SAP B1 blog

A target document in SAP Business One is a document that is automatically or manually created from one or more preceding documents – the so-called source documents. It forms the next logical step in a business process, taking over all relevant data such as article, Quantities, Prices, addresses and payment terms from the base document.

Target documents are the core of the document flow in SAP Business One. The principle: A sales order (base document) is transferred to a delivery or outgoing invoice (target document) using the „Copy to" function. The system creates the new document with all transferred data – manual re-entry is eliminated. The same applies to purchasing: An incoming goods receipt is created from a purchase order, and an incoming invoice from the goods receipt.

The data transfer follows a common document structure that runs through the entire process. All documents in SAP Business One — whether quotes, orders, deliveries, or invoices — share the same basic framework. This minimises the learning curve and keeps data consistent.

Several source documents can be summarised into a single target document. This is particularly useful when there are multiple open orders for a customer that are to be delivered together or invoiced in a collective invoice.

Target receipts can be used as parked documents (Drafts) can be saved via File > Save as parked document. In this state, they do not generate postings in the general ledger or inventory movements. This is useful if information is still missing or an approval is pending.

The document map (flow chart button in each document) visualises the entire document flow from the base document to the target document, making the relationships and process status clear at a glance.

A target document is not an independently created document. It always arises in the context of a preceding source document and is linked to it via document linking. A manually created document without a „copy to" reference is not a target document in the strict sense, even if it has the same document type. The distinction is relevant for traceability: only linked documents appear in the document map and enable a seamless process chain.

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