Complex and counterintuitive - for many users, SAP is overwhelming at first. There are endless settings, transactions, and buttons. Each branch in the menu tree seems to be a world of its own.  

This seeming weakness is also the greatest strength of the SAP ecosystem. There is a good reason for the complexity: SAP has to be so sophisticated that it can handle almost any business case. The many settings give the system enormous flexibility. This is particularly noticeable in relation to Swiss real estate and tenancy law. The SAP RE-FX module offers users various configuration options that are tailored to the Swiss system and Swiss law. Here is a brief list of the most important functionalities:

Rent adjustments

The mortgage reference interest rate (hypothekarische Referenzzinssatz) is published quarterly by the Federal Office for Housing (Bundesamt für Wohnungswesen (BWO)). The reference interest rate has a direct impact on the amount of rental income, as a change of, for example, 0.25% can cause a rent adjustment.

If the reference interest rate rises by 0.25%, the rent can be increased by 3%. If the reference interest rate falls by 0.25%, the tenant is entitled to a reduction of 2.91%. This ratio between the change in the reference interest rate and the actual change in rent is called the rollover rate (Überwälzungssatz).

The frequency of rent adjustments depends directly on the volatility of the reference interest rate. To enable SAP users to implement these adjustments with as little effort as possible, SAP RE-FX offers the option of storing adjustment rules, interest rate references, index levels, and rollover rates.

By activating Swiss rental law within a company code, special condition types can also be maintained in the SAP standard system. These condition types relate to the local customary rent and the reserve for refurbishment/value-enhancing investments. These condition types can also be used automatically as a basis for calculating rent adjustments.

Dunning process

In Switzerland, property management must be able to choose between different dunning procedures depending on the process involved. This is not normally provided for in the SAP standard, as both subsequent claims from heating/ancillary cost billing and those from sales-based rent billing are controlled via the dunning data settings in the rental contract.  

The configuration of different dunning procedures can be carried out directly in Customizing, but a BAdI (Business Add-In, extension technology in SAP) is used in the background for this purpose. If the Customizing settings are not detailed enough, the BAdI used can also be modified/overwritten.

‍QR codes

Since October 1, 2022, QR invoices have been standard in Switzerland. The red/orange payment slips (ESR) previously used have been replaced. The Swiss QR Code contains all relevant payment data (IBAN/QR-IBAN, reference number, amount, currency, payer) in machine-readable format.

The QR invoice functions originate from the modules (FI-AR and FI-AP), which also belong to the FI module that is parent to RE-FX module. This functionality is therefore already integrated into RE-FX as standard. You just need to ensure that the forms used (Adobe Forms, Smart Forms) are configured correctly. If further fine-tuning is required, you also have the option of implementing a BAdI. ‍

Fuel usage

Although more and more heating systems in Switzerland are being replaced by other sources of heat (heat pumps, district heating, etc.), fuel management remains an important part of the service charge statement. The handling of these fuels is strictly regulated by law.

For example, the first-in, first-out (FIFO) principle must be applied when billing. This means that the oldest fuel purchased must also be billed to tenants first. Depending on how often deliveries/purchases are made, this can be complicated without automated support from the system.

Since fuel procurement in SAP is handled via the MM module, the two modules can be integrated. This integration means that additions and disposals must be posted correctly in RE-FX. These postings can be controlled via transaction types.

All necessary settings can be made in Customizing for specific service charge keys. This automation provides landlords with transparent fuel management and minimizes sources of error through automated calculations. ‍

Individual heating cost settlement

Most cantonal rental laws stipulate that heating costs must be billed individually. This means that the costs incurred must be divided among the tenants either using an appropriate distribution key (number of units, floor space, share, etc.) or consumption meters.

SAP offers landlords enormous flexibility in this area and enables administrations to implement various distribution schemes as standard. Thanks to the existing connection to the invoice form (Adobe Forms, Smart Forms), all data used (consumption, distribution keys, etc.) can be transferred to the invoice. Companies can customize the structure of their invoices.

‍Heating degree days (Heizgradtage)

Although heating degree days (Heizgradtage) are not explicitly listed as Swiss specifics in RE-FX Customizing, they can nevertheless be used as an important lever to increase fairness in the distribution of heating costs. This fairness in the distribution of service charges is an important principle of Swiss tenancy law. If individual meter readings are not available for each rental unit, heating degree days can be used as a weighting factor for heating energy consumption.

Heating degree days weight the types of measurement used (e.g. area, proportion) etc. with a factor. This factor is calculated for each month of the year for annual billing periods. The ratio of the total heating degree days recorded in the month to the total heating degree days for the year is calculated for each month.

Heating degree days are calculated for each heating day. A heating day (Heiztag) is a day with an average daily temperature of no more than 12 degrees Celsius.  The heating degree value (Heizgradwert) of a heating day corresponds to the difference between the average daily temperature and 20 degrees Celsius.

Example: On a day with an average daily temperature of 8 degrees, the heating degree value would be 12. On a day with an average daily temperature of 14 degrees, the heating degree value would be 0.

Heating degree days can be entered in SAP RE-FX when setting up settlement units. This enables administrations to ensure greater fairness in the distribution of heating costs, especially in the case of sub-periodic tenant changes.

‍Subletting

The topic of subletting can be easily covered by SAP RE-FX as part of the standard system. It is possible to assign different roles to each real estate contract or to assign several contracts with different durations and contract types to one rental object at the same time.  

If the sublease is to have an impact on rental bookings, the configuration is more complicated. SAP provides different valuation rules as standard to ensure correct balance sheet recording.

‍Condominium (Stockwerkeigentum)

Condominium ownership (Stockwerkeigentum) is another peculiarity of Swiss real estate law. Although there are some similar models in many countries (e.g., WEG in Germany, condominiums in the USA and Canada), the specific structure of condominium ownership in Switzerland is unique.

The standard functionalities allow condominium ownership under Swiss real estate law to be covered by RE-FX. The RE-FX module is designed in such a way that even such special ownership structures do not pose an obstacle. However, no additional functionalities for coordination within the owners' association of a property are available as standard.

‍