead time in days) which "specify the number of days after the current date that the proposal for the requested delivery date in the sales document should be".
This should be blank if you want the system to propose current day for delivery date.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
SAP Tutorial - Credit Management - Part 4
Dunning Process In Credit Management
Explain about dunning process in credit management?
Let me explain in simple terms:
1) You have a Customer which you had felt, he is doing good business and supplied material on Credit of 45 days.
2) Since this customer is good as you felt, you have not managed Credit Checks as well. So, he had comfortably reached to the fullest credit (or even more) which you can afford for any customer.
3) One fine day you got realized that, there is very bad debt with this customer and need to recover from him and till then, there will be no further supply to the customer.
4) Your company's legal department has laid a policy that, in order to recover any bad debts, like:
a) We will send a normal payment reminder.
b) In case customer doesn't respond, we will send at least further reminder (dunning notice) may be 9 times
(9 reminders) (Dunning level) and what intervals of time (dunning frequency)
c) Still if the customer doesn't respond for the reminders, you will file a law suit against the customer for recovering
the Payments.
d) Finally, after getting verdict, you may proceed for auction of his property or as per the order for Law.
Now in SAP, the definition of Dunning procedure is a pre-defined procedure specifying how customers or vendors are dunned.
For each procedure, the user defines
- Number of dunning levels
- Dunning frequency
- Amount limits
- Texts for the dunning notices
In SAP, you will maintain the Dunning Procedure at customer master. Referring to this your SD Team / FI Team (user team) will effect Dunning
PS: You might remembered the dunning procedure laid by Reliance Mobile, sometime back, sending street rowdies for recovering the bad debts from users. That is dunning. Remember Reliance, you will not forget dunning forever.
Explain about dunning process in credit management?
Let me explain in simple terms:
1) You have a Customer which you had felt, he is doing good business and supplied material on Credit of 45 days.
2) Since this customer is good as you felt, you have not managed Credit Checks as well. So, he had comfortably reached to the fullest credit (or even more) which you can afford for any customer.
3) One fine day you got realized that, there is very bad debt with this customer and need to recover from him and till then, there will be no further supply to the customer.
4) Your company's legal department has laid a policy that, in order to recover any bad debts, like:
a) We will send a normal payment reminder.
b) In case customer doesn't respond, we will send at least further reminder (dunning notice) may be 9 times
(9 reminders) (Dunning level) and what intervals of time (dunning frequency)
c) Still if the customer doesn't respond for the reminders, you will file a law suit against the customer for recovering
the Payments.
d) Finally, after getting verdict, you may proceed for auction of his property or as per the order for Law.
Now in SAP, the definition of Dunning procedure is a pre-defined procedure specifying how customers or vendors are dunned.
For each procedure, the user defines
- Number of dunning levels
- Dunning frequency
- Amount limits
- Texts for the dunning notices
In SAP, you will maintain the Dunning Procedure at customer master. Referring to this your SD Team / FI Team (user team) will effect Dunning
PS: You might remembered the dunning procedure laid by Reliance Mobile, sometime back, sending street rowdies for recovering the bad debts from users. That is dunning. Remember Reliance, you will not forget dunning forever.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
SAP Tutorial - Credit Management - Part 3
Set Up for Credit Card Payment Processing
Given below is the set up for credit card payment processing:
Set Up Credit Control Areas:
Define Credit Control Area
Transaction: OB45
Tables: T014
Action: Define a credit control area and its associated currency. The Update Group should be ‘00012’. This entry is required so the sales order will calculate the value to authorize
Assign Company Code to Credit Control Area
Transaction: OB38
Tables: T001
Action: Assign a default credit control area for each company code
Define Permitted Credit Control Area for a Company
Code
Transaction:
Tables: T001CM
Action: For each company code enter every credit control area that can be used
Identify Credit Price
Transaction: V/08
Tables: T683S
Action: Towards the end of the pricing procedure, after all pricing and tax determination, create a subtotal line to store the value of the price plus any sales tax. Make the following entries:
Sub to: “A”
Reqt: “2”
AltCTy: “4”
Automatic Credit Checking
Transaction: OVA8
Tables: T691F
Action: Select each combination of credit control areas, risk categories and document types for which credit checking should be bypassed. You need to mark the field “no Credit Check” with the valid number for sales documents.
Set Up Payment Guarantees
Define Forms of Payment Guarantee
Transaction: OVFD
Tables: T691K
Action: R/3 is delivered with form “02” defined for payment cards. Other than the descriptor, the only other entry should be “3” in the column labeled “PymtGuaCat”
Define Payment Guarantee Procedure
Transaction:
Tables: T691M/T691O
Action: Define a procedure and a description.
Forms of Payment Guarantee and make the following entries Sequential Number “1”
Payment Guarantee Form “02”
Routine Number “0” Routine Number can be used to validate payment card presence.
Define Customer Payment Guarantee Flag
Transaction:
Tables: T691P
Action: Define a flag to be stored in table.
Create Customer Payment Guarantee = “Payment Card Payment Cards (All Customers can use Payment Cards)”.
Define Sales Document Payment Guarantee Flag
Transaction:
Tables: T691R
Action: Define the flag that will be associated with sales document types that are relevant for payment cards
Assign Sales Document Payment Guarantee Flag
Transaction:
Tables: TVAK
Action: Assign the document flag type the sales documents types that are relevant for payment cards.
Determine Payment Guarantee Procedure
Transaction: OVFJ
Tables: T691U
Action: Combine the Customer flag and the sales document flag to derive the payment guarantee procedure
Payment Card Configuration
Define Card Types
Transaction:
Tables: TVCIN
Action: Create the different card types plus the routine that validates the card for length and prefix (etc…)
Visa , Mastercard, American Express, and Discover
Create the following entries for each payment card
AMEX American Express ZCCARD_CHECK_AMEX Month
DC Discover Card ZCCARD_CHECK_DC Month*****
MC Mastercard ZCCARD_CHECK_MC Month
VISA Visa ZCCARD_CHECK_VISA Month
The Routines can be created based on the original routines delivered by SAP.
*****SAP does not deliver a card check for Discover Card. We created our own routine.
Define Card Categories
Transaction:
Tables: TVCTY
Action: Define the card category to determine if a
payment card is a credit card or a procurement card.
Create the following two entries
Cat Description One Card Additional Data
CC Credit Cards No-check No-check
PC Procurement Cards No-check Check
Determine Card Categories
Transaction:
Tables: TVCTD
Action: For each card category map the account number range to a card category. Multiple ranges are possible for each card category or a masking technique can be used. Get the card number ranges from user community. Below is just a sample of what I am aware are the different types of cards.
Visa Credit Expires in 7 days.
400000 405500
405505 405549
405555 415927
415929 424603
424606 427532
427534 428799
428900 471699
471700 499999
Visa Procurement Expires in 7 days.
405501 405504
405550 405554
415928 415928
424604 424605
427533 427533
428800 428899
Mastercard Credit Expires in 30 days
500000 540499
540600 554999
557000 599999
Mastercard Procurement Expires in 30 days
540500 540599
555000 556999
American Express Credit Expires in 30 days
340000 349999
370000 379999
Discover Card Credit Expires in 30 days
601100 601199
Set Sales Documents to accept Payment Card Information Transaction:
Tables: TVAK
Action: Review the listing of Sales Document types and enter “03” in the column labeled “PT” for each type which can accept a payment card
Configuration for Authorization Request
Maintain Authorization Requirements
Transaction: OV9A
Tables: TFRM
Action: Define and activate the abap requirement that determines when an authorization is sent. Note that the following tables are available to be used in the abap requirement (VBAK, VBAP, VBKD, VBUK, and VBUP).
Define Checking Group
Transaction:
Tables: CCPGA
Action: Define a checking group and enter the
description. Then follow the below guidelines for the remaining fields to be filled.
AuthReq Routine 901 is set here.
PreAu If checked R/3 will request an authorization for a .01 and the authorization will be flagged as such. (Insight does not use pre-authorization check).
A horizon This is the days in the future SAP will use to determine the value to authorize
(Insight does not use auth horizon period).
Valid You will get warning message if the payment card is expiring within 30 days of order entry date.
Assign Checking Group to Sales Document
Transaction:
Tables: TVAK
Action: Assign the checking group to the sales order types relevant for payment cards
Define Authorization Validity Periods
Transaction:
Tables: TVCIN
Action: For each card type enter the authorization validity period in days.
AMEX American Express 30
DC Discover card 30
MC Master card 30
VISA Visa 7
Configuration for clearing houses
Create new General Ledger Accounts
Transaction: FS01
Tables:
Action: Two General Ledger accounts need to be created for each payment card type. One for A/R reconciliation purposes and one for credit card clearing.
Maintain Condition Types
Transaction: OV85
Tables: T685
Action: Define a condition type for account determination and assign it to access sequence “A001”
Define account determination procedure
Transaction: OV86
Tables: T683 / T683S
Action: Define procedure name and select the procedure for control. Enter the condition type defined in the previous step.
Assign account determination procedure
Transaction:
Tables:
Action: Determine which billing type we are using for payment card process.
Authorization and Settlement Control
Transaction:
Tables: TCCAA
Action: Define the general ledger accounts for reconciliation and clearing and assign the function modules for authorization and settlement along with the proper RFC destinations for each.
Enter Merchant ID’s
Transaction:
Tables: TCCM
Action: Create the merchant id’s that the company uses to process payment cards
Assign merchant id’s
Transaction:
Tables: TCCAA
Action: Enter the merchant id’s with each clearinghouse account
Given below is the set up for credit card payment processing:
Set Up Credit Control Areas:
Define Credit Control Area
Transaction: OB45
Tables: T014
Action: Define a credit control area and its associated currency. The Update Group should be ‘00012’. This entry is required so the sales order will calculate the value to authorize
Assign Company Code to Credit Control Area
Transaction: OB38
Tables: T001
Action: Assign a default credit control area for each company code
Define Permitted Credit Control Area for a Company
Code
Transaction:
Tables: T001CM
Action: For each company code enter every credit control area that can be used
Identify Credit Price
Transaction: V/08
Tables: T683S
Action: Towards the end of the pricing procedure, after all pricing and tax determination, create a subtotal line to store the value of the price plus any sales tax. Make the following entries:
Sub to: “A”
Reqt: “2”
AltCTy: “4”
Automatic Credit Checking
Transaction: OVA8
Tables: T691F
Action: Select each combination of credit control areas, risk categories and document types for which credit checking should be bypassed. You need to mark the field “no Credit Check” with the valid number for sales documents.
Set Up Payment Guarantees
Define Forms of Payment Guarantee
Transaction: OVFD
Tables: T691K
Action: R/3 is delivered with form “02” defined for payment cards. Other than the descriptor, the only other entry should be “3” in the column labeled “PymtGuaCat”
Define Payment Guarantee Procedure
Transaction:
Tables: T691M/T691O
Action: Define a procedure and a description.
Forms of Payment Guarantee and make the following entries Sequential Number “1”
Payment Guarantee Form “02”
Routine Number “0” Routine Number can be used to validate payment card presence.
Define Customer Payment Guarantee Flag
Transaction:
Tables: T691P
Action: Define a flag to be stored in table.
Create Customer Payment Guarantee = “Payment Card Payment Cards (All Customers can use Payment Cards)”.
Define Sales Document Payment Guarantee Flag
Transaction:
Tables: T691R
Action: Define the flag that will be associated with sales document types that are relevant for payment cards
Assign Sales Document Payment Guarantee Flag
Transaction:
Tables: TVAK
Action: Assign the document flag type the sales documents types that are relevant for payment cards.
Determine Payment Guarantee Procedure
Transaction: OVFJ
Tables: T691U
Action: Combine the Customer flag and the sales document flag to derive the payment guarantee procedure
Payment Card Configuration
Define Card Types
Transaction:
Tables: TVCIN
Action: Create the different card types plus the routine that validates the card for length and prefix (etc…)
Visa , Mastercard, American Express, and Discover
Create the following entries for each payment card
AMEX American Express ZCCARD_CHECK_AMEX Month
DC Discover Card ZCCARD_CHECK_DC Month*****
MC Mastercard ZCCARD_CHECK_MC Month
VISA Visa ZCCARD_CHECK_VISA Month
The Routines can be created based on the original routines delivered by SAP.
*****SAP does not deliver a card check for Discover Card. We created our own routine.
Define Card Categories
Transaction:
Tables: TVCTY
Action: Define the card category to determine if a
payment card is a credit card or a procurement card.
Create the following two entries
Cat Description One Card Additional Data
CC Credit Cards No-check No-check
PC Procurement Cards No-check Check
Determine Card Categories
Transaction:
Tables: TVCTD
Action: For each card category map the account number range to a card category. Multiple ranges are possible for each card category or a masking technique can be used. Get the card number ranges from user community. Below is just a sample of what I am aware are the different types of cards.
Visa Credit Expires in 7 days.
400000 405500
405505 405549
405555 415927
415929 424603
424606 427532
427534 428799
428900 471699
471700 499999
Visa Procurement Expires in 7 days.
405501 405504
405550 405554
415928 415928
424604 424605
427533 427533
428800 428899
Mastercard Credit Expires in 30 days
500000 540499
540600 554999
557000 599999
Mastercard Procurement Expires in 30 days
540500 540599
555000 556999
American Express Credit Expires in 30 days
340000 349999
370000 379999
Discover Card Credit Expires in 30 days
601100 601199
Set Sales Documents to accept Payment Card Information Transaction:
Tables: TVAK
Action: Review the listing of Sales Document types and enter “03” in the column labeled “PT” for each type which can accept a payment card
Configuration for Authorization Request
Maintain Authorization Requirements
Transaction: OV9A
Tables: TFRM
Action: Define and activate the abap requirement that determines when an authorization is sent. Note that the following tables are available to be used in the abap requirement (VBAK, VBAP, VBKD, VBUK, and VBUP).
Define Checking Group
Transaction:
Tables: CCPGA
Action: Define a checking group and enter the
description. Then follow the below guidelines for the remaining fields to be filled.
AuthReq Routine 901 is set here.
PreAu If checked R/3 will request an authorization for a .01 and the authorization will be flagged as such. (Insight does not use pre-authorization check).
A horizon This is the days in the future SAP will use to determine the value to authorize
(Insight does not use auth horizon period).
Valid You will get warning message if the payment card is expiring within 30 days of order entry date.
Assign Checking Group to Sales Document
Transaction:
Tables: TVAK
Action: Assign the checking group to the sales order types relevant for payment cards
Define Authorization Validity Periods
Transaction:
Tables: TVCIN
Action: For each card type enter the authorization validity period in days.
AMEX American Express 30
DC Discover card 30
MC Master card 30
VISA Visa 7
Configuration for clearing houses
Create new General Ledger Accounts
Transaction: FS01
Tables:
Action: Two General Ledger accounts need to be created for each payment card type. One for A/R reconciliation purposes and one for credit card clearing.
Maintain Condition Types
Transaction: OV85
Tables: T685
Action: Define a condition type for account determination and assign it to access sequence “A001”
Define account determination procedure
Transaction: OV86
Tables: T683 / T683S
Action: Define procedure name and select the procedure for control. Enter the condition type defined in the previous step.
Assign account determination procedure
Transaction:
Tables:
Action: Determine which billing type we are using for payment card process.
Authorization and Settlement Control
Transaction:
Tables: TCCAA
Action: Define the general ledger accounts for reconciliation and clearing and assign the function modules for authorization and settlement along with the proper RFC destinations for each.
Enter Merchant ID’s
Transaction:
Tables: TCCM
Action: Create the merchant id’s that the company uses to process payment cards
Assign merchant id’s
Transaction:
Tables: TCCAA
Action: Enter the merchant id’s with each clearinghouse account
Sunday, June 7, 2009
SAP Tutorial - Credit Management - Part 2
Difference Between Simple and Automatic Credit Check Types
Explain in detail difference between simple and automatic credit check types. In automatic check, difference between static and dynamic checks.
SIMPLE CREDIT CHECK : Tr.Code - FD32
It Considers the Doc.Value + Open Items.
Doc.Value : Sales Order Has been saved but not delivered
Open Item : Sales Order has been saved , Delivered, Billed & Transfered to FI, but not received the payment from the customer.
Eg: Customer Credit Limit is Rs.1,00,000/-
Suppose Doc.Value + Open Item Value is Rs.1,10,000/-
Here credit limit exceeds then system reacts.
Options : A) Warning Message
B) Error Message (Sales Order won't be saved)
C) Error Message with Delivery Block
AUTOMATIC CREDIT CHECK : Give extra credit facilities to the particular customer.
STATIC CREDIT LIMIT DETERMINATION :Checking Group + Risk Category + Credit Control Area.
A) Credit Checking Groups : Types of Checking Groups.
01) Sales
02) Deliveries
03) Goods Issue
At all the above 3 levels orders can be blocked.
B) Risk Category : Based on the risk categories company decide how much credit has to give to the customer.
HIGH RISK (0001) : LOW CREDIT
LOW RISK (0002) : MORE CREDIT
MEDIUM RISK(0003) : Average Credit
Static Credit Check it checks all these doc value & check with the credit limit
1) Open Doc.Value / Sales Order Value : Which is save but not delivered
2) Open Delivery Doc.Value : Which is delivered but not billed
3) Open Billing Doc.Value : Which is billed but not posted to FI
4) Open Item : Which is transferred to FI but not received from the customer.
DYNAMIC CREDIT CHECK : 1) Open Doc
2) Open Delivery
3) Open Billing
4) Open Items
5) Horizon Period = Eg.3Months
Here the System will not consider the above 1,2,3& 4 values for the lost 3 months
Then assign the Sales Doc & Del Documents.
Sales Doc. Type(OR) + credit Check(0) + Credit Group (01)
Credit Limit Check for Delivery Type : Del. Type (LF) + Del Credit
Group (02) + Goods Issue Credit Group (03)
Explain in detail difference between simple and automatic credit check types. In automatic check, difference between static and dynamic checks.
SIMPLE CREDIT CHECK : Tr.Code - FD32
It Considers the Doc.Value + Open Items.
Doc.Value : Sales Order Has been saved but not delivered
Open Item : Sales Order has been saved , Delivered, Billed & Transfered to FI, but not received the payment from the customer.
Eg: Customer Credit Limit is Rs.1,00,000/-
Suppose Doc.Value + Open Item Value is Rs.1,10,000/-
Here credit limit exceeds then system reacts.
Options : A) Warning Message
B) Error Message (Sales Order won't be saved)
C) Error Message with Delivery Block
AUTOMATIC CREDIT CHECK : Give extra credit facilities to the particular customer.
STATIC CREDIT LIMIT DETERMINATION :Checking Group + Risk Category + Credit Control Area.
A) Credit Checking Groups : Types of Checking Groups.
01) Sales
02) Deliveries
03) Goods Issue
At all the above 3 levels orders can be blocked.
B) Risk Category : Based on the risk categories company decide how much credit has to give to the customer.
HIGH RISK (0001) : LOW CREDIT
LOW RISK (0002) : MORE CREDIT
MEDIUM RISK(0003) : Average Credit
Static Credit Check it checks all these doc value & check with the credit limit
1) Open Doc.Value / Sales Order Value : Which is save but not delivered
2) Open Delivery Doc.Value : Which is delivered but not billed
3) Open Billing Doc.Value : Which is billed but not posted to FI
4) Open Item : Which is transferred to FI but not received from the customer.
DYNAMIC CREDIT CHECK : 1) Open Doc
2) Open Delivery
3) Open Billing
4) Open Items
5) Horizon Period = Eg.3Months
Here the System will not consider the above 1,2,3& 4 values for the lost 3 months
Then assign the Sales Doc & Del Documents.
Sales Doc. Type(OR) + credit Check(0) + Credit Group (01)
Credit Limit Check for Delivery Type : Del. Type (LF) + Del Credit
Group (02) + Goods Issue Credit Group (03)
Friday, June 5, 2009
SAP Tutorial - Credit Management - Part 1
How To Do Configuration For Credit Management
Credit and risk management takes place in the credit control area. According to your corporate requirements, you can implement credit management that is centralized, decentralized, or somewhere in between.
An organizational unit that represents the area where customer credit is awarded and monitored. This organizational unit can either be a single or several company codes, if credit control is performed across several company codes. One credit control area contains credit control information for each customer.
For example, if your credit management is centralized, you can define one credit control area for all of your company codes.
If, on the other hand, your credit policy requires decentralized credit management, you can define credit control areas for each company code or each group of company codes.
Credit limits and credit exposure are managed at both credit control area and customer level. You set up credit control areas and other data related to credit management in Customizing for Financial Accounting. The implementation guide is under Enterprise Structure -> Definition or Assignment -> Financial Accounting and then Maintain credit control area. You assign customers to specific credit control areas and specify the appropriate credit limits in the customer master record.
Settings for determining the credit control area of a document. The settings of items 1 - 4 are taken into account according to their priority. The credit control area found is stored in field VBAK-KKBER.
1. Transaction OB38
Check which credit control area is assigned to the company code.
Company code:
Credit control area:
2. Transaction OVFL
Check which credit control area is assigned to the sales area.
Sales area:
Credit control area:
3. Transaction XD02 or VD02
Check which credit control area is assigned to the payer.
Payer:
Credit control area:
4. Transaction SE37
Is user exit EXIT_SAPV45K_001 being used?
5. Transaction OBZK
For the settings under items 2 - 4, field "All company codes" must be marked in Transaction
OB45, or the credit control area must be entered under the relevant company code in table
T001CM of the credit control areas allowed.
Company code:
Credit control areas allowed:
6. Settings for the credit checks
7. Transaction OVAK
Which settings do exist for the sales document type used?
Sales document:
Check credit:
Credit group:
8. Transaction OVAD
Which settings do exist for the delivery type used?
Delivery type:
Credit group for delivery:
Credit group for goods issue:
9. Transaction OB01
Credit management/Change risk category
Definition of the risk category for each credit control area. This risk category can be assigned to a credit account by using Transaction FD32.
10. Transaction OVA8
Here, the individual credit checks for key fields
o credit control area
o risk category
o credit group are set. Take these key fields from the above settings and go to the detail
screen. In particular, check whether fields "Reaction" and "Status/block" are set
correctly. To carry out follow-up actions in case of a credit block, the credit check
status must be set (field "Status/block").
11. Transaction FD32
Credit master data for the payer of the relevant document.
Credit account:
Credit limit:
Risk category:
Currency:
12. Settings for updating the credit values Update of the credit values is required for the limit check (static or dynamic credit limit check).
13. Transaction OVA7
Update of the credit value is active for the corresponding item type if the check box is marked. This field corresponds to
field "Active receivable" in Transaction VOV7.
Item type:
Active receivable:
14. Transaction V/08, Pricing
In the pricing procedure used for pricing, subtotal "A" must be entered in a line for determining the credit value (mark the pricing procedure and doubleclick on "Control").
Usually, the net value plus taxes is used. This way the system is determined to use this subtotal for credit pricing. The credit price is stored in field VBAP-CMPRE and used for update and credit check.
You can find the used pricing procedure of the order under "Item -> Condition -> Analysis".
Pricing procedure:
Line with subtotal = 'A':
15. Transaction OB45
Which update group (field "Update") do you use in the relevant credit control area? The
default setting is "12". If you use another update group, check whether this is fine with
you. If you open an OSS message, please tell us the alternative update group.
Credit control area:
Update:
16. Transaction OMO1
Which kind of update did you choose for structure S066?
In any case, "Synchronous update (1)" has to be chosen as the kind of update.
All other settings will lead to errors.
Credit and risk management takes place in the credit control area. According to your corporate requirements, you can implement credit management that is centralized, decentralized, or somewhere in between.
An organizational unit that represents the area where customer credit is awarded and monitored. This organizational unit can either be a single or several company codes, if credit control is performed across several company codes. One credit control area contains credit control information for each customer.
For example, if your credit management is centralized, you can define one credit control area for all of your company codes.
If, on the other hand, your credit policy requires decentralized credit management, you can define credit control areas for each company code or each group of company codes.
Credit limits and credit exposure are managed at both credit control area and customer level. You set up credit control areas and other data related to credit management in Customizing for Financial Accounting. The implementation guide is under Enterprise Structure -> Definition or Assignment -> Financial Accounting and then Maintain credit control area. You assign customers to specific credit control areas and specify the appropriate credit limits in the customer master record.
Settings for determining the credit control area of a document. The settings of items 1 - 4 are taken into account according to their priority. The credit control area found is stored in field VBAK-KKBER.
1. Transaction OB38
Check which credit control area is assigned to the company code.
Company code:
Credit control area:
2. Transaction OVFL
Check which credit control area is assigned to the sales area.
Sales area:
Credit control area:
3. Transaction XD02 or VD02
Check which credit control area is assigned to the payer.
Payer:
Credit control area:
4. Transaction SE37
Is user exit EXIT_SAPV45K_001 being used?
5. Transaction OBZK
For the settings under items 2 - 4, field "All company codes" must be marked in Transaction
OB45, or the credit control area must be entered under the relevant company code in table
T001CM of the credit control areas allowed.
Company code:
Credit control areas allowed:
6. Settings for the credit checks
7. Transaction OVAK
Which settings do exist for the sales document type used?
Sales document:
Check credit:
Credit group:
8. Transaction OVAD
Which settings do exist for the delivery type used?
Delivery type:
Credit group for delivery:
Credit group for goods issue:
9. Transaction OB01
Credit management/Change risk category
Definition of the risk category for each credit control area. This risk category can be assigned to a credit account by using Transaction FD32.
10. Transaction OVA8
Here, the individual credit checks for key fields
o credit control area
o risk category
o credit group are set. Take these key fields from the above settings and go to the detail
screen. In particular, check whether fields "Reaction" and "Status/block" are set
correctly. To carry out follow-up actions in case of a credit block, the credit check
status must be set (field "Status/block").
11. Transaction FD32
Credit master data for the payer of the relevant document.
Credit account:
Credit limit:
Risk category:
Currency:
12. Settings for updating the credit values Update of the credit values is required for the limit check (static or dynamic credit limit check).
13. Transaction OVA7
Update of the credit value is active for the corresponding item type if the check box is marked. This field corresponds to
field "Active receivable" in Transaction VOV7.
Item type:
Active receivable:
14. Transaction V/08, Pricing
In the pricing procedure used for pricing, subtotal "A" must be entered in a line for determining the credit value (mark the pricing procedure and doubleclick on "Control").
Usually, the net value plus taxes is used. This way the system is determined to use this subtotal for credit pricing. The credit price is stored in field VBAP-CMPRE and used for update and credit check.
You can find the used pricing procedure of the order under "Item -> Condition -> Analysis".
Pricing procedure:
Line with subtotal = 'A':
15. Transaction OB45
Which update group (field "Update") do you use in the relevant credit control area? The
default setting is "12". If you use another update group, check whether this is fine with
you. If you open an OSS message, please tell us the alternative update group.
Credit control area:
Update:
16. Transaction OMO1
Which kind of update did you choose for structure S066?
In any case, "Synchronous update (1)" has to be chosen as the kind of update.
All other settings will lead to errors.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
SAP Tutorial - Part 22 - Sales & Distribution - Pricing - Part 9
SAP Billing - Combine Billing for deliveries with different date
When using transaction VF04 or Billing (background), the date of the billing document (e.g. the current date) must be entered (In VF04 : settings, default data.)
In VF06 or background: variant with parameterization) to avoid an unwanted split due to the billing date.
This OSS notes is very helpful :-
11162 - Invoice split criteria in billing document
36832 - Invoice split in fields from the sales order
Billing Spilt by Item Category
In trx VTFA (if your billing is sales order based) choose your billing type and SO type, there select your item categories and there select the field VBRK/VBRP data. In that field you will see the currently used routine. With the help of your ABAP guy create a copy of that routine under a different number and add your lines of code. Let's say you use routine 001.
FORM DATEN_KOPIEREN_001.
* Header data
* VBRK-xxxxx = ............
* Item data
* VBRP-xxxxx = ............
* Additional split criteria
DATA: BEGIN OF ZUK,
MODUL(3) VALUE '001',
VTWEG LIKE VBAK-VTWEG,
SPART LIKE VBAK-SPART,
END OF ZUK.
ZUK-SPART = VBAK-SPART.
ZUK-VTWEG = VBAK-VTWEG.
VBRK-ZUKRI = ZUK.
ENDFORM.
This is how it should look after modification:
* Header data
* VBRK-xxxxx = ............
* Item data
* VBRP-xxxxx = ............
* Additional split criteria
DATA: BEGIN OF ZUK,
MODUL(3) VALUE '001',
VTWEG LIKE VBAK-VTWEG,
SPART LIKE VBAK-SPART,
PSTYV LIKE VBAP-PSTYV, <- New line
END OF ZUK.
ZUK-SPART = VBAK-SPART.
ZUK-VTWEG = VBAK-VTWEG.
ZUK-PSTYV = VBAP-PSTYV. <- New line
VBRK-ZUKRI = ZUK.
ENDFORM.
After this routine is created and activated place it as the default copy control routine instead of the old ones.
Maximum number of items in FI reached Message no. F5 727
If you hit the above erros when you create an invoice in SD, the corresponding accounting document is not created.
The error is as follows:
Maximum number of items in FI reached Message no. F5 727
Diagnosis
The maximum number of items for an FI document ('999') has been exceeded.
System response
FI documents have a 3-digit item counter that limits the number of items permitted per document.
Procedure
If the documents with an excessive number of items come from another application area
(e.g. sales, logistics, order accounting), you can configure the system to the effect that
these documents are summarized in FI. "
How could this error be solved as none of your invoices are getting accounted in FI?
To overcome this, the only way was to break the accounting invoices, 1 with 950 items and the other with the rest.
Restricting Number Of Items In Billing Doc
You can restrict delivery with delivery tolerance, thereby causing invoicing of the desired.
or
Go to SPRO>>>IMG>>>Sales & Distribution>>>Billing>>>Billing Documents>>>Country-specific features>>>Maintain Maximum No. Of Billing Items.
This is where you can define a maximum number of items allowed for all billing documents within a given sales organization.
However, maintaining data here is not enough alone to bring about a billing split by number of billing items.
You must also go to copying control for order/delivery to billing document at item level under "Data VBRK/VBRP" and maintain routine 006 "individual invoice limited" or a similar routine that accesses the data maintained here.
When using transaction VF04 or Billing (background), the date of the billing document (e.g. the current date) must be entered (In VF04 : settings, default data.)
In VF06 or background: variant with parameterization) to avoid an unwanted split due to the billing date.
This OSS notes is very helpful :-
11162 - Invoice split criteria in billing document
36832 - Invoice split in fields from the sales order
Billing Spilt by Item Category
In trx VTFA (if your billing is sales order based) choose your billing type and SO type, there select your item categories and there select the field VBRK/VBRP data. In that field you will see the currently used routine. With the help of your ABAP guy create a copy of that routine under a different number and add your lines of code. Let's say you use routine 001.
FORM DATEN_KOPIEREN_001.
* Header data
* VBRK-xxxxx = ............
* Item data
* VBRP-xxxxx = ............
* Additional split criteria
DATA: BEGIN OF ZUK,
MODUL(3) VALUE '001',
VTWEG LIKE VBAK-VTWEG,
SPART LIKE VBAK-SPART,
END OF ZUK.
ZUK-SPART = VBAK-SPART.
ZUK-VTWEG = VBAK-VTWEG.
VBRK-ZUKRI = ZUK.
ENDFORM.
This is how it should look after modification:
* Header data
* VBRK-xxxxx = ............
* Item data
* VBRP-xxxxx = ............
* Additional split criteria
DATA: BEGIN OF ZUK,
MODUL(3) VALUE '001',
VTWEG LIKE VBAK-VTWEG,
SPART LIKE VBAK-SPART,
PSTYV LIKE VBAP-PSTYV, <- New line
END OF ZUK.
ZUK-SPART = VBAK-SPART.
ZUK-VTWEG = VBAK-VTWEG.
ZUK-PSTYV = VBAP-PSTYV. <- New line
VBRK-ZUKRI = ZUK.
ENDFORM.
After this routine is created and activated place it as the default copy control routine instead of the old ones.
Maximum number of items in FI reached Message no. F5 727
If you hit the above erros when you create an invoice in SD, the corresponding accounting document is not created.
The error is as follows:
Maximum number of items in FI reached Message no. F5 727
Diagnosis
The maximum number of items for an FI document ('999') has been exceeded.
System response
FI documents have a 3-digit item counter that limits the number of items permitted per document.
Procedure
If the documents with an excessive number of items come from another application area
(e.g. sales, logistics, order accounting), you can configure the system to the effect that
these documents are summarized in FI. "
How could this error be solved as none of your invoices are getting accounted in FI?
To overcome this, the only way was to break the accounting invoices, 1 with 950 items and the other with the rest.
Restricting Number Of Items In Billing Doc
You can restrict delivery with delivery tolerance, thereby causing invoicing of the desired.
or
Go to SPRO>>>IMG>>>Sales & Distribution>>>Billing>>>Billing Documents>>>Country-specific features>>>Maintain Maximum No. Of Billing Items.
This is where you can define a maximum number of items allowed for all billing documents within a given sales organization.
However, maintaining data here is not enough alone to bring about a billing split by number of billing items.
You must also go to copying control for order/delivery to billing document at item level under "Data VBRK/VBRP" and maintain routine 006 "individual invoice limited" or a similar routine that accesses the data maintained here.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
SAP Tutorial - Part 21 - Sales & Distribution - Pricing - Part 8
Steps for creating a new or changing an existing Billing Document Types
Create/Change your Billing types configuration in VOFA.
Some of the IMG stuff are :-
1) To block automatic transfer of the billing document to accounting, mark the field.
Indicates whether the system blocks automatic transfer of the billing document to
accounting.
During document processing, you can manually transfer blocked billing documents to
accounting by selecting:
Billing -> Change -> Release accounting
2) Account determination procedure
3) Output determination procedure etc. ...
After customizing, use transaction VCHECKVOFA to check your configuration :-
1) Proforma billing types: If it is a proforma billing type, (VBTYP = U), the field must
be blank and the account determination procedure must be empty.
2) Cancellation billing document types: : A check is made to see if the cancellation
billing document type has the right VBTYP. An F2 invoice, for example, (VBTYP 'M')
can only be canceled with billing type S1 with VBTYP 'N' . A billing type with
VBTYP '5' can only be canceled with the VBTYP '6' and vice versa.
3) Cancellation billing document type partner functions A check is made to see if the
cancellation billing document type partner functions are empty or if those that
correspond to the billing type used are empty.
Next, make sure that you maintain the copy control for the Billing Types:
Sales documents in VTFA
Target Source
e.g. F1 - Invoice OR - Standard Sales Order
F1 - Invoice ZOR - Your Sales Order
Billing documents in VTFF
e.g. G2 - Debit Memo F1 - Invoice
G2 - Debit Memo F2 - Invoice
Deliveries in VTFL
e.g. F1 - Invoice LF - Delivery
F1 - Invoice ZOR - Your Delivery
Billing Block will not worked if you did not assign it
Define the possible block indicators in SM30 - V_TVFS and
allocate them to the billing types concerned in SM30 - V_TVFSP.
Your Billing Block will not worked if you did not assigned it to the desired billing types.
You can auto block by :- 1. sales document type in transaction VOV8, fields Billing Block, or 2. item categories in SM30 - V_TVAP, by filling the fields Billing Block.
Billing Plan for Milestone Billing
Milestone billing means distributing the total amount to be billed over multiple billing dates in the billing plan.
As each milestone is successfully reached, the customer is billed either a percentage of the entire project cost or simply a pre-defined amount.
During sales order processing, the system determines from the item category whether a billing plan is required and, if so, which type of plan
The type of billing plan that is determined at this point is set up in Customizing and cannot be changed in the sales document.
Billing plans for periodic billing and milestone billing plans for project-related milestone billing have different overview screens so that you can enter data relevant to your processing.
For example, for milestone billing, you must be able to enter data to identify the
individual milestones.
IMG configuration requires :-
1. Maintain billing plan types for milestone billing in OVBO.
2. Define date description in SM30 - V_TVTB.
3. Maintain Date Category for Billing Plan Type IN OVBJ.
4. Allocate date category in SM30 - V_TFPLA_TY.
5. Maintain date proposal for Billing Plan Type in OVBM.
6. Assign Billing Plan Type to Sales Documents Type in OVBP.
7. Assign Billing Plan Type to Item Categories in OVBR.
8. Define rules for determining the date in OVBS.
Milestone billing is typically used for billing projects, such as plant engineering and construction projects. Such projects often include a series of milestones that mark the completion of different stages of the work. In the SAP R/3 System, milestones are defined in a network along with planned and actual dates for the completion of work. The milestones are also assigned to the billing dates in the billing plan.
Each milestone-related billing date is blocked for processing until the Project System confirms that the milestone is completed.
Delivery-relevant order items for which a milestone billing plan applies are billed on the basis of the requested delivery quantity and not on the total of the confirmed quantities.
The connection between the project and the sales document item is made in the individual schedule lines of the item. Each schedule item can be assigned to a network in a project.
To display the project-related data for a schedule line, proceed as follows:
In one of the overview screens of the sales document, select
1. Item -> Schedule lines.
2. Mark the schedule line and select Procurement details.
The following figure shows an example of milestone billing where only the Contract have been billed :
Order Item Turbine 100,000
Billing Plan
Billing date Description % Value Billing Block Milestone Billing Status
01-10-94 Contract 10 10,000 - x x
01-03-95 Assembly 30 30,000 x x
01-04-95 Maintenance 30 30,000 x x
01-05-95 Acceptance 30 30,000 x x
01-06-95 Final invoice .. .. x
Network/Activities
Milestone Estimate Actual
Assembly 01-03-95 01-03-95
Maintenance 01-04-95
Acceptance 01-05-95
For each billing date in a milestone billing plan, you can specify whether the billing date is:
1. fixed
2. always updated with the actual date of the milestone
3. updated with the actual date of the milestone, if the date is earlier than the
planned billing date for the date
Create/Change your Billing types configuration in VOFA.
Some of the IMG stuff are :-
1) To block automatic transfer of the billing document to accounting, mark the field.
Indicates whether the system blocks automatic transfer of the billing document to
accounting.
During document processing, you can manually transfer blocked billing documents to
accounting by selecting:
Billing -> Change -> Release accounting
2) Account determination procedure
3) Output determination procedure etc. ...
After customizing, use transaction VCHECKVOFA to check your configuration :-
1) Proforma billing types: If it is a proforma billing type, (VBTYP = U), the field must
be blank and the account determination procedure must be empty.
2) Cancellation billing document types: : A check is made to see if the cancellation
billing document type has the right VBTYP. An F2 invoice, for example, (VBTYP 'M')
can only be canceled with billing type S1 with VBTYP 'N' . A billing type with
VBTYP '5' can only be canceled with the VBTYP '6' and vice versa.
3) Cancellation billing document type partner functions A check is made to see if the
cancellation billing document type partner functions are empty or if those that
correspond to the billing type used are empty.
Next, make sure that you maintain the copy control for the Billing Types:
Sales documents in VTFA
Target Source
e.g. F1 - Invoice OR - Standard Sales Order
F1 - Invoice ZOR - Your Sales Order
Billing documents in VTFF
e.g. G2 - Debit Memo F1 - Invoice
G2 - Debit Memo F2 - Invoice
Deliveries in VTFL
e.g. F1 - Invoice LF - Delivery
F1 - Invoice ZOR - Your Delivery
Billing Block will not worked if you did not assign it
Define the possible block indicators in SM30 - V_TVFS and
allocate them to the billing types concerned in SM30 - V_TVFSP.
Your Billing Block will not worked if you did not assigned it to the desired billing types.
You can auto block by :- 1. sales document type in transaction VOV8, fields Billing Block, or 2. item categories in SM30 - V_TVAP, by filling the fields Billing Block.
Billing Plan for Milestone Billing
Milestone billing means distributing the total amount to be billed over multiple billing dates in the billing plan.
As each milestone is successfully reached, the customer is billed either a percentage of the entire project cost or simply a pre-defined amount.
During sales order processing, the system determines from the item category whether a billing plan is required and, if so, which type of plan
The type of billing plan that is determined at this point is set up in Customizing and cannot be changed in the sales document.
Billing plans for periodic billing and milestone billing plans for project-related milestone billing have different overview screens so that you can enter data relevant to your processing.
For example, for milestone billing, you must be able to enter data to identify the
individual milestones.
IMG configuration requires :-
1. Maintain billing plan types for milestone billing in OVBO.
2. Define date description in SM30 - V_TVTB.
3. Maintain Date Category for Billing Plan Type IN OVBJ.
4. Allocate date category in SM30 - V_TFPLA_TY.
5. Maintain date proposal for Billing Plan Type in OVBM.
6. Assign Billing Plan Type to Sales Documents Type in OVBP.
7. Assign Billing Plan Type to Item Categories in OVBR.
8. Define rules for determining the date in OVBS.
Milestone billing is typically used for billing projects, such as plant engineering and construction projects. Such projects often include a series of milestones that mark the completion of different stages of the work. In the SAP R/3 System, milestones are defined in a network along with planned and actual dates for the completion of work. The milestones are also assigned to the billing dates in the billing plan.
Each milestone-related billing date is blocked for processing until the Project System confirms that the milestone is completed.
Delivery-relevant order items for which a milestone billing plan applies are billed on the basis of the requested delivery quantity and not on the total of the confirmed quantities.
The connection between the project and the sales document item is made in the individual schedule lines of the item. Each schedule item can be assigned to a network in a project.
To display the project-related data for a schedule line, proceed as follows:
In one of the overview screens of the sales document, select
1. Item -> Schedule lines.
2. Mark the schedule line and select Procurement details.
The following figure shows an example of milestone billing where only the Contract have been billed :
Order Item Turbine 100,000
Billing Plan
Billing date Description % Value Billing Block Milestone Billing Status
01-10-94 Contract 10 10,000 - x x
01-03-95 Assembly 30 30,000 x x
01-04-95 Maintenance 30 30,000 x x
01-05-95 Acceptance 30 30,000 x x
01-06-95 Final invoice .. .. x
Network/Activities
Milestone Estimate Actual
Assembly 01-03-95 01-03-95
Maintenance 01-04-95
Acceptance 01-05-95
For each billing date in a milestone billing plan, you can specify whether the billing date is:
1. fixed
2. always updated with the actual date of the milestone
3. updated with the actual date of the milestone, if the date is earlier than the
planned billing date for the date
Friday, May 22, 2009
SAP Tutorial - Part 20 - Sales & Distribution - Pricing - Part 7
Billing cannot be Release to Accounting
This SAP message will appear if the system is unable to find the G/L codes match from the configuration in transaction VKOA
No account is specified in item 0000001001
Message no. F5 670
Diagnosis
No account was specified for account type "S" in item "0000001001" of the FI/CO document.
System Response
The Financial Accounting program cannot process the document.
Procedure
A system error has probably occurred in the application you called up. Check the data transferred to item "0000001001" of the FI/CO document.
Assuming that one of the key combination is Account Assignment Group, you will have to check whether have the Account Assignment Group been input in the Customer Master (Billing tabstrips - Accounting sections - Field name: Acct assgmt group).
The Account Assignment Group will be copied automatically into the sales order.
Check whether the configuration in transaction VKOA have been done correctly.
Check whether the sales order (VA03 - Goto - Header - Financial Accounting - Field name: AcctAssgGr) have been filled in automatically.
Check whether the billing document (VF03 - Goto - Header - Header - Field name: AcctAssgGr) have been filled in automatically.
If the customer master have not been maintained and the user have already input the sales order, then the user will have to maintained the Account Assignment Group manually either in the sales order or the billing documents.
Take note for One Time Customer, the user have to input the Account Assignment Group manually into the sales order. One Time Customer can be used by many customer, therefore, the system will not be able to determine the Account Assignment Group manually.
Default Start Variant for VF04
There are two types of variant in VF04.
One is the selection variant before clicking the Display Billing List Button.
You can set the start variant via SE93 using the Change mode.
The second variant is the Billing Layout display variant.
This is after clicking the Display Billing List Button.
After creating your layout display variant, you can set it by clicking :-
Settings -> Display Variant -> Administration
Select the layout display variant you want and click :-
Edit -> Define default settings
Condition Exclusion which will be determined in the billing document
The system can exclude conditions so that they are not taken into account during pricing.
For example:
Material 4711 costs 150 USD. Some customers receive a discount of 10 USD per 100 pieces.
However, a specific customer can buy the material for 100 USD. Since this is a particularly good price, the customer should not also have a discount of 10 USD per 100 pieces. Therefore, this discount is to be excluded from pricing.
To create a condition exclusion procedure which will be determined in the billing document.
Assign the procedure to the pricing schema, and maintain copy control so that pricing is not copied from Sales Order.
To achieve this, copy the standard pricing to a ZXXXX Pricing.
Define new document pricing procedure in SM30 - V_TVKV for billing.
Assign new document pricing procedures to billing types in SM30 - V_TVFK_PR
Define the Condition Exclusion Groups in OV31.
Assign the Condition type for the Condition Exclusion Groups in OV32.
Assign the Billing Pricing Procedure in VOK8 for the Condition Exclusion Groups.
When billing document is being created just enter manually your new price and the pricing program logic will include only the higher price one, excluding the rest that are lower price.
This SAP message will appear if the system is unable to find the G/L codes match from the configuration in transaction VKOA
No account is specified in item 0000001001
Message no. F5 670
Diagnosis
No account was specified for account type "S" in item "0000001001" of the FI/CO document.
System Response
The Financial Accounting program cannot process the document.
Procedure
A system error has probably occurred in the application you called up. Check the data transferred to item "0000001001" of the FI/CO document.
Assuming that one of the key combination is Account Assignment Group, you will have to check whether have the Account Assignment Group been input in the Customer Master (Billing tabstrips - Accounting sections - Field name: Acct assgmt group).
The Account Assignment Group will be copied automatically into the sales order.
Check whether the configuration in transaction VKOA have been done correctly.
Check whether the sales order (VA03 - Goto - Header - Financial Accounting - Field name: AcctAssgGr) have been filled in automatically.
Check whether the billing document (VF03 - Goto - Header - Header - Field name: AcctAssgGr) have been filled in automatically.
If the customer master have not been maintained and the user have already input the sales order, then the user will have to maintained the Account Assignment Group manually either in the sales order or the billing documents.
Take note for One Time Customer, the user have to input the Account Assignment Group manually into the sales order. One Time Customer can be used by many customer, therefore, the system will not be able to determine the Account Assignment Group manually.
Default Start Variant for VF04
There are two types of variant in VF04.
One is the selection variant before clicking the Display Billing List Button.
You can set the start variant via SE93 using the Change mode.
The second variant is the Billing Layout display variant.
This is after clicking the Display Billing List Button.
After creating your layout display variant, you can set it by clicking :-
Settings -> Display Variant -> Administration
Select the layout display variant you want and click :-
Edit -> Define default settings
Condition Exclusion which will be determined in the billing document
The system can exclude conditions so that they are not taken into account during pricing.
For example:
Material 4711 costs 150 USD. Some customers receive a discount of 10 USD per 100 pieces.
However, a specific customer can buy the material for 100 USD. Since this is a particularly good price, the customer should not also have a discount of 10 USD per 100 pieces. Therefore, this discount is to be excluded from pricing.
To create a condition exclusion procedure which will be determined in the billing document.
Assign the procedure to the pricing schema, and maintain copy control so that pricing is not copied from Sales Order.
To achieve this, copy the standard pricing to a ZXXXX Pricing.
Define new document pricing procedure in SM30 - V_TVKV for billing.
Assign new document pricing procedures to billing types in SM30 - V_TVFK_PR
Define the Condition Exclusion Groups in OV31.
Assign the Condition type for the Condition Exclusion Groups in OV32.
Assign the Billing Pricing Procedure in VOK8 for the Condition Exclusion Groups.
When billing document is being created just enter manually your new price and the pricing program logic will include only the higher price one, excluding the rest that are lower price.
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