When you use master data on documents, you determine in the setup whether the master data should flow from the posted open documents to the posted documents.
Master data fields can follow your documents all the way from open orders to posted documents, but only if you set them up to do so. The transfer behaviour is controlled in the master data setup, where you decide for each field whether it should flow to the invoice, the shipment or receipt, or both.
You configure the transfer action per field. The options include transferring to both invoice and shipment/receipt, or only to the shipment/receipt without reaching the invoice. You can also set a field to transfer to the invoice only.
The setup works the same way on sales documents, purchase documents, and production orders. On sales it transfers to the shipment, and on purchases it transfers to the receipt.
You can override the default transfer setting manually on each individual document, so you are not locked to the setup defaults.
How master data flows from open documents to posted documents
When you use master data on documents, the setup determines whether the master data flows from the open documents to the posted documents. This applies to both the document lines and the document header.
Take a sales order as an example. When you create the order and add a couple of item lines, master data information is created on both the lines and the header. What happens to that information when you post the order depends entirely on the action you have defined in the setup.
Controlling the transfer action in the master data setup
In the master data setup you define the action that applies when a document is posted. The transfer action determines which information ends up on the posted document.
If the action is set to transfer to both invoice and shipment (or receipt on the purchase side), the field will flow through to the invoice as well as the shipment or receipt. If the action is set to transfer to shipment or receipt only, the information will not reach the invoice. It only lands on the shipment on the sales side and on the receipt on the purchase side.
The header works the same way. You might set up a field to transfer only to the invoice because you only need that information there. Other fields might transfer to both the shipment and the invoice. You can also set a field to transfer to the invoice only.
What you see on the posted document
The result becomes visible once you post. If you post a shipment and then open it, the lines carry the master data information that was set up to be transferred. The header shows the master data fields configured to be posted, while the fields that were not meant to go to the shipment are left out.
In short, master data flows from customers and items into the sales document and onward to the posted document. On the purchase side it flows from vendors and items into the purchase document and onward to the posted document. The setup decides exactly which information makes the journey.
Q&A
Where do you control whether master data is transferred to posted documents?
You control it in the master data setup. For each field you define the action that applies when a document is posted, which determines whether the information flows to the invoice, the shipment or receipt, or both.
Can you transfer master data to the shipment but not the invoice?
Yes. If you set the action to transfer to shipment or receipt only, the information lands on the shipment on the sales side and on the receipt on the purchase side, but it does not reach the invoice.
Does master data work on both document lines and the header?
Yes. Master data information is created on both the lines and the header, and the setup determines the transfer behaviour for each.
Can you change the transfer setting on a single document?
Yes. You can override the default transfer setting manually on each individual document, so you are not bound to the setup defaults.
Does the master data setup apply to purchase documents and production orders too?
Yes. The setup works the same way on sales documents, purchase documents, production orders, and all open documents. On purchases the transfer goes to the receipt rather than the shipment.