RECORD TO REPORT · DUNNING
How does SAP manage overdue receivables?
Dunning identifies overdue customer items, applies policy-based escalation, creates controlled correspondence, and retains the evidence needed to manage collection risk.
PROCESS ROLE
Dunning turns aging into consistent, owned collection action
Dunning procedures, levels, intervals, grace days, charges, interest, correspondence, blocks, customer exceptions, and review keep overdue follow-up aligned to policy.
OPERATIONAL FLOW
What happens in SAP
Read the sequence as one connected business event, not as isolated transactions.
Maintain reliable open-item status
Customer open items, due dates, payment terms, disputes, promised payments, blocks, and collection ownership must be current before the run.
Identify eligible overdue items
The dunning proposal evaluates procedure, level, interval, grace period, item status, and customer exceptions against the approved policy.
Approve escalation and correspondence
Collectors review proposed notices, disputed items, charge or interest treatment, contact details, and exclusions before output.
Record outcome and next action
Correspondence, customer response, promises to pay, disputes, payment plans, escalation, and write-off decisions update the collection trail.
DESIGN & CONTROL
What shapes the result
These controls work together; a locally correct setting can still produce the wrong end-to-end outcome.
Policy and master-data alignment
Dunning procedure, customer assignment, levels, days in arrears, intervals, grace days, charges, interest, and correspondence rules reflect approved collection policy.
Exception and customer protection
Dunning blocks, disputes, promise-to-pay status, legal holds, account ownership, correspondence approval, and contact-data control prevent inappropriate escalation.
Collection evidence
Proposal, notice, level change, activity, response, escalation, payment-plan, and write-off decision keep the overdue balance owned.
DIAGNOSTIC EVIDENCE
Show why an item was or was not dunned
An aging report identifies risk; the dunning trail explains the policy decision and the next action for every material overdue item.
Customer, invoice, due date, payment terms, procedure, dunning level, days overdue, block, dispute, and promise to pay.
Proposal, notice date, level, form or channel, recipient, charges or interest, reviewer, and output status.
Customer response, cash receipt, residual item, dispute, payment plan, escalation owner, and next review date.
COLLECTION CONTROL
A disputed invoice is excluded from escalation
A customer invoice is overdue but carries an approved dispute status. The dunning proposal excludes it according to policy, while undisputed overdue items advance to the correct notice level and owner.
- Overdue population is complete
- Exclusions are justified
- Notices follow policy
- Next actions are owned
See how continuous accounting, operational cut-off, parallel subledger workstreams, GL close, reporting, group hand-off, and period control connect.