Configuring Cash Sales within SAP ERP – Everything You Need To Know!

SAP provides several ways of capturing an order within the system. We will discuss one of the less common, yet relevant business case called Cash Sales in this article. This supports the business case where a customer picks a product from the store/outlet and pays in cash at the register or Point of Sale (POS). This is especially true for companies operating in eCommerce and retail verticals.

What is different about this transaction is that in this case, the order till cash cycle happens in a single shot at the instance when the goods were sold at the counter. Thus, for cash sales orders, customer orders, pick the purchased goods and immediately pay for the goods received. The cash order creates subsequent documents in the same transaction. Read this article to understand the basics of subsequent document flow.

Key Characteristics of Cash Sales in SAP

Immediate Payment and Delivery

Cash sales in SAP mean the customer pays right away and gets the goods immediately. There is no waiting for invoices or payments to clear. This makes the whole process fast and simple.

• The system blocks credit checks since payment is guaranteed at the point of sale.
• Goods are shipped out or handed over as soon as the order is entered.
• Both payment and delivery documents post in one step.
• You see the sale in your reports right away without delay.
• Tracking payment status is straightforward.
• No split between delivery and billing steps.

Order Type BV (or CS)

SAP uses a special order type—BV or CS—to mark cash sales. This tells the system to treat the transaction differently than a normal order.

• The order type sets system behavior: skip credit checks, link payment and delivery.
• Pricing and tax routines run immediately when you save the order.
• Special layouts and printouts apply for cash sale documents.
• The order screen shows “cash sale” clearly for users.
• Printouts carry a clear label of cash sale for accounting.
• It uses standard SAP settings so minimal custom setup.

Automatic Processes

Many steps in a cash sale happen automatically in SAP. You don’t have to run separate jobs for delivery, billing, or accounting.

• Posting of goods issue and invoice in one transaction.
• Automatic updating of stock levels when the order is saved.
• Instant generation of accounting entries for revenue and cost of goods sold.
• The system sends notifications when the order is complete.
• Status updates appear instantly on all screens.
• Less manual work means fewer mistakes.

Billing

In cash sales, billing is built into the order flow. You don’t create a separate billing document afterward. The system takes care of it for you.

• Invoice document is created at the same time as delivery.
• Billing fields (price, tax, payment terms) are filled from the sales order.
• You can print or email the invoice immediately to the customer.
• Taxes are calculated and added automatically.
• The invoice includes both delivery and payment details.
• You can resend the invoice later if needed.

No Credit Management

Since the customer pays upfront, you don’t need credit checks or hold releases. This removes delays and exceptions in the sales process.

• Credit limit checks are bypassed entirely.
• No need for manual approval of credit blocks.
• Reduces workload for credit controllers.
• You avoid credit holds and release steps.
• The system logs payment immediately.
• No waiting for credit department sign-off.

How SAP ERP Handles Cash Sales

Standard SAP provides order type BV for this scenario. Whenever an order of type BV is created the outbound delivery will be created automatically along with the post goods issue. In this case, the billing document will be created with the reference of sales order and not the delivery number. In this article, we will see how to create a cash sales order in SAP. This can be done by using transaction code VA01 and sales order type as BV (CS).

Below are the steps to create a Cash sales order in SAP.

Step 1: Creation of Cash sales order

• In SD Master Data Screen, enter the transaction code VA01.

• Enter sales order type as BV (CS) and also provide sales organization, distribution channel and division. Click on Enter.
• In our case, sales organization is 1000, distribution channel is 10 and division is 00.

• Enter customer details and material and quantity and click on save.
• In our example, we are creating a cash sales order for customer 1000 and material R-1140 with the quantity 2.

• Now the cash sales order and delivery will be automatically created.
• It also displays the following message with the sales order and delivery number.

• In order to check whether the delivery has been created or not, go to transaction code VA03 and click on document flow icon.

• In the below screen, please observe that transfer order has been created even we did not perform picking and transfer order. Thus the delivery will be automatically created.
• Order status is being processed because we did not create a billing document (invoice) yet.

Step 2: Post Good Issues

• Now the next step is to perform post goods issue.
• This would be done automatically. However, you can also go to transaction code VL02N. Provide delivery document number and click on Post Goods Issue.

• The following message will be displayed.

• In order to check the document flow, go to VA03 and click on document flow icon.
• The following screen displays information regarding post good issues.

• The order status is still being processed until we complete billing document creation.

Step 3: Creation of Billing Document

• Billing document will be generated automatically for Cash Sales. However, you can also go to transaction code VA02. Click on Billing under Sales Document.

• Click on Save in the below billing document to create billing.

• The following message will be displayed informing that billing document has been created.

• In the below screen, the billing document is created with the reference of cash sales order number.

• In order to check the document flow, go to VA03 and click on document flow icon.
• Now, the order status has been changed to Completed and all the accounting information is cleared.

Dealing with Problems and Complaints

Even the best-run stores can encounter hiccups at the point of sale. Here’s how to handle the most common cash-sales issues in SAP ERP:

1. Wrong Quantity or Product Delivered
   • Identify the error by reviewing the document flow in VA03. Note the sales order (BV), delivery, and billing numbers.
   • Reverse the delivery: In VL02N, enter the delivery number, click Reverse Post Goods Issue, and save.
   • Adjust stock: SAP will automatically restock the goods once PGI is reversed.
   • Create a corrected order or adjust the original sales order (VA02), then repeat the cash-sales flow. 
2. Payment Discrepancy (Over- or Under-Payment)
   • Check the billing document (VF03) against the actual cash received.
   • Post a manual incoming payment in F-28 to match the exact amount.
   • Create a subsequent credit memo (VF01, document type G2) for any overpayment, or post a customer debit memo (F-32) for under-payment.
   • Clear open items in F-32 to reconcile the customer account. 
3. Customer Returns or Complaints After Sale
   • Trigger a return order using transaction VA01 with order type RE (returns). Reference the original cash-sales order.
   • Process return delivery in VL01N, then perform PGI reversal in VL02N.
   • Issue credit or replacement: Generate a credit memo (VF01, type G2) or create a new sales order for replacement goods.
   • Communicate resolution: Use SAP’s sales activity (VA02 → Sales Activity) to log the customer interaction and confirm outcome. 
4. System-Generated Errors (e.g., Pricing, Tax Calculation)
   • Review pricing procedure in VK13 (condition tables) to ensure correct rates.
   • Check tax determination in OVK1/OVK2 for country-specific VAT or GST settings.
   • Re-bill if needed: Reverse the billing document in VF11, correct the conditions, then re-create the billing (VF01). 
5. Monitoring and Escalation
   • Set up workflow alerts in transaction SWDD to notify managers of reversal postings or credit memos beyond a threshold.
   • Use SAP standard reports (e.g., VFX3 for billing list, VL06O for outbound deliveries) to spot anomalies.
   • Escalate unresolved complaints via your CRM integration—create a service ticket automatically when a return order is flagged.
     

Difference between Cash Sales and Rush order

It is easy to mistake cash sales with rush orders. However, they are completely different concepts. Having understood cash sales, let’s look at rush orders first. In the case of rush orders, we need to deliver the orders as soon as possible to the customer. For example, the customer could pick up the product the same day on which the order placed date. Thus, in case of rush orders, the delivery is created immediately when the order is saved. However, the billing document is not generated at the same time. Moreover, customer payment may not be done at the time the customer picks the goods. This is the key difference between rush order and cash sales.

Summary and Conclusion

Hope we were able to walk you through the relevant aspects of cash sales. We also hope that by following the above tutorial, you can now create cash sales within SAP. Any comments and feedback are most welcome.

Now, you can easily connect your SAP ECC with the Ecommerce store or CRM to automate the business process!

You may also like:
Comparing SAP C4C with Salesforce
Understanding Price Scaling within SAP ERP and Magento
8 Mind-Blowing Reasons to Upgrade to SAP ERP