Defining basic settings is one of the most critical configuration activities as it determines how cash and bank relationship management and SAP Bank Communication Management will function within the SAP S/4HANA system.
Follow menu path SAP Financial Supply Chain Management > Cash and Liquidity Management > General Settings > Define Basic Settings to reach the screen shown below. This activity lays the foundation for the behavior of cash and liquidity management by establishing essential parameters such as the Cash Scope of functionality (Basic Scope or Full Scope, depending on your license and the associated cost).
You will also find change request grouping, bank account control modes, snapshot settings, and the availability of cash request features. These settings shape how the system processes cash flows, manages liquidity data, and interacts with other areas of SAP S/4HANA, like accounting and BAM. This activity also includes key technical setup areas such as defining the source application for accounting data, runtime parameters for the flow builder, and default liquidity items for liquidity analysis. Choosing the right configuration here is vital as it directly influences how cash operations are structured and monitored across the organization. Let’s now describe each function a bit more:
Enable Snapshot
The enable snapshot feature in SAP S/4HANA Finance for cash management allows you to activate the snapshot function within the full scope of cash management. When the Enable Snapshot field is enabled, cash flows are segmented by the time they are generated in One Exposure from Operations. This allows you to take snapshots of cash flows at different times and compare various versions of cash management data, such as cash positions or forecasts for a particular day. For example, you can use snapshots to trace cash position reports for the previous month and assess how they have changed over time. It’s important to note that the snapshot functionality is not supported in the basic scope. Even in the full scope, this feature is not enabled by default; it must be activated manually.
Cash Trade Request
A cash trade request in cash management is a feature that allows you to create, track, and manage short-term investments and borrowing activities within your organization’s cash position management processes. It can be triggered directly from the cash management module and can also be used to send trade requests to external trading platforms to create deals. This capability helps treasurers to manage liquidity more effectively, ensuring that surplus funds are invested efficiently or short-term borrowing needs are met in a timely manner.
New Reconciliation Model
The Enable New Reconciliation Model option activates the new cash flow reconciliation model within cash management, providing enhanced capabilities for reconciling cash flows. This new model offers more functionalities and can be used to reconcile cash flows against a broader set of data compared to the old model. If you have this functionality available in your system, you should use the new reconciliation model to take advantage of its advanced features. When the new reconciliation model is enabled, you should use the Reconcile Cash Flows—Intraday app for your daily cash flow reconciliation tasks. If the new reconciliation model is not enabled, you will need to use the Reconcile Cash Flows—Intraday Memo Records app instead. This flexibility allows you to tailor your reconciliation processes based on your specific requirements and system configuration.
Additional Bank Account Derivation Model
The Disable Additional Bank Account Derivation Model option in cash management allows you to control how the system fills in missing bank account information during accounting flows. By default, the system applies an additional bank account derivation logic when key details such as the bank account, house bank, or house bank account information is absent. This additional logic is executed before saving the data. However, if you activate the Disable Additional Bank Account Derivation Model option, the system suspends this additional derivation process, allowing you to manage and control bank account assignments manually if needed. It’s important to note that in cash management, having all flows assigned to the correct bank accounts is critical for maintaining an accurate cash flow forecast. Therefore, if you choose to disable this option, you must implement an alternative method to assign flows to bank accounts to ensure accuracy.
Grouping Options for Mass Change Requests
The grouping options for mass change requests in BAM allows you to control how change requests for updating payment approvers in multiple bank accounts are grouped together for workflow processing. By default, when you initiate a mass change to update payment approvers across several accounts, a change request is generated for each bank account, and these requests are grouped into a single mass change request. However, you can customize how these requests are grouped: into a single mass change request, or into multiple mass change requests by company code, account type, or a combination of both. This flexibility ensures that workflows align with your organization’s structure and responsibilities.
It’s important to note that this setting is only relevant when workflows are enabled for BAM and is not applicable to basic cash management. If you choose Group into a Single Change Request, all change requests are combined into one, requiring approvers to be authorized for all company codes and account types. Group by Company Code creates separate mass change requests for each company code, so approvers need responsibility for specific company codes. Group by Account Type creates separate requests by account type, so approvers must be responsible for specific account types. Lastly, Group by Company Code and Account Type generates highly specific mass change requests for each company code and account type pair, giving you the most granular control over approval workflows.
Bank Account Control Mode
Via the bank account control mode, you can select how you would like to approve bank changes within BAM. By choosing the appropriate grouping option, you determine how change requests are organized and routed to approvers based on your company’s structure and workflow needs.
Agent Rules for Workflow
An agent in BAM is a user who can receive workflow tasks (work items) in their inbox and perform necessary actions on them. In the Agent Rules for Workflow section, you can define whether the workflow should consider teams and functions only, or also include responsibility rules. Teams and functions group users by role or organizational structure, whereas responsibility rules allow for more granular assignments based on criteria such as company code, account type, or other attributes. Typically, you would select both teams and functions and activate responsibility rules to ensure that the right users—whether organized by teams or by functions or assigned via responsibility rules—receive and process workflow tasks efficiently.
Bank Account Contract Types
The Enable Bank Account Contract Types setting in BAM allows you to activate the use of contract types for bank accounts within your system. By enabling this option, you can classify and categorize bank accounts based on different contract types, such as checking, savings, or term deposit accounts, depending on how they are managed within your organization. This feature helps ensure that bank accounts are appropriately categorized and managed according to your internal standards and contract-specific requirements.
Editor’s note: This post has been adapted from sections of the books Payment and Bank Communication Management with SAP by Adrian Matys and Jean-Michele Szczecina. Adrian is an SAP finance professional with more than 10 years of experience. Jean-Michele is a subject matter expert in the areas of payments and cash management at Zanders.
This post was originally published 11/2025.
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