Intercompany Sales: Delivery from Another Company's Plant, Customer Invoice and Internal Billing (IV)
A customer buys from one company, but the goods ship from a plant of another company in the group. The selling company invoices the customer; the delivering company posts the goods issue and bills the selling company with an internal intercompany invoice (IV).
Educational content. SAP behaviour varies by configuration and release. Spotted something off? Report it.
Digital twin
01Customer orders from company 1000
Order 10000190 in sales org 1000. Delivering plant: 2100, which belongs to company 2000.
Business scenario
Demo Retail Pvt. Ltd. orders 50 EA of FG-2000 from sales organization 1000 (company 1000). The goods are in plant 2100, which belongs to Demo Components Pvt. Ltd. (company 2000). Transfer price between the companies: ₹1,500 per EA.
All companies, numbers and documents are fictional demo data.
Step-by-step flow
- 01
Customer orders from company 1000 open in twin
Order 10000190 in sales org 1000. Delivering plant: 2100, which belongs to company 2000.
The customer deals with one company only; the group decides which plant ships.
- 02
Plant 2100 delivers (601) open in twin
Delivery and goods issue from plant 2100: stock 300 → 250. Company 2000 posts cost of goods sold ₹60,000.
Inventory and cost follow the plant, not the sales organization.
- 03
Who invoices whom? open in twin
Company 1000 sold the goods; company 2000 shipped them. How is the money split?
The customer's contract is with company 1000; company 2000 must be paid for the goods.
- 04
Wrong seller on the invoice open in twin
The customer ordered from company 1000. An invoice from company 2000 does not match the order, the customer master or the tax registration.
Intercompany billing exists precisely so the delivering company is paid by the seller, not by the customer.
- 05
Customer invoice (company 1000) open in twin
Company 1000 invoices the customer ₹1,00,000.
The internal price condition is statistical here; it is used by the IV invoice.
- 06
Internal invoice (company 2000 → 1000) open in twin
Company 2000 bills company 1000 ₹75,000 at the transfer price.
Company 2000 earns ₹15,000 margin on the transfer; company 1000 earns ₹25,000 on the sale.
- 07
Intercompany sale complete open in twin
Group view: revenue ₹1,00,000, cost ₹60,000, margin ₹40,000. The internal invoice nets out in consolidation.
Compare with the intercompany STO in MM, where the receiving company keeps the goods instead of a customer.
SAP documents
Stock impact
| Step | Plant / SLoc | Stock type | MvT | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plant 2100 delivers (601) | 2100 / 0001 | Unrestricted use | 601 | −50 EA |
Accounting impact
Goods issue in the delivering company
TypicalPlant 2100 delivers (601)
- Dr Cost of goods sold — company 2000 (GBB/VAX)₹60,000
- Cr Inventory — company 2000 (BSX)₹60,000
The goods leave plant 2100's books, so the cost lands in company 2000.
Customer invoice in the selling company
TypicalCustomer invoice (company 1000)
- Dr Customer receivable (trade debtor)₹1,00,000
- Cr Revenue — company 1000 (ERL)₹1,00,000
Standard billing in company 1000.
Intercompany invoice in the delivering company
TypicalInternal invoice (company 2000 → 1000)
- Dr Intercompany receivable — company 1000₹75,000
- Cr Intercompany revenue (ERL)₹75,000
Billing type IV from the same delivery, to company 1000 as internal customer.
Intercompany cost in the selling company
Configuration dependentInternal invoice (company 2000 → 1000)
- Dr Intercompany cost of sales — company 1000₹75,000
- Cr Intercompany payable — company 2000₹75,000
Company 1000 records the internal invoice as a payable — often automatically from IV via EDI/IDoc, otherwise manually. Configuration dependent.
Typical conceptual flow. Actual G/L accounts and posting behaviour depend on material valuation, automatic account determination and system configuration.
Movement type
- 601GI for deliveryReversal: 602
Lets one company sell goods that are stocked and shipped by another company in the group, with each company recording its own share of revenue and cost.
Transactions & Fiori apps
- VA01 — Create Sales Order
- VL01N — Create Delivery
- VF01 — Billing (F2 and IV)
- VF04 — Billing Due List
- Create Billing Documents
Differences by SAP version
Classic intercompany billing with IV and PI01.
Same core flow; condition records in PRCD_ELEMENTS.
Intercompany sales scope item with Fiori billing apps.
Configuration
Plant assignment for intercompany (sales org ↔ plant)
Configuration dependentAllows the sales org to sell from a plant of another company code.
Internal customer per sales organization
TypicalRepresents the selling company as the payer of the IV invoice.
Automatic intercompany invoice receipt
Configuration dependentEDI/IDoc posting of the IV invoice in the selling company.
Prerequisites
- Delivering plant allowed for the selling sales organization
- Internal customer for the selling company code, assigned to the delivering company's sales area
- Internal price condition records (e.g. PI01)
- Billing type IV assigned
Master data
- Material in the delivering plant
- Valuation price for COGS in company 2000.
- Internal price condition
- Transfer price used by IV.
Organizational structure
- Company 1000: sales org 1000
- Company 2000: plant 2100
Tables
| Table | Description |
|---|---|
| VBRK / VBRP | F2 and IV billing documents |
| VBFA | Document flow showing both invoices from one delivery |
Integration
- FIPostings in two company codes and intercompany reconciliation.
- MMInventory in the delivering plant.
Common errors
“IV invoice not created”
Likely causes: No internal customer for the sales org; Billing type IV not assigned; No internal price
Where to look: VF04 with intercompany · Pricing analysis on the order
Troubleshooting
Something went wrong? Work through these checks in order. They are diagnostic questions, not configuration instructions — confirm changes with your system owner.
CHECK 1
Intercompany billing
- Internal customer assigned?
- IV in the billing due list?
- Internal price on the order?
Interview questions
Explain intercompany sales in SD.
The sales org (company A) sells to the customer; a plant of company B delivers. Goods issue posts in company B. Company A bills the customer (F2); company B bills company A with an intercompany invoice (IV) using the internal price condition. Company A records the IV as a payable, manually or via EDI.
What is PI01?
A typical internal price condition: the transfer price between the companies, statistical on the customer order and used as the price on the IV invoice.
Quiz
References
- SAP SE — SAP Help Portal: Intercompany Sales Processing (source)
- SAP SE — SAP Help Portal: Intercompany Billing (source)
Explanations are original. They summarize standard behaviour; always validate against your system's release and configuration.
Version history
| Version | Change |
|---|---|
| 1.0.0 | Initial version. |