Menu path: IMG->sales & distribution->Billing->billing plans->define billing plan types.
You set the start date and end dates if applicable to the type of billing you are using. What time to be billed (end of month, start of month etc..)
Milestone is a billing plan type where a customer is billed for the amount distributed between the dates until total value is reached eg: if the total billing amount is 1000 USD for a year. You will bill the customer in different amounts say 200, 500, 300 at different intervals as per customer agreement.
On the other hand Periodic billing is billing the customer for the total amount(here 1000 USD) at regular intervals
periodically until the customer agreement is reached. eg: 1000/12 for a 1 year agreement and say billed at the 1st day of every month
Explanation for 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