In SAP Financial Accounting, if you want to enter a document but delay updating the ledger until authorized officials approve it, which document functionality should you use?

Introduction / Context:
In many organizations, financial documents must be reviewed and approved before they affect the general ledger. SAP supports this through the concept of parked documents, which allows users to enter document data without immediately posting it. This question asks which document functionality you should use when you want to delay updating the ledger until authorized officials provide approval.

Given Data / Assumptions:

- The organization requires a review and approval step before some documents are posted. - Users need a way to enter document details in SAP without creating an immediate ledger posting. - SAP offers options like sample documents, recurring documents, parked documents, and account assignment models. - The question focuses on temporary storage of documents before final posting.

Concept / Approach:
Parked documents are real documents that contain all necessary data but are not yet posted to the general ledger. They can be reviewed, changed if necessary, and later posted by authorized users. This supports approval workflows and reduces the risk of incorrect postings. In contrast, sample documents and account assignment models are templates for future documents and do not represent actual financial transactions. Recurring documents are used for regular repeated postings and are not primarily a tool for approval workflows.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Review the purpose of sample documents, which is to serve as templates for repeated manual postings, not for approval based delays. Step 2: Consider recurring documents, which are designed to generate periodic postings for recurring transactions, again not mainly for approval purposes. Step 3: Recall that parked documents allow the user to enter all posting data but keep the document in an unposted status until an authorized user posts it. Step 4: Recognize that account assignment models are only partial templates for account assignments and do not create complete documents on their own. Step 5: Conclude that parked documents best match the requirement to enter a document without immediately updating the ledger, making option c correct.

Verification / Alternative check:
If you create a parked document in SAP and then check the general ledger, you will see that no posting has occurred yet. The document is stored with a reference number and can be reviewed in list transactions. Only when an authorized user posts the parked document does the system create accounting entries in the ledger. This behaviour demonstrates that parked documents are the intended tool for approval before posting.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option a is wrong because sample documents are not actual financial documents; they serve as formats for manual postings. Option b is incorrect because recurring documents are used to schedule regular postings and still post to the ledger once they are run. Option d is also wrong because account assignment models only provide predefined account combinations and do not represent complete documents or delay postings.

Common Pitfalls:
A common pitfall is using parked documents as a long term storage mechanism without clear approval processes, which can leave documents unposted for too long. Another mistake is misusing recurring or sample documents when approval control is actually required. Understanding the specific purpose of parked documents helps you design a workflow where users can capture document data and approvers can post it, balancing control and efficiency.

Final Answer:
To enter a document and delay ledger updates until approval, you should use a parked document. Therefore, the correct option is Use a parked document so that the document can be completed and then posted later after approval.