This book provides finance professionals with the data-gathering strategies, configuration steps, best practices, technical guidance, and case studies necessary for smoothly implementing or optimizing the check delivery and payment processes. Inside, you will learn the steps for payment configuration in SAP, how to design check and electronic payment strategies, and technical considerations for both printed checks and electronic payments.

Gathering Information
Understand the process of polling stakeholders to gather the information required for check and payment design and processing, and learn from a case study that includes key best practices.

Check Printing Options
Get an in-depth look at the myriad check printing options, including format, paper stock, security options, pre-printing, hardware, and more.

Design Considerations
Explore the options for state-of-the-art check, advice, and payment instrument design, including layout, security, multiple formats, signatures, and testing.

Payment Configuration
Master the payment configuration process in SAP via a case study that features real-life examples of working with Bank Master Data, payment media, clearing and automatic posting, variants, and global settings for ongoing payments.

Automatic Payments
Take away critical information on the key elements required for successful automated payment processes in SAP, including filtering, selecting, modifying, posting, and printing an automatic payment run.

Highlights

• Data gathering
• Product selection
• Payment system options
• Automatic payment processing
• Payment configuration
• Design and layout

About the Author(s)

Donald F. Eyres is an Accenture Capabilities Specialist, focused on AR and AP, with over eight years of experience with SAP. He has gathered check data, designed checks, and carried out SAP check payment program configuration for several Accenture clients. He has presented on SAP AR and AP topics at several conferences.

Table of Contents

• ... Foreword ... 13
• ... Introduction ... 15
• 1 ... Data Gathering ... 19
• 1.1 ... Organize Your Efforts ... 19
• 1.2 ... Meet with Stakeholders ... 20
• 1.2.1 ... Accounting ... 20
• 1.2.2 ... Treasury ... 21
• 1.2.3 ... Business Units ... 22
• 1.2.4 ... The Clearing Bank ... 23
• 1.2.5 ... System Architect ... 24
• 1.2.6 ... Procurement ... 24
• 1.2.7 ... Audit and Security ... 25
• 1.2.8 ... Printing Locations ... 25
• 1.3 ... Project Parameters ... 27
• 1.4 ... Local Requirements ... 28
• 1.5 ... Case Study ... 28
• 1.5.1 ... Princess Inc. ... 28
• 1.5.2 ... Rainbow LLC ... 29
• 1.6 ... Summary ... 30
• 2 ... Product Selection ... 31
• 2.1 ... Equipment — General Considerations ... 31
• 2.1.1 ... Defining Printer Activity Requirements ... 31
• 2.1.2 ... Reusing Printers ... 32
• 2.1.3 ... Standardizing Printers ... 32
• 2.2 ... Printer Characteristics ... 33
• 2.2.1 ... General Printers vs. Check Printers ... 33
• 2.2.2 ... Print Volume ... 34
• 2.2.3 ... SAP Compatibility ... 35
• 2.2.4 ... Manufacturer Service, Support, and Supplies ... 36
• 2.2.5 ... USB Kits ... 36
• 2.2.6 ... Network Cards ... 38
• 2.2.7 ... MICR Toner ... 38
• 2.2.8 ... One Last Step ... 39
• 2.3 ... Stock and Envelopes ... 39
• 2.3.1 ... Legal and Bank Requirements ... 40
• 2.3.2 ... Check and Payment Advice Structure ... 40
• 2.3.3 ... Cost ... 41
• 2.3.4 ... Blank and Preprinted Stock ... 41
• 2.3.5 ... Envelopes ... 43
• 2.3.6 ... Another Last Step ... 43
• 2.4 ... Case Study ... 43
• 2.4.1 ... Equipment for Princess Inc ... 43
• 2.4.2 ... Stock for Princess Inc ... 44
• 2.4.3 ... Equipment for Rainbow LLC ... 44
• 2.4.4 ... Stock for Rainbow LLC ... 45
• 2.5 ... Summary ... 45
• 3 ... Payment System Options ... 47
• 3.1 ... Check Printing Options ... 47
• 3.1.1 ... Generate Payments in Multiple Currencies ... 47
• 3.1.2 ... Generate Payment from Multiple Bank Accounts ... 48
• 3.1.3 ... Set Maximum Payment Amount per Account ... 48
• 3.1.4 ... Set Minimum and Maximum Payment per Check ... 48
• 3.1.5 ... Alternate Business Addresses (DBA) on Checks ... 48
• 3.1.6 ... Using Payee Instructions ... 49
• 3.1.7 ... Pay from Separate Check Lots ... 49
• 3.1.8 ... Define Time to Clear Checks (Check Presentation ... 49
• 3.1.9 ... Using Check Digits ... 49
• 3.1.10 ... Require Payee Address Data ... 50
• 3.1.11 ... Generate Positive Pay Data File ... 50
• 3.1.12 ... Print to Separate Locations ... 50
• 3.1.13 ... Special Handling for Checks ... 50
• 3.1.14 ... Grouping or Splitting Payables on Checkschecks ... 50
• 3.1.15 ... Printing Comments on the Payment Adviceadvice ... 51
• 3.1.16 ... Create Separate Payment Advice (vs. Printed on Check Stock ... 51
• 3.1.17 ... Pay from One Company Code (for Several Other Company Codes) ... 51
• 3.1.18 ... Manage Cash Discounts ... 51
• 3.1.19 ... Manual Payment Processing ... 52
• 3.2 ... Summary ... 52
• 4 ... Check and Payment Advice Design ... 53
• 4.1 ... The Check Form ... 53
• 4.1.1 ... Check Forms, Driver Programs, and Variants — What’s the Connection ... 53
• 4.1.2 ... Getting Ready ... 55
• 4.1.3 ... Check Numbers ... 57
• 4.1.4 ... Payee Name ... 58
• 4.1.5 ... Payment Amount ... 59
• 4.1.6 ... Printed Signatures ... 59
• 4.1.7 ... Wet Signatures ... 60
• 4.1.8 ... Escheatment Text ... 61
• 4.1.9 ... Clearing Bank ... 61
• 4.1.10 ... Fractional Routing Numbers ... 62
• 4.1.11 ... Check digits ... 62
• 4.1.12 ... MICR Lines ... 62
• 4.2 ... Check Form Examples ... 64
• 4.2.1 ... Princess Inc. Check Layout ... 66
• 4.2.2 ... Rainbow LLC Check Layout ... 75
• 4.2.3 ... Rainbow LLC Separate Payment Advice Layout ... 80
• 4.3 ... Summary ... 82
• 5 ... Security ... 83
• 5.1 ... Payment Processing ... 83
• 5.1.1 ... Processing ... 83
• 5.1.2 ... Physical Security ... 84
• 5.2 ... Check Theft ... 85
• 5.3 ... Fraud ... 87
• 5.3.1 ... Due Diligence ... 87
• 5.3.2 ... Alteration ... 88
• 5.3.3 ... Forgery ... 88
• 5.3.4 ... Security Features ... 88
• 5.4 ... Positive Pay ... 95
• 5.4.1 ... FCHX External Data Transfer Transaction ... 95
• 5.5 ... Summary ... 98
• 6 ... Payment Configuration in SAP ... 99
• 6.1 ... Bank Master Data and House Banks ... 101
• 6.1.1 ... Transaction FI01 — Create Bank Master Data ... 101
• 6.1.2 ... Transaction FI12 — Create House Banks ... 103
• 6.1.3 ... Transaction FI12 — Define House Bank Accounts ... 105
• 6.2 ... Clearing and Automatic Posting Configuration ... 108
• 6.2.1 ... Transaction OBXU — Define Accounts for Cash Discount Granted ... 108
• 6.2.2 ... Transaction OBXV — Define Accounts for Lost Cash Discounts ... 111
• 6.2.3 ... Transaction OBXL — Define Accounts for Underpayment and Overpayment ... 113