Billing complexity is no longer a barrier to growth. SAP Convergent Invoicing (CI) empowers modern enterprises to manage subscriptions, usage fees, and one-time charges—all on a single invoice. Discover how SAP Convergent Invoicing simplifies financial operations, improves customer experience, and drives revenue assurance across telecom, SaaS, and B2B/B2C industries.
SAP Convergent Invoicing (CI) is designed to streamline billing by consolidating charges from multiple services—such as subscriptions, usage-based offerings, and one-time fees—into a single, clear invoice. It enables modern businesses to manage complex billing scenarios efficiently, enhance customer experience, reduce operational errors, and adapt quickly to evolving revenue models.
Architecture and Integration of SAP CI:
SAP Convergent Invoicing (CI) integrates with various SAP BRIM components to handle subscription and usage billing. Subscription data from SOM/CRM and rated usage data from SAP Convergent Charging (CC) are passed to CI as billable and consumption items. CI consolidates these into billing documents and generates a unified invoice. This invoice is then sent to SAP FI-CA for financial processing like payments and dunning. Integration uses APIs, buffer tables, and middleware (SAP PI/PO or CPI). CI acts as the central hub, ensuring smooth data flow and accurate invoicing across multiple service and charge types.
Usage of SAP Convergent Invoicing (CI) for Subscription and Usage-Based Billing:
Modern businesses—especially those offering subscription-based, pay-per-use, or hybrid services—face the challenge of managing and billing for diverse streams of charges across multiple systems. SAP Convergent Invoicing (CI) plays a crucial role in addressing this complexity by enabling consolidated, accurate, and customer-friendly invoicing.
Functions of SAP CI:
1. Billable Item Management:
• Collects and processes raw billing data (e.g., usage, subscriptions, one-time fees).
• Performs data validation, enrichment, and mapping for invoicing.
2. Invoicing Function:
• Consolidates multiple charges into a single invoice per customer.
• Handles invoice creation, layout, currency conversion, and tax calculation.
3. Invoicing Run Management:
• Schedules and controls billing runs based on billing cycles.
• Manages mass processing and error handling efficiently.
4. Source System Integration:
• Accepts charge data from multiple external or internal systems.
• Supports standard and custom interfaces for flexibility.
5. Document Management:
• Generates print-ready invoice documents (PDF, XML, etc.).
• Archives and retrieves documents as per compliance needs.
6. Posting to FI-CA (SAP Contract Accounting):
• Transfers invoicing data to financial accounting.
• Manages collections, payments, dunning, and write-offs.
7. Reporting and Monitoring:
• Provides tools to track billing status, detect fallouts, and monitor KPIs.
• Allows audit trails and ensures billing transparency.
8. Error Handling & Reprocessing:
• Identifies incomplete or incorrect items during validation or invoice runs.
• Allows for correction and reprocessing without full reruns.
Key Reasons to Use SAP Convergent Invoicing (CI):
1. Consolidated Billing Across Multiple Sources:
• Businesses often have multiple systems (CRM, ERP, third-party apps) generating charges.
• SAP CI aggregates these charges into a single invoice**, avoiding multiple bills for one customer.
• Example: A telecom provider bills for voice, data, cloud storage, and premium apps—CI combines them into one neat invoice.
2. Enhanced Customer Experience:
• Customers prefer a single, clear invoice over multiple confusing ones.
• Consolidated billing improves transparency and trust, reducing customer service complaints.
• Supports self-service portals and e-billing formats.
3. Flexibility for Subscription & Usage Models:
SAP CI supports:
• Recurring subscriptions (monthly/annually)
• Usage-based billing (e.g., per GB used, per transaction)
• One-time charges
• This flexibility allows companies to launch rapidly and scale new pricing models.
4. Streamlined Financial Processes:
• Automates invoicing, tax calculations, and account assignments.
• Integrates tightly with SAP Contract Accounting (FI-CA) for collections and dunning.
• Reduces manual intervention, improving accuracy and audit readiness.
5.Real-Time Integration & Control:
• Real-time processing of billable items from SAP or non-SAP systems.
• Includes pre-invoice validation steps to avoid errors and disputes.
• Businesses gain greater control over the invoicing lifecycle.
6.Supports B2B and B2C Use Cases:
• Tailors invoices to the needs of both business clients and retail customers.
• Enables account hierarchy billing, consolidated statements, and different formats (PDF, XML, etc.).
7.Regulatory Compliance & Global Readiness:
• Supports tax rules, legal invoicing formats, and reporting standards in multiple countries.
• Helps global companies comply with local billing laws while maintaining a centralized billing engine.
The functions of SAP CI are applied in real-world scenarios:
Telecom Scenario – Example: Mobile Service Provider:
Business Model:
Offers mobile plans, data packs, roaming, entertainment subscriptions, and overage charges.
How SAP CI Functions Are Used:
Functions |
Usage in Telecom |
Billable Item Management | Collects data from network systems (call minutes, data usage) and third-party services (OTT platforms). |
Invoicing | Consolidates fixed monthly rental, pay-per-use charges, and partner service charges into one invoice. |
Invoicing Run | Automates monthly billing for millions of customers with scheduled batch processing. |
Source System Integration | Integrates with CRM, mediation platforms, and rating engines like SAP Convergent Charging |
Document Management | Sends digital invoices via email or mobile app; supports regional invoice formats. |
Posting to FI-CA | Posts to Contract Accounting for revenue recognition and payment tracking. |
Reporting | Monitors billing failures, identifies over/undercharging, and generates performance reports. |
Error Handling |
Flags unbillable usage records (e.g., incomplete call data), sends alerts for correction. |
Workflow chart:
[1] Source Systems (SAP or Non-SAP)
↓
[2] Billable Item Management (BIM)
– Collects charges (usage, subscription, one-time)
– Validates and enriches data
↓
[3] Billing Document Creation
– Grouped based on customer/account
– Prepares for invoice run
↓
[4] Invoicing Run
– Consolidates all billing documents
– Generates single invoice per customer
↓
[5] Invoice Output & Document Management
– Creates printable documents (PDF/XML)
– Sends via email, portal, or post
↓
[6] Posting to SAP FI-CA
– Records revenue
– Enables collections, dunning, reconciliation
↓
[7] Reporting & Monitoring
– Tracks billing performance
– Flags errors and fallouts
↓
[8] Error Handling & Reprocessing (if needed)
– Re-validates and resubmits problematic records
Comparison of Chargebee, Zuora, Stripe, Recurly, and SAP Convergent Invoicing (SAP CI / SI) for Subscription and Usage-Based Billing:
Feature/ Tool | Chargebee | Zuora | Stripe | Recurly | SAP Convergent Invoicing (SAP CI)
|
Target Market |
SMBs to mid-market | Enterprise-grade (mid to large businesses) | Developers & SMBs; scales to large orgs | SMBs to mid-market | Large enterprises (complex, high-volume billing) |
Subscription Billing | Highly customizable with complex workflows | Straightforward subscription creation and management | Easy setup with plan management, coupons, add-ons | Highly customizable; integrates with SAP SD, FI-CA for complete order-to-cash cycle | Highly customizable with complex workflows |
Usage-Based Billing | Strong usage-based billing, ideal for SaaS and IoT models | Basic metered billing using usage records, metered price models | Supports metered components and measured billing | Advanced: Supports real-time usage aggregation, mediation, and rating | Strong usage-based billing, ideal for SaaS and IoT models |
Pricing Models | Fixed, tiered, volume, usage-based, overage | Flat-rate, per-seat, usage-based | Fixed, tiered, usage-based | Supports any pricing model: flat, volume, tiered, usage, discounts, etc. | Fixed, tiered, volume, usage-based, overage |
Invoice Customization | Advanced invoice templating and customization | Basic customization via Dashboard or API | Moderate customization with templates | Highly customizable through Smart Forms, Adobe Forms in S/4HANA | Advanced invoice templating and customization |
Real-Time Rating & Charging | Near real-time with mediation capabilities | Delayed rating; basic usage tracking | Periodic rating; no real-time | Yes – uses Convergent Charging (SAP CC) for telco-grade real-time rating | Near real-time with mediation capabilities |
Integration with ERP / CRM | Strong integrations with Salesforce, NetSuite, Oracle | APIs for integration; limited ERP built-in | Integrations available; not ERP-native | Deep SAP-native integration with FI-CA, SD, CRM, and S/4HANA | Strong integrations with Salesforce, NetSuite, Oracle |
Analytics & Reporting | Extensive analytics and business KPIs | Basic built-in reporting | Good reporting features + Churn, MRR, ARR metrics | Advanced reporting through SAP BI / BW / SAC | Extensive analytics and business KPIs |
Compliance & Taxation | PCI-DSS, SOC 1 & 2, ASC 606/IFRS 15 support | PCI-DSS, basic tax support via integrations | PCI-DSS, SOC 1 & 2; supports Avalara, EU-VAT | Strong compliance with global taxation, ASC 606, IFRS 15, SAP Tax Engine | PCI-DSS, SOC 1 & 2, ASC 606/IFRS 15 support |
Best Use Case | Enterprises with complex subscription + usage billing needs | Developers, small startups needing fast integration | Subscription-based e-commerce, D2C businesses | Telecom, utilities, media, large enterprises with complex billing needs |
Enterprises with complex subscription + usage billing needs |
Conclusion:
In the era of digital transformation and complex service models, SAP Convergent Invoicing (CI) emerges as a critical solution for businesses handling subscription, usage-based, and multi-source billing. By centralizing diverse charges into a single, accurate, and customer-friendly invoice, SAP CI helps enterprises streamline operations, enhance customer experience, and ensure regulatory compliance.
Its modular functions—from billable item management and invoicing runs to error handling and integration with SAP FI-CA—make it ideal for industries like telecom, SaaS, and utilities. Whether scaling to millions of customers or integrating with various platforms, SAP CI ensures efficiency, transparency, and flexibility in modern billing processes.
Ultimately, SAP Convergent Invoicing is not just a billing tool—it’s a strategic enabler of revenue assurance and digital business models.