SAP F.13 Automatic Clearing: How It Works, Configuration and Common Issues

SAP F.13 automatically clears eligible open items in customer, supplier and G/L accounts. It runs the SAPF124 programme, groups items according to criteria configured in OB74 and clears a group when the relevant debit and credit entries balance to zero.

When F.13 does not clear apparently matching items, the cause is usually inconsistent matching values, unsuitable configuration or a clearing requirement that sits outside standard SAP’s boundaries. Understanding which applies can help finance teams improve automatic clearing without creating incorrect matches.

What is SAP F.13?

F.13 is the transaction commonly used to run automatic clearing in SAP. It can process eligible open items in:

• G/L accounts
• Customer accounts
• Supplier accounts

The underlying programme is SAPF124. SAP uses the rules configured through OB74 to place open items into matching groups. When the items within a group meet the clearing conditions and balance to zero, SAP can clear them automatically.

This makes F.13 useful for accounts containing large volumes of predictable debit and credit entries. Rather than selecting each pair manually, finance teams can process eligible items together.

SAP provides further technical information in its guidance on automatic clearing using F.13 and SAPF124.

How does automatic clearing work in SAP?

Automatic clearing generally follows five stages.

1. SAP selects the open items

The user defines the accounts, company codes, dates and other parameters to be included in the run.

The selection should be narrow enough to control the process but broad enough to include the corresponding debit and credit entries.

2. SAP reads the clearing rules

F.13 uses the criteria configured in OB74 to determine which items should be grouped together.

Depending on the accounting process, these criteria might use values held in fields such as:

• Assignment
• Reference
• Document number
• Document date
• Trading partner
• Other relevant document or line-item fields

The exact criteria should reflect how the corresponding entries are posted. A field is only useful for automatic clearing if it is populated consistently on both sides of the transaction.

3. SAP creates matching groups

Open items with the same values in the configured fields are placed into groups.

For example, if the assignment field has been selected as a criterion, items with different assignment values will not be placed in the same clearing group, even when the amounts appear to offset each other.

4. SAP checks whether each group balances

The relevant debit and credit entries in the group must meet SAP’s clearing conditions. If the group does not balance as required, the items remain open.

5. SAP clears eligible groups

When the conditions are satisfied, SAP posts the clearing and updates the selected transactions from open to cleared status.

A test run should be reviewed before live clearing, particularly after changing OB74 criteria or introducing additional accounts.

What is SAPF124?

SAPF124 is the standard SAP programme used for automatic clearing through transaction F.13.

In practical terms:

• F.13 is the transaction used to access and run automatic clearing.
• SAPF124 is the programme that processes the selected open items.
• OB74 is where the grouping criteria used by the programme are prepared.

These terms are connected but do not describe three separate clearing methods.

SAPF124 can process a high volume of eligible items, which is why it is sometimes described as a mass-clearing programme. However, processing items in bulk does not remove the standard clearing conditions. Every group must still meet the configured criteria.

What is OB74 used for in SAP?

OB74 is used to prepare the criteria for automatic clearing.

Its purpose is to tell SAP which fields must agree before open items can be placed in the same clearing group. The configuration can be defined according to factors such as the chart of accounts, account type and relevant account ranges.

The most appropriate criteria depend on the posting process behind the account.

For example, an interface account might contain the same external transaction reference on both the debit and credit entries. Using that reference as a grouping criterion could allow SAP to identify the corresponding items automatically.

Problems arise when:

• The selected field is only populated on one side.
• The same reference is formatted differently between documents.
• One posting uses the assignment field while the other uses the reference field.
• The criteria are too broad and create a risk of false matches.
• The criteria are too restrictive and separate items that should belong together.

OB74 configuration should therefore be based on an analysis of genuine account data rather than a small set of ideal examples.

Why is SAP F.13 not clearing open items?

F.13 may leave items open even when they appear to match because one or more of the clearing conditions have not been met.

The F.13 output should be reviewed carefully because it can help distinguish between a configuration problem and an underlying transaction difference.

Can F.13 perform mass clearing?

Yes. F.13 can process large selections of eligible open items, making it more efficient than clearing each pair manually.

It can also form part of a controlled recurring process where the configuration and selected accounts are stable. This allows finance teams to clear predictable transactions throughout the month instead of allowing them to accumulate before close.

However, mass processing does not mean every selected item will be cleared. Items that do not meet the configured rules remain open.

Particularly large SAPF124 runs may also need to be divided into controlled selections to manage system performance and make the results easier to review.

Can F.13 clear open items across company codes?

F.13 does not provide the flexible matching and clearing required when corresponding entries sit in different company codes.

SAP can create the accounting entries required for cross-company transactions and keep each participating company code balanced. However, that does not mean F.13 can automatically identify and clear every related item across the two entities.

Where one item sits in company code A and its corresponding entry sits in company code B, finance teams may still need to identify and clear the relationship manually or use additional functionality.

See our detailed guide to automating SAP cross-company code clearing.

Can F.13 clear items across different accounts?

Standard automatic clearing is designed around configured account and grouping rules. It becomes more restrictive when related items are held across different G/L accounts or account types.

Examples include:

• One entry in a G/L account and another in a customer account.
• Related entries held across two different G/L accounts.
• Transactions posted between customer and supplier accounts.
• Interface postings distributed across several accounts.

In these situations, the entries may clearly correspond from a finance perspective but still sit outside the structure F.13 expects.

Changing OB74 will not necessarily solve a requirement to match across fundamentally different accounts. Finance teams should first determine whether the problem is an unsuitable grouping field or a broader limitation in the clearing process.

Can F.13 match values held in different fields?

F.13 groups items using its configured criteria. If two corresponding references sit in different fields, standard automatic clearing may not recognise them as a match.

For example:

• The first document stores the reference in the assignment field.
• The second stores the same reference in the line-item text.
• The values are equivalent but use different formatting.
• One reference contains a prefix that does not appear on the corresponding document.

Where the organisation controls both source processes, the long-term solution may be to ensure that consistent values reach the same SAP fields.

Where several source systems or external interfaces are involved, standardising every reference may not be practical. More flexible matching may then be needed.

What tools are available for automating open-item clearing in SAP?

The main options are standard SAP automatic clearing through F.13, SAP Intercompany Matching and Reconciliation, specialist SAP add-ons such as BEST’s Open Item Clearing module and external transaction-matching platforms.

F.13 is suitable for predictable items that meet configured matching conditions. SAP Intercompany Matching and Reconciliation supports wider intercompany matching, monitoring and difference resolution in relevant S/4HANA environments.

BEST supports matching and clearing across company codes, accounts, account types and reference fields directly inside SAP. External platforms may be more suitable for organisations that need one reconciliation environment across several ERP systems.

The right approach depends on whether the organisation needs:

• Standard account-level clearing.
• Cross-company or cross-account matching.
• Completed clearing inside SAP.
• Wider intercompany reconciliation.
• Transaction matching across several ERP systems.
• A broader financial close platform.

Matching and clearing should be distinguished when evaluating the options. Matching identifies transactions that appear to correspond, while clearing updates the relevant SAP open items and posts the required documents.

When is standard SAP automatic clearing enough?

F.13 may be sufficient when:

• Related items sit within the required company-code and account boundaries.
• Debit and credit entries balance appropriately.
• The same reliable references appear in the same fields.
• Transaction formats are consistent.
• Clearing rules remain stable.
• Exception volumes are low enough to manage manually.

In this situation, improving OB74 configuration or source-data quality may be more proportionate than adding another solution.

Additional software should not be introduced simply because some manual clearing remains. The potential benefit depends on the volume, complexity and recurrence of the exceptions.

When might additional clearing automation be required?

Additional functionality may be appropriate when the remaining workload is structural rather than occasional.

This can include requirements to:

• Match and clear across company codes.
• Match across G/L, customer and supplier accounts.
• Compare references stored in different fields.
• Transform inconsistent references before matching.
• Apply several rules to the same population of open items.
• Process large selections without repeated manual work.
• Schedule complex clearing processes.
• Report clearly on how items were matched and cleared.

The BEST Open Item Clearing module is designed for these more complex SAP scenarios. It applies user-defined matching rules to open items directly inside SAP and supports clearing across company codes, accounts, account types and reference fields, subject to the organisation’s accounting rules and SAP configuration.

Because the process operates inside SAP, finance teams continue to use their existing system environment, authorisations and controls.

What customer evidence is available?

Italtile used BEST’s G/L reconciliation and clearing modules to move away from manual processes and establish a more centralised SAP-based approach.

BEST’s clearing functionality helped Italtile clear millions of open items across areas including interbranch transfers and VAT. The organisation then introduced automatic periodic jobs to help prevent new backlogs from developing.

This is an important distinction from simply running a larger clearing exercise at month-end. Regular processing removes eligible items sooner, leaving finance users with a smaller and more meaningful exception population.

Read the full Italtile SAP reconciliation and clearing case study.

Should F.13 clearing be scheduled?

F.13 can form part of a scheduled clearing process once the rules have been tested and the output is reliable.

The appropriate frequency depends on the account:

• High-volume interface accounts may benefit from daily clearing.
• Stable operational accounts might be cleared weekly.
• Lower-volume accounts may only need processing before month-end.
• Newly configured rules may initially require closer manual review.

Scheduling can prevent a large volume of eligible items from remaining open until period end. It should not remove oversight. Finance teams should continue to monitor:

• The number and value of items cleared.
• The items left open.
• Accounts with growing backlogs.
• Unexpected changes in the clearing rate.
• Incorrect matches or reversals.
• Changes to source-system references.

A sudden reduction in the automatic clearing rate may reveal a change in upstream posting behaviour rather than a problem with F.13.

What should be tested before changing automatic clearing?

Before changing OB74 or introducing an additional clearing rule, test the proposed logic using representative account data.

The test should include:

1. Transactions that should match.
2. Similar transactions that should not match.
3. One-to-one and grouped clearing scenarios.
4. Different reference formats.
5. Incomplete or missing postings.
6. Currency and amount differences.
7. The expected exceptions.
8. The process for resetting or reversing an incorrect clearing.

Testing only a few clean examples can produce misleading results. A rule might clear the expected transactions while also grouping unrelated items that happen to share the same value.

The safest approach is to begin with high-confidence criteria, review the results and only then introduce broader or transformed matching rules.

How can finance teams improve their automatic clearing rate?

Start by analysing why items remain open after F.13.

Divide the exceptions into categories such as:

• Missing corresponding entries.
• Amount differences.
• Inconsistent reference formats.
• References in different fields.
• Cross-account transactions.
• Cross-company transactions.
• Timing differences.
• Incorrect source postings.

This separates problems that can be addressed through configuration or data quality from those requiring a different clearing approach.

The objective should not be to clear every item automatically. It should be to automate reliable, repeatable matches while ensuring genuine exceptions remain visible for investigation.

Frequently asked questions

What does transaction F.13 do in SAP?

F.13 runs automatic clearing for eligible customer, supplier and G/L open items. It groups items using configured criteria and clears groups that satisfy the required balancing conditions.

What is the difference between F.13 and SAPF124?

F.13 is the transaction used to run automatic clearing. SAPF124 is the underlying programme that processes the selected open items.

What is OB74 used for in SAP?

OB74 prepares the grouping criteria for automatic clearing. These criteria determine which field values must agree before SAP places open items into the same clearing group.

Why does F.13 leave matching items open?

Common reasons include amount differences, inconsistent references, unsuitable OB74 criteria, incomplete selections, different accounts or company codes, or references stored in different fields.

Can F.13 clear items across company codes?

Standard F.13 does not provide the flexible matching needed when corresponding items sit in different company codes. These scenarios may require manual processing or additional clearing functionality.

Can F.13 clear items in bulk?

Yes. F.13 can process high volumes of eligible items. Every clearing group must still meet the configured matching and balancing conditions.

Can automatic clearing be scheduled in SAP?

Yes. Stable automatic-clearing runs can form part of a scheduled process. The results and remaining exceptions should still be monitored.

How can open-item clearing be automated across company codes?

Cross-company clearing can be automated using functionality capable of matching corresponding entries across company codes and completing the required SAP clearing. The BEST Open Item Clearing module supports this process directly inside SAP.

What should be done when OB74 cannot support the required match?

First confirm that the configuration and source data are correct. If the process requires matching across company codes, accounts or fields, more flexible clearing functionality may be needed.

To see how complex open-item matching and clearing can be automated directly inside SAP, book a BEST demo.