Composition and Structure of an INVOIC IDoc in SAP ERP

Composition and Structure of an INVOIC IDoc in SAP ERP

https://ecosio.com/en/blog/2019/03/29/Composition-and-Structure-of-a-INVOIC-IDoc-in-SAP-ERP/

The exchange of electronic invoices when using an SAP ERP system is done using the INVOIC message type. In this article we demonstrate the structure of an INVOIC IDoc and take a closer look at the specifics, especially how the invoice data is represented in an IDoc.

Motivation for IDocs

is the short form of Intermediate Document. As the word intermediate suggests, it is an intermediate format, for the data exchange with an SAP ERP system. Using IDocs, a third-party system is able to export and import data from and to an SAP ERP system. This data might originate from systems containing master data such as debtor data, creditor data, material master records etc. Other examples include dynamic data records such as timesheets, orders or invoices.

The SAP ERP system delivers a wide range of predefined IDoc base types, which can be used for data exchange. These predefined IDocs may not fully satisfy all requirements, in which case new IDoc types can be created, exactly meeting specific customer requirements.

Understanding the IDoc Contents

In order to be able to read the contents of an IDoc, the first step is to understand its structure. Unlike other XML-based standards, Universal Business Language (UBL) for example, IDocs use short and at first sight, incomprehensible element names. One will not be able to understand them without a supporting document that explains what these abbreviations mean. As the experience with IDocs increases, the abbreviated element names will become more familiar and their meaning will unfold - even without the documentation constantly at hand.

An IDoc can exist in different forms, but usually an IDoc can be found as database entry in an SAP system, where the following tables are being used: EDIDC, EDID4, EDIDS. The EDIDC table contains the data of the control record, the EDID4 table for the data records, and the EDIDS table for the status records. Transaction SE16N may be used to take a closer look at these tables.

However, users normally use their specific transactions to view IDocs, for example transaction BD87. The picture below shows a tree representation of an INVOIC02 IDoc in transaction BD87.