Revenue account (SAP Business One)

That Revenue account - often also Revenue account is a central G/L account in the Financial Accounting module of SAP Business One. It is used to automatically record revenue from the sale of goods and services and is fundamental to the creation of the financial statements. Profit and loss account (P&L).

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Context and use:
The revenue account belongs to the account type Yields and is managed as an active account in the chart of accounts. In the context of bookkeeping, it is mainly used on the Credit side posted when sales are generated - e.g. for outgoing invoices. It is one of the so-called P&L accounts and contributes to the calculation of the operating result (EBIT).

Automation through G/L account determination:
SAP Business One automatically posts sales to the revenue account. The system controls exactly which account is used via the G/L account determinationg (G/L Account Determination).
The following applies:

On Standard revenue account is mandatory and is stored via the account determination in the „Sales“ area.
This standard account can be used at several levels overwritten e.g. directly in the item master, in the item group or in the warehouse. This allows differentiated revenue structures to be mapped (e.g. domestic, EU, third country).
A separate revenue account can also be defined for services and freight costs.

Application examples in SAP Business One:

Outgoing invoice (A/R Invoice): When posting, the system automatically creates a journal entry with the revenue on the credit side.
Service documents: For vouchers of type service a G/L account must be explicitly specified to which the service revenue is posted.
A/R credit memos (A/R credit memos): SAP Business One automatically reduces the revenue account in the event of returns or cancellations.
Cash sales: Revenue is also recognised automatically via the defined revenue account for cash sales to one-off customers.

Special features and extensions:

Foreign currency: Exchange rate differences are automatically posted to separate profit or loss accounts.
Accruals and deferrals: In the standard, all revenue is recognised in the accounting period. For accrual accounting (e.g. for services provided over several months), add-ons such as the Versino Financial Suite necessary.
cost accounting: Using cost centres and allocation rules, a revenue account can be evaluated in a differentiated manner in reports without having to manage several G/L accounts.

Differentiation from similar terms:
In contrast to Expense accounts, While the revenue account documents costs, the revenue account only shows income. It is also clearly separated from the Debtor account which manages receivables from customers, while the revenue account recognises the actual sales revenue.

Example:
A company sells goods worth €1,000. When posting the outgoing invoice, SAP Business One automatically creates an entry in the debtor account (debit) and an offsetting entry in the revenue account (credit) in the amount of €1,000.