In this world of innovation everything is getting automated and RPA is gaining a lot of attention in creating various applications making companies to complete their tasks effectively.

Technology has advanced in such a way that even complex tasks are getting easier.

Financial transactions are one of the key aspects of a business. Invoicing is one of the parts of it which changes the fate of an organization.

Here is the place where SAP VIM is coming into the picture.

SAP VIM has been utilized by several companies to get off their manual efforts & time spent on Invoice data.

There by reducing the time, ensuring accurate & error free invoicing process.

So, lets look at all about SAP VIM in this SAP VIM tutorial blog.

SAP VIM

SAP Vendor Invoice Management (VIM) is an Invoice Management application runs completely in an automated way with digitalization capabilities.

By utilizing digitalization & RPA, SAP VIM automates the AR (Accounts Payable) process completely.

By following all the compliance guidelines, it is helping organizations in reducing manual efforts & saving time to meet the deadlines on time.

SAP Vendor Invoice Management Benefits

By the use of automation process, companies can be benefited by improving their revenue by accelerating their productivity. Automation can be applied at the level of Approvals & Payments.

Streamlining the workflows benefits a company by shortening the pay cycle which results in better cash flow.

SAP ERP integration with SAP VIM offers desirable results in AP operations.

Reporting is always a key component of any application. By utilizing SAP VIM, you will be getting on time financial reporting which gives control over Account Payables.

How does SAP VIM Works?

1. Invoice comes through various sources such as Email, fax or by paper.

2. The first step will be a scanning.

3. Scanned Invoice passed into an archive server where that invoice gets archived to document automatically and that document get stored and will be identified by alphanumeric unique number (30-digit).

4. The document then goes to SAP VIM where it gets stored and identified by 12-digit hexadecimal number which is called DP number.

5. Extraction of data from Invoice process involves sending document to ICC (Invoice capturing center) server. Once the desired data is extracted the document it sent back to SAP VIM.

6. Next step involves the validation of extracted data to find out any mismatches or any empty data in a particular field.

7. Once the Validation of Data is Passed Successfully, invoice is posted through MIRO through BAPI.

Advantages of SAP VIM

SAPVIM also involves for the development and continuation of business processes. It has the following advantages:

Reduce invoice processing time.

Prevents excess loss of Money

Reduction in Pay cycle times

Accelerates productivity

Cut down of manual data switching

SAP Ariba Central Invoice Management (CIM)

When you use SAP Ariba, you can use a central invoice management system for the S4 public cloud.

SAP Ariba Central Invoice Management works with SAP S/4HANA Cloud systems by combining SAP BTP technologies to create an interface that helps companies handle their bills in a central location.

How does end-to-end invoice process flow work?

1. Entry of Invoice through inbound channel.

2. Applying OCR processing for Transformation

3. Verification & Completion of Invoice with automatic invoice line-item creation with set of configured rules.

4. Using the interactive user interface, we can easily update the invoice without much efforts

5. We can check the history of approvals & approvals in que at central approval inbox for all workflow items supporting attachments.

6. Pay.

Various terminologies involved in SAP VIM: 

Archive doc type:

The archive doctype is a concept where the unique archive doc I D id is created whenever scanning is done. This unique doc ID is linked with the DP document, which is a unique BIM doc ID. For DP doc types, they are created based on the country for reporting purposes.

Transaction OWAD:

The transaction code for drag and drop or scanning in the system is called OAWD. This code can be written as OAWD and is linked with the unique archive doctor. This allows users to drag and drop and upload the invoice copy. The OAWD is based on the requirement and can be used for both PO and non-PO users.

The OAWD is based on the user’s knowledge of which is a PO or non-PO, and it is important to ensure that the system works correctly. If the invoice is not using OCR technology, it may not be able to be uploaded correctly.

The archive doc type is based on the requirement and can be used for various scenarios, such as when the invoice is not using OCR technology.

How to create an archive document type in SAP VIM?

It can be done either a quality or production based on its instance IDs. The archive is created under the Vim DP Doc ID and controls the number ranges for all doc types. The archive dog type is also considered as archive object.

How to create an OAWD document?

The pre-process methods and tasks are specified, and the document class is created. The document class can be used to create a new archive doctype. The name of the document type is not required, but the value is automatically copied.

The workflow document type is mandatory, and the document class needs to be ticked. Once the document class is created, the document class is used to create the new archive doctype.

If the client is going with any implementation project, it is recommended that they use a PDF copy instead of the TIF, PNG, or JPEG format, as this can cause issues with OCR2 because it cannot extract the information.

Key things to consider when creating a content repository:

OCR and non-OCR. OCR means scanning and coming over, while non-OCR means scanning and moving over. In some cases, like for urgent invoices, you may want to directly scan the invoice without going to the OCR. You will need to choose the appropriate option for your task.

Another important aspect is the content repository, which is a two-digit number two-digit ID. This content repository is directly linked with your archive server and is created by the by the basis team. The content repository is stored in a link table, which OpenTex has given you various options. The object type is your content repository ID, and the object type is your archive doc ID.

Another important aspect is the pre-setting folder, which is located in OAWD. It contains all the pre-setting folders that you need to create for your project.

How to Archive documents in a system (OAC3 archive doc type class):

The object is activated, and the status of the archive is updated. To change the archive doc type class, the user can go to the edit doc types section and change the document class.

The retention period is mentioned as a potential solution for clients who have a large number of documents that need to be removed from the link tables every year.

This could be done by adding a retention period of three to six months. However, this is based on the client’s specific requirements, such as compliance with laws or legal requirements.

Content Repository:

The content repository is a crucial component of the system, storing system data in the system database. It is typically stored in the logical repository or STP content.

The client’s content repository is located in the edit content repository, which has a storage type of HTTP content server. All invoices are stored on this server.

Maintenance of the content repository is done every seven years, depending on the system’s capacity. For clients studying for more than two years, the storage is not relevant to the SCP application but is related to an external server.

However, for clients who have been using the content repository for 15 years, they can access it.

The basis team can remove the content repository from the server if it is found to be very less or less than required due to upgrades or updates.

They do this based on the agreement between the client and the basis team. If the storage is less than five years, they can remove the necessary documents and images from the server.

Role Template:

The role template is a crucial component of the system, defined based on the specific requirements and template type. It is then assigned to the role template and users are maintained against each role using transaction.

This functionality is achieved through four ways: creating roles, assigning roles, maintaining users, and using transaction.

The idea server is used for role creation, where roles are created under the product code, which helps identify whether the role will be used for the block invoices, non-pure invoices, parked invoices, or before invoice posting.

The product code is commonly used for blocking during the blocking type and parking before invoice posting.

There are three standard product codes. These codes are used before invoice posting, blocking during the blocking type, and parking before invoice posting.

To create the role, the role name is created, and the p determination tick is ticked for the active to do the activity.

Key determination tick is mandatory for field-based templates, while other templates do not require ticking. There are three types of templates: field-based, organizational unit-based, and function module-based.