Allocate the costs on an A/P service invoice

Share a supplier's service invoice across companies, by invoice or by G/L.

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What it does

By invoice: a draft A/R invoice in the sender creates draft A/P invoices in the receivers. By G/L: a journal voucher in each receiving company.

When you need it: One audit invoice for the whole group.

How it works

Add the supplier's service invoice in the sending company, then on the open A/P service invoice choose "Open Allocation".
In the "Allocation" window, choose "Invoice" or "G/L" as the "Allocation Type". The top table lists the invoice lines, read-only apart from the posting date; select a line to fill in its receivers.
Choose the "Allocation Method", list the receiving companies by "IC Branch Code" with their percentage or amount and, if wanted, an "Allocation Account" each. Choose "Add", then "Allocate".
By invoice: one draft A/R invoice per receiver is created in the sender. When a user adds it from "Draft Documents", a draft A/P invoice appears in the receiver, which accepts and adds it, or rejects it.
By G/L: the sender gets one journal entry per invoice line, debiting the receivers' due-from accounts, and each receiver gets a journal voucher, as in a G/L allocation.
The sender's lower table follows each receiver: "Confirmed", the receiver's document number and posting date, or the document made on rejection.

Set it up

The choices sit under "Service Invoice Allocation" in Administration › Setup › Intercompany › General Settings: "Disable G/L Allocation" (ticked by default, so only invoice-type allocation is offered until it is cleared), "Disable Invoice Allocation", and "Default Allocation Type" (Invoice unless changed). The same part decides whether project codes, distribution rules and dimensions are copied from the top table to the lower one, and which posting schema, common or differential, applies to them in G/L-type allocations. Branch Accounts Setup and the default accounts work as for G/L allocation.

Since: Version 55 (October 2025): invoice-type allocation also runs through the SAP Business One Service Layer.

Good to know

A line can carry at most its "Total Allocation Amount": the line total and tax less discount, plus freight and freight tax, plus the distribution amount.
The receiver's draft A/P invoice proposes the default expense account, unless an allocation account or a classified account replaces it; it can be changed before adding. A tax code is filled in only with "Automatically Assign Tax Codes to Receiving Documents in Intercompany Trade" ticked and code and rate matching.
Rejecting the draft A/P invoice cancels the sender's allocation A/R invoice.