Accounting Question

• System: SNACKClient: 430
• Server: SNACK.UCC.UWM.EDU
• System Number: 00

Accounting in SAP
Exercise Introduction
In this exercise, you will be processing accounting transactions for the fictitious Fitter Snacker
company—a manufacturer of snack bars. Fitter Snacker has two products, the NRG-A and NRGB bars. The NRG-A bar touts “Advanced Energy,” while the NRG-B bar touts “Body Building
Proteins.”
Multiple versions of the Fitter Snacker Company have been configured in SAP S/4HANA ERP
system. Depending on which class you are in, you will be assigned to a particular client. In SAP,
the term ”client” has a different meaning than the typical usage of client in the computer
world. In the beginning, while not technically correct, the easiest way to understand the SAP
usage of client is to think of a client as a separate database. Information in one client is not
accessible from other clients. When you log into the SAP system, you have to choose which
System/Server you are logging into, then when you log in to that particular server, you have to
specify which client you are logging into.
Within each client in the system, there are 100 copies of the Fitter Snacker data. You have
been assigned to one of these sets of data. On your SAP System User ID sheet, you have been
given the system and client your account is on. You have also been given a Data Set Number,
which tells you which set of data you should be using within your client.
IT IS CRITICAL THAT YOU USE ONLY YOUR DATA SET. FAILURE TO DO SO WILL CAUSE YOU
PROBLEMS AS WELL AS OTHERS IN YOUR CLASS.
All of the data in the Fitter Snacker database begins with a Data Set Number. For example, the
NRG-A bars are entered as 00 NRG-A, 01 NRG-A, 02 NRG-A, etc. This will allow you to use the
search function in SAP to find your particular snack bar. In the instructions that follow, the
pound symbol (##) will be used to represent the Data Set Number. For example, in creating a
purchase requisition, the instructions will ask you to search for your materials using ##*. You
will need to replace the ## with your Data Set Number. For example, if you are data set
number 09, then you will be searching using 09*, and you will find all materials that begin with
09.
The screen shots in the instructions were created using Data Set Number 00, which is reserved
for instructors. Do not use Data Set Number 00 in any transactions.
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Accounting in SAP
FI – Financial Accounting
In the SAP S/4HANA system, each transaction that has a financial impact is recorded in a
general ledger (G/L) account or sub-ledger accounts that are posted to the G/L via
reconciliation accounts. The central task of G/L accounting is to provide a comprehensive
picture for external accounting and accounts. Recording all business transactions (primary
postings as well as settlements from internal accounting) in a software system that is fully
integrated with all the other operational areas of a company ensures that the accounting data
is always complete and accurate.
The SAP FI General Ledger has the following features:
• Automatic and simultaneous posting of all sub-ledger items in the appropriate general
ledger accounts (reconciliation accounts)
• Simultaneous updating of general ledger and cost accounting areas
• Real-time evaluation of and reporting on current accounting data, in the form of
account displays, financial statements with different financial statement versions and
additional analyses.
• Can take some getting used to as reports can change continuously
Essentially, the general ledger serves as a complete record of all business transactions. It is the
centralized, up-to-date reference for the rendering of accounts. Actual individual transactions
can be checked at any time in real-time by displaying the original documents, line items, and
transaction figures at various levels such as:
• Account information
• Journals
• Totals/transaction figures
• Balance sheet/profit and loss evaluations
General Ledger (G/L) Accounts
For the Fitter Snacker company, the G/L accounts are in three groups:
Account Group
Number Range
BS – Balance Sheet
PL – Profit and Loss
RA – Reconciliation
100000 – 399999
400000 – 999999
110000 – 310000
The Balance Sheet accounts keep track of accounts that show up on the balance sheet:
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Assets
This represents things that the company owns, like cash, receivables, plant and equipment and
inventory.
Liabilities
This represents the things that the company owes, like payables and bank loans
Equity
This represents the net value of the company owned by the shareholders. Remember that the
fundamental balance sheet equation is Assets = Liabilities + Equity.
The Profit and Loss (P&L) accounts are used to track the income and expenses of the company.
Revenue accounts record revenues obtained from selling goods and services to customers.
Expense accounts represent money spent to produce the goods and services, like salaries,
materials purchases and overhead, selling and administrative expenses. At the end of the fiscal
year, the P&L accounts are “closed” to the Retained Earnings balance sheet account.
Reconciliation Accounts are used to keep track of changes to sub-ledger accounts. For
example, if you make a payment to a vendor, that payment needs to be recorded to the vendor
sub-ledger account so that the accounts payable to that vendor are properly tracked. When
you post the payment to the vendor sub-ledger account, a posting is also made automatically to
the Reconciliation G/L account so that the general ledger remains balanced.
G/L Master Records
G/L accounts are maintained as Master Data. Master data describes items or objects used in
the business like accounts, materials, customers, vendors, etc. Master data is data that does
not change over an extended period of time. For example, the address of a customer is master
data, while the information about a particular order for that customer is not master data, it is
Transactional Data. Transactional data is regularly removed from the system and archived,
while master data is always kept in the system.
To view the G/L accounts for the Fitter Snacker Company, follow the menu path:
Accounting > Financial Accounting > General Ledger > Information System > General
Ledger Reports > Master Data > G/L Account List
This will produce the following screen:
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Enter ##FS for Company
Code, then click on Execute
This will produce the following screen:
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Use the exit icon (
) to return to the SAP Easy Access screen.
CO-Controlling
While there are different requirements for internal and external users of accounting data, the
underlying data is usually the same for both purposes and can be “captured” while recording
business transactions—purchase orders, goods receipts, material withdrawals, etc. The data
can then be presented in different ways for different users.
Primary Cost Elements
Expenses in FI that are relevant to cost accounting are recorded in CO using primary cost
element. Primary cost elements can only be created when a G/L expense account exists. Thus,
there is a one-to-one relationship between primary cost elements and G/L expense accounts.
When an FI posting occurs in a G/L account for which a primary cost element has been defined,
a valid controlling object (cost center, order, etc.) is required before posting.
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Secondary Cost Elements
Secondary Cost Elements are used exclusively for certain types of CO transactions. Secondary
cost elements have no corresponding G/L account. Secondary cost elements can be used in
transferring costs from one cost center to other cost centers. Primary costs are grouped
together and transferred to receiver cost centers using a secondary cost element.
Cost Centers
Cost centers are used to track WHERE costs occur in the organization. As costs are incurred,
they are assigned or posted to the appropriate cost center. The posting and assignment of
costs to cost centers is a critical step in using the CO module. Cost centers are organized in a
Standard Hierarchy.
Cost Center Standard Hierarchy
The Cost Center Standard Hierarchy is used to structure the cost centers in an organization. All
cost centers must be entered in the Standard Hierarchy. To display the standard hierarchy for
Fitter Snacker, follow the menu path:
Accounting > Controlling > Cost Center Accounting > Master Data > Standard Hierarchy
> Display
Which will produce the following screen:
Enter ##FS for controlling area, then
click on enter
which will produce the following screen:
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Accounting in SAP
Click on the arrow (
Click on the arrow (
) next to ##HQ to expand the group
) next to ##HQ to expand the Headquarters Group:
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which shows the six cost centers that make up the group. Click on the exit icon (
to the SAP Easy Access screen.
) to return
Display Cost Elements
Expenses in the G/L accounts of the FI module that are relevant to cost accounting are recorded
in the CO module using cost elements. Primary cost elements must first exist as a G/L expense
account before being created in CO. When a primary cost element is defined for a G/L expense
account, any posting to the G/L account will require a posting in CO.
Secondary cost elements are used exclusively for internal CO transactions. They have no
corresponding G/L account: they are only defined in CO. Secondary cost elements are used for
allocations and settlements. For example, the computing department may provide services to
other departments, and the costs associated with the computing departments expenses could
be allocated to the departments that use the computing services by some representative
measure of usage (like CPU hours) using a secondary cost element.
To display the primary cost elements for Fitter Snacker, follow the menu path:
Accounting > Controlling > Cost Element Accounting > Master data > Cost Element >
Collective Processing > Display
which will produce the following screen:
Select All Cost Elements, then click on
the execute icon (
)
Select All cost elements, then click on the execute icon (
shows all of the Primary Cost Elements for Fitter Snacker:
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), which will produce a screen that
Accounting in SAP
Note that the cost elements in the range 700000-799999 are primary cost elements, while costs
elements in the range 800000-899999 are secondary cost elements. Click on the exit icon
(
) until you are at the SAP Easy Access screen.
1. G/L Document Entry
We will begin reviewing the SAP system by making a G/L Document entry to record the cash
purchase of office supplies by the marketing department. To make a G/L Document entry for
this transaction, follow the menu path:
Accounting > Financial Accounting > General Ledger > Document Entry > Enter G/L
Account Document
which may produce the following pop-up window:
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Enter ##FS for the company code,
then click on the Continue icon.
Enter your company code and click on the Continue icon (
screen:
) and you will get the following
You can enter the current date easily by
clicking on the date field and then pressing
the F4 key to call up the calendar, then
clicking on the F2 key to select today’s date
Enter 740000 for the first account, select Debit, then enter 500
Enter 100000 for the second account, select Credit, then enter 500
Enter today’s date for the document date, then enter the following accounting entries to record
the supplies purchase:
G/L acct
740000
100000
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D/C
Debit
Credit
10
Amount in doc. curr.
500
500
Accounting in SAP
This information tells the SAP system the appropriate G/L accounts to record the transactions
to, but to tell the CO module the cost object that is responsible for this expense (in this case,
the Marketing department), we need to enter a cost center. To do this, scroll over until the
Cost center column is visible, then enter cost center A040 in the first line:
Scroll over until Cost center is visible,
then enter cost center A040 for the
marketing department
then click on the simulate icon (
) to see if the postings are correct (at least as far
as the SAP system is concerned). If everything goes correctly, you should get a screen like the
following:
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If everything looks good, click on the Post icon (
) to save (bottom right of your screen).
You should be returned to the Enter G/L account document screen and have a message at the
bottom like the following:
To get out of this screen, click on the exit icon (
). Because people who will be working
with this screen will be spending most of their time making G/L account entries, the SAP system
gives you a blank screen after saving your entry so that you can immediately enter another G/L
account transaction. As a result, SAP considers this screen a second transaction, so that when
you click on the exit icon, SAP gives you a warning about losing data from this “second G/L
transaction:”
As you had no intention of entering more than one G/L document, click on Yes to leave the
Enter G/L account document screen.
2. Verifying the G/L Document Entry
To verify that the G/L Document we just entered was recorded, follow the menu path:
Accounting > Financial Accounting > General Ledger > Account > Display Balances
This will produce the following screen: No Authorizations for Ledger L0.
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Enter account 100000
Make sure your company code
is entered and the current year
is entered for the fiscal year.
Then click on Execute.
Enter Account Number 100000, the Company Code, Fiscal Year and Ledger, then click on the
execute icon (
) to get the following screen:
You will see your entry in the
appropriate month (period)
Use the exit icon (
) twice to get back to the SAP Easy Access screen.
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3. Checking the default tolerance
The Fitter Snacker SAP system has been configured with a default tolerance group for all
employees that limits the value of a transaction that an employee can record to $10,000 again
to avoid mischief. To check whether the default tolerance is in effect, we will try to record
another G/L Document with an amount in excess of the tolerance limit.
To enter another G/L Document, again follow the menu path:
Accounting > Financial Accounting > General Ledger > Document Entry > Enter G/L
Account Document
then enter the following information:
Doc. date: Today
Account debits and credits:
G/L acct
740000
100000
Amount in
doc. curr.
15000
15000
D/C
Debit
Credit
Cost Center
A040
Remembering that our transaction limit was set for the default tolerance group at $10,000, this
transaction should not go through. To verify this, click on the simulate icon (
) and
your should get the following message:
Click on View details to get an explanation
Click on View details to get an explanation of this error:
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Accounting in SAP
Note that this error message is a result of a configuration setting. If a $15,000 posting is correct
and the employee (you, in this case) should be authorized to do it, then you would need to
create a tolerance group with a higher limit and assign yourself to this group. Use the cancel
(
) and then the exit icon (.
) (and click Yes to the warning message) to get back to the
SAP Easy Access screen.
Vendor Invoice Payment
Next, we will enter the master data for Lansing Leasing, then post an invoice from Lansing
Leasing to the Rent Expense P/L (Profit and Loss) account.
4. Create New Vendor Master Record – Financial Data
We enter the data for Lansing Leasing as a vendor master record in the SAP ERP system. To
create the vendor master record, follow the menu path (note: these are the same directions as
Module 4. Make sure you substitute Lansing Leasing’s information.)
From the SAP Easy Access Screen, follow the menu path:
Logistics > Materials Management > Purchasing > Master Data > Vendor > Central >
Create
In the pop-up window select Organization and click on the enter icon:
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Select Organization and
click on the Continue icon
Enter ##L100 for Business Partner, select
BP role FLVN00 FI Vendor (New) and
select External Number Assignment 0002
Scroll down and select Company for Title, ## Lansing Leasing and ## for the search term:
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Select Company for Title, ##
Lansing Leasing for the name
and ## for the Search Term
Scroll down and enter the address for Lansing Leasing:
Enter the address and click on
the icon to expand the
address pane
Enter MI0000000 for the Tax Jurisdiction:
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Accounting in SAP
Enter MI0000000 (seven zeros)
for the Tax Jurisdiction
Scroll down and enter English for the language:
Enter English for Language
Next, click on the tab list icon (
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Accounting in SAP
Select Vendor: General Data
Enter ##L100 for the External Vendor Number:
Enter ##L100
Next, click on Company Code icon:
Click on Company Code
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Enter your company code (##FS) and press the enter key (you may have to do this twice):
Enter ##FS and press the enter
key
Enter 300000 for the reconciliation account under Vendor: Account Management:
Enter 300000 then click on
Vendor: Payment Transactions
Select the tab Vendor: Payment Transactions and enter 0001 (Payable Immediately Due Net)
for Payment Terms and select Check Double Invoice:
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Enter 0001 for Payment terms and
select Check Double Invoice, then
click Save
You will get the following message that the vendor has been created:
Click on the Exit icon (
) to return to the SAP Easy Access Screen.
5. Create Vendor Data for Lansing Leasing
Follow the menu path:
Logistics > Materials Management > Purchasing > Master Data > Vendor > Central >
Change
Enter your vendor number (##L100), company code (##FS), select Address and then press the
enter key:
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Enter ##L100 for Vendor,
##FS for Company Code,
select Address then press the
enter key
Select Vendor – Purchasing (New) from Change in BP Role:
Select Vendor – Purchasing
Next, click on Purchasing:
Click on Purchasing
Enter purchasing organization ##PR and press the enter key:
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Enter ##PR and press the enter key
Enter USD for Order Currency and 0001 for Payment terms, then click on Save (
You will get the following message:
Click on the Exit Icon (
) to return to the SAP Easy Access screen.
Enter USD and 0001, then click on
save
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Accounting in SAP
6. Post Vendor Invoice
Lansing Leasing has just sent the invoice for the current month. To post this invoice, follow the
menu path:
Accounting > Financial Accounting > Accounts Payable > Document Entry > Invoice
Which will produce the following screen:
Vendor Lansing Leasing (##L100)
Enter today’s date for invoice date
Enter 4875 for amount
Enter 780000for G/L acct
Select Debit
Enter 4875 for amount
Scroll to find Cost Center and enter A060
Scroll way over to get to the Cost Center
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then click on the simulate icon (
) to see if the postings are correct. If they are,
you should get a screen like the following:
Click on the (.
Then the exit icon (
screen.
) icon to post the invoice, which will produce the following message:
) and click Yes to the warning message to return to the SAP Easy Access
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7. Enter Invoice Twice
When we created the vendor master record for Lansing Leasing in TT1.4, we checked the box
Chk. double inv. on the Payment transactions Accounting screen. This should prevent us from
entering the invoice twice, and accidentally paying the vendor twice for the same invoice. To
test this out, try to enter the invoice in step TT1.5 a second time. What happens?
Do not post this document. Instead, to move on to the next step, select the Exit icon. Say “Yes”
to the warning message to return to the SAP Easy Access menu.
8. Post Outgoing Payment
Now that the invoice from Lansing Leases has been posted, we can pay them, then post the
outgoing payment. To do this, follow the menu path:
Accounting > Financial Accounting > Accounts Payable > Document Entry > Outgoing
Payment > Post
which will give you the following screen:
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Enter today’s date for Document Date
Enter 100000 for Bank data Account
Enter 4875 for Bank data Amount
Enter ##L100 for ## Lansing Leasing
Then click on Process Open Items
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Enter the following data:
Document date:
Bank data
Account:
Amount:
Text:
Today’s date
100000
4875
Lease
Open item selection
Account:
Search for Lansing Leasing
then click on Process Open Items. This will produce the following screen:
If the amount 4,875.00 is not assigned,
double-click on the USD Gross amount
to allocate it and the assigned amount
will automatically change
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It is very common to have more than one outstanding invoice for a vendor. In this case, the
screen above would display all of the outstanding invoices for this vendor and you would then
allocate the payment to any or all of the invoices. As our payment is for the exact amount of
the only open invoice, allocating this payment is simple. If it is not assigned, just double-click
on USD Gross amount for the invoice to allocate the payment. Use double-clicking on the USD
Gross Amount to make sure the payment is assigned as shown above:
click on Post (
) to post the payment. You will get the following message:
Click on the exit icon (
). You will get the following message:
Click Yes
Click Yes to return to the SAP Easy Access screen.
9. Review Invoices
To see the invoices that are in the SAP ERP system for the vendor ## Lansing Leases, follow the
menu path:
Accounting > Financial Accounting > Accounts Payable > Account > Display/change line
items
which will produce the following screen:
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Enter ##L100 for Lansing Leasing and
##FS for Company Code.
Open item should already be selected
Click on Execute
The vendor account for ## Lansing Leasing should already be entered, and Open items should
be selected. Click on the Execute icon (
) and the following message should appear:
which makes sense as we just created this vendor, only entered one invoice and cleared it.
Change the entry from Open items to Cleared items:
Switch to Cleared items
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then click on the Execute icon (
) and the following screen will appear:
Note the invoice we just closed
The vendor line item display allows us to see the status of invoices for one or a number of
vendors and helps us to process invoices before they are overdue.
Click on the exit icon (
) until you to return to the SAP Easy Access screen.
Posting and Reposting
In this set of exercises, we will demonstrate how the CO module functions by entering
transactions. In the first transaction, we will post another invoice for the rent expense to the
incorrect cost center, and then we will repost it to the correct cost center.
10. Posting to Incorrect Cost Center
To enter the rent invoice, follow the menu path:
Accounting > Financial Accounting > Accounts Payable > Document Entry > Invoice
which will produce the following screen:
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Enter ##L100 for Lansing Leasing
Enter today’s date as invoice date
Enter 10000 as amount
Enter 780000 as G/L account
Select Debit
Enter 10000 as amount
Scroll to find Cost center and enter A010
Enter the following information for the rent invoice:
Vendor:
Invoice date:
Amount:
G/L Account:
D/C:
Amount in doc. curr.:
Cost center:
## Lansing Leasing (find using search term ##)
today’s date
10000
780000
Debit
10000
A010 (this is not the correct cost center)
Then click on the Post icon. If successful, you will get a message like the following:
Click on the Exit icon (
Access screen.
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) and click Yes on the warning message to return to the SAP Easy
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11. Review Invoice Posting in CO
To review the posted invoice, follow the menu path:
Accounting > Controlling > Cost Center Accounting > Information System > Reports for
Cost Center Accounting > Line Items > Cost Centers: Actual Line Items
You will get the following pop-up window:
Click the Continue icon (
), which will produce the following screen:
Enter Cost center A010
Make sure Cost center group is blank
Enter Cost element 780000
Make sure Cost element group is blank
Leave default values in other fields
Then click on execute icon
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Enter Cost center A010 and cost element 780000. Make sure Cost center group and Cost
element group are blank. Leave the default values in the other fields, then click on execute icon
(
) to get the following screen:
Cost posted to Finance cost center
Double-click on the Rent line
We can see from this screen that the rent expense has been recorded under cost center A010,
which is the Finance cost center. Double-click on the Rent Expense line to drill-down and get
more detail on the transaction that created this cost for center A010:
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Click on the Exit icon (
) until you are at the SAP Easy Access screen.
12. Repost the Cost to the Correct Cost Center
Unfortunately, if you did what you were told in the last exercise, you posted the rent expense
to the wrong cost center: You posted it to cost center A010 (Finance) and you should have
posted it to A060 (Administration). In an auditable and secure system like SAP, you can’t go
back and delete an entry. We can correct this mistake, however, by reposting the cost to the
correct cost center.
To repost the cost, follow the menu path:
Accounting > Controlling > Cost Center Accounting > Actual Postings > Repost Line
Items > Enter
which will produce the following screen:
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Confirm:
Company Code (##FS)
Fiscal year (current year)
Cost Element (780000)
Cost center (A010)
Then click on the Execute icon
With the required information entered, click on the Execute icon (
in a warning message:
), which will result
Click View details to view the message
details
The message is not particularly clear, but you can click on View details (
better explanation:
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) to get a
Accounting in SAP
unlike a production SAP system, we do not have a lot of FI documents, so this process won’t
take a long time. Click on the Cancel icon (.
), then click the enter key to produce the
following screen:
Change Acct assgt1 (cost center) to A060
Then click on Post
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Change the cost center from A010 to A060, then click on the Post icon (
) to save the
document, then click on the Exit icon (.
) to return to the SAP Easy Access screen.
13. Verify Reposting
To verify that the cost has been reposted to cost center A060, follow the menu path:
Accounting > Controlling > Cost Center Accounting > Information System > Reports for
Cost Center Accounting > Line Items > Cost Centers: Actual Line Items
which will produce the following screen:
Enter A010 to A060 for Cost center
Enter 780000 for Cost Element
Make sure “Cost center group” and “Cost
element group” are blank
Click on the execute icon
Enter A010 to A060 for Cost center and 780000 for Cost Element. Make sure Cost Center
Group and Cost element group are blank. Leave the default values for Posting date and
Settings, then click on the Execute icon (
) to get the following screen:
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Double-click on Rent on the first Rent line
This screen shows that the cost has been removed from
cost center A010 and applied to cost center A060
Click on the Exit icon (
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). This will produce the following warning message:
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Click Yes and then click on the Exit icon (
) until you return to the SAP Easy Access screen.
Allocation via Statistical Key Figures
14. Define Cost Center values for Statistical Key Figure SQFT
SQFT has been defined as a statistical key figure to allocate the rent expense. To be able to
allocate the rent expense to the appropriate cost centers, we need to define the square footage
for each cost center. To do this, follow the menu path:
Accounting > Controlling > Cost Center Accounting > Actual Postings > Statistical Key
Figures > Enter
which will produce the following screen:
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Click on More→Extras→Set Controlling Area
Make sure that the controlling area is set to ##FS
Enter ##FS for Controlling Area then click the enter icon
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With the controlling area set, enter the following data:
Rec. CCtr.
A010
A020
A030
A040
A050
A060
StatKF
SQFT
SQFT
SQFT
SQFT
SQFT
SQFT
Total Quantity
480
520
200
590
310
400
So that the screen looks like the following:
FT2 entered automatically
Select enter on the keyboard and SAP will populate the Unit of Measure (FT2) defined for this
key figure.
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This data is the square footage of office space used by each of the cost centers. The $10,000
rent expense will be distributed from cost center A060 to each administrative cost center
according to its proportion of the office space. After entering the data above, click on the Post
icon (.
) to save, then click on the Exit icon (
) to return to the SAP Easy Access screen.
15. Create Distribution Cycle
Next, we need to set up the distribution cycle, which tells the SAP system when to distribute
the rent expense. To set up the distribution cycle, follow the menu path:
Accounting > Controlling > Cost Center Accounting > Period-End Closing > Single
Functions > Allocations > Distribution
will produce the following screen:
Enter Periods 1 through 12 and
current year as fiscal year, then
select:
More→Extras→Cycle→Create
Enter periods 1 through 12 and the current year as fiscal year, then follow the pull-down menu
path:
More→Extras→Cycle→Create
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Accounting in SAP
This will produce the following screen:
Enter ##DIST for Cycle
and 01/01/current year
for starting date, then
click on the Execute icon
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Accounting in SAP
Enter ##DIST for the distribution cycle and 01/01/current year for the Starting date. Note: it is
important that the cycle start from January 1st of the current year. Click the Execute icon
(
) and the following screen will appear:
Enter Monthly Distributions for Text
MAKE SURE ITERATIVE IS NOT CHECKED
Click on Attach segment
Enter Monthly Distributions for Text and MAKE SURE ITERATIVE IS NOT CHECKED! Then, click
on the attach segment icon (
) and the following screen will appear:
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Accounting in SAP
Enter RENT and Distribution of Rent for Segment name
Click on Sender/receiver tab
Enter A060 for Sender Cost center
Enter 780000 for Sender Cost Element
Enter ##HQ for Receiver Cost center group
Then click on the Receiver Tracing Factor tab
Enter the following information:
Segment name:
RENT
Sender/receiver tab:
Sender Cost center:
Sender Cost Element:
Receiver Cost center group:
Distribution of Rent
A060
780000
##HQ
Then click on the Receiver Tracing Factor tab to get the following screen:
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Accounting in SAP
Select Actual stat. key figures, which will
produce an information message.
Click on the Continue icon for the message
After selecting Actual Statistical Key Figure an information message will appear. Click on the
Continue icon (
) for the information message, enter the following information:
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Accounting in SAP
Enter SQFT for the Stat. key fig.
Make sure Lock Indicator is unchecked
Then click on Save Without Check
Enter SQFT for Stat. key fig. under Selection criteria, make sure the Lock Indicator is unchecked
then click on Save Without Check
(
). This will produce the following message:
Click on the Exit icon (
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) to get to the Execute Actual Distribution: Initial Screen:
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Accounting in SAP
Enter cycle ##DIST
Start date 1/1/current year
Make sure Test run is checked
Click on Execute
Enter the cycle ##DIST with start date 1/1/current year. Make sure Test run is checked, then
click on the Execute icon (
) to get the following screen:
Note: Depending on the month / period that you are executing this exercise you may see
Warnings. If you are completing this exercise in January, you likely won’t see any warning.
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Accounting in SAP
Click on the red Warning (as shown in the example above) to see the messages:
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Accounting in SAP
These messages point out that there were no expenses to distribute in previous periods—they
are only warnings. The system knows we are in the month of Aug. in this example, so it won’t
allocate any values in previous months.
Note that the distribution process shows 1 sender and 6 receivers. That indicates that one cost
center (A060) in this case, will distribute costs to 6 receiving departments (A010 to A060)
according to their portion of the square footage. To see the dollar amount of the distributions,
double-click on Monthly Distributions:
1 Sender, 6 receivers
Double-click on Monthly Distributions
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Accounting in SAP
This screen shows the distribution of rent expense from cost center A060 to all of the
administrative cost centers—including A060.
Click on Exit (
) to leave this report, then click Exit (
), then click on Yes on the warning
message window to get to the Execute Actual Distribution: Initial Screen. Remove the Test
run check mark and then Execute (
) the distribution program to distribute the rent
expense to the administrative departments. Click on (
) to return to the SAP Easy Access
screen,
Allocation via Assessments
Another way to distribute costs is through assessments. In this exercise, we will distribute a
utility expense to the three production departments using fixed percentages.
16. Enter Utility Expense
First, we will make a G/L Document entry for the utility expense. To do this, follow the menu
path:
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Accounting in SAP
Accounting > Financial Accounting > General Ledger > Document Entry > Enter G/L
Account Document
which will produce the following screen:
Enter today’s date for Doc. date
On the first line enter
750000 for G/L acct
Debit
10000 for Amount in doc. curr.
A060 for Cost center (scroll to find this field)
On the second line enter
100000 for G/L acct
Credit
10000 for Amount in doc. curr.
Scroll to get to the Cost Center column
Enter the following information:
Doc. date: today’s date
First line of items:
G/L acct:
D/C:
Amount in doc. curr.:
Cost center:
750000
Debit
10000
A060 (you will have to scroll to find this column)
Second line of items:
G/L acct:
D/C:
Amount in doc. curr.:
100000
Credit
10000
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Accounting in SAP
Once you have entered this information, press the enter key, then click on the simulate icon
(
) to verify the account postings. You should get the following screen:
If your account postings are correct, click on the Post icon (
) to save. Click on the Exit
icon (
) to return to the main screen. Say Yes to the warning message.
Note: In practice we wouldn’t enter utility bills as G/L account postings, but the purpose of
this exercise is to show how to allocate costs, not post invoices.
17. Create an Assessment Cycle
We posted the $10,000 utility expense to cost center A060. We need to distribute this cost to
the production cost centers using a fixed percentage. To set up this distribution process, we
need to create an assessment cycle. To set up the assessment cycle, follow the menu path:
Accounting > Controlling > Cost Center Accounting > Period-end closing > Single
Functions > Allocations > Assessment
which will produce the following screen:
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Accounting in SAP
Enter Period 1 to 12
Fiscal year: current year
If it isn’t already there, enter period 1 to 12 and the current year for the fiscal year in the
parameters area. Then follow the pull-down menu path More→Extras→Cycle→Create:
to get to the following screen:
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Accounting in SAP
Enter ##ASSM for Cycle and
01/01/current year for Starting date
then click on the Execute icon
MAKE SURE THAT CYCLE STARTS
WITH THE FIRST DATE OF THIS YEAR
Enter ##ASSM for Cycle and 1/1/current year for Starting date, then click on the Execute icon
(
) to get the following screen:
Enter Monthly Assessments for Text and
MAKE SURE ITERATIVE IS NOT CHECKED
Then click on Attach segment
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Accounting in SAP
Enter Monthly Assessments for Text and MAKE SURE ITERATIVE IS NOT CHECKED. Click on the
Attach segment icon (
) and the following screen will appear:
Enter UTILITIES and Assessment of
Utilities for Segment name
Enter 800100 for Assessment CEle
Select Posted amounts for Sender rule
Select Fixed percentages for Receiver rule
Then click on Sender/receiver tab
Enter UTILITIES and Assessment of Utilities for Segment name, 800100 for Assessment Cele
(assessment cost element), Posted amounts for Sender rule and Fixed percentages for Receiver
rule, then click on the Sender/receiver tab:
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Accounting in SAP
Enter A060 for Sender Cost center
Enter 750000 for Sender Cost element
Enter ##MFG for Receiver Cost center Group
Then click on the Receiver Tracing Factor tab
Enter A060 for the Sender Cost center, 750000 for the Sender Cost element and ##MFG for the
Receiver Cost center Group, then click on the Receiver Tracing Factor tab:
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Accounting in SAP
Enter the percentages:
85 for P010
10 for P020
5 for P030
Then click on Save Without Check
Enter the following percentages:
P010 (Production):
P020 (Warehouse):
P030 (Receiving):
85
10
5
Make sure Lock Indicator is NOT selected, then click on Save Without Check
(
) Then click on the Exit icon (
Initial Screen:
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59
) to get to the Execute Actual Assessment:
Accounting in SAP
Enter cycle ##ASSM
Start date 1/1/current year
Make sure Test run is checked
Click on the Execute icon
Enter the cycle ##ASSM with start date 1/1/current year. Make sure Test run is checked, then
click on the Execute icon (
) to get the following screen:
Double-click on the number
of receivers value (3)
Double click on the value (3) in Number of Receivers area to get details:
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Accounting in SAP
Report showing the transfer of
costs from cost center A060 to the
three production cost centers—
P010, P020 and P030
It is not necessary to execute the balance of this Assessment Cycle. We will not be using this
cycle information going forward. Click on the exit icon until you return to the main menu.
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Navigation
Menu Paths and Transaction Codes
Navigating in the ERP system can get confusing. One way to navigate in the system is through
the menus system at the left edge of the screen. For example, to enter a sales order, the user
can click on the triangle in front of Logistics, which expand the menu to show the following
options under Logistics:
Click on the > symbol
in front of logistics to
expand the menu
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Navigation
The user can then expand Sales and Distribution, which provides a listing of options for the
sales and distribution module:
To get to the sales order entry screen, the user has to expand the Sales option, and then Order
to get to Create.
Double-click here
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Navigation
Double-clicking on the Create line will bring up the order entry screen.
Notice that the tree-structure menu has disappeared. You are now in the area of the SAP
program where you will enter a sales transaction.
In these instructions, the previous series of menu paths will be described using bold text with
arrows showing each of the menu selections. Thus, the menu paths to get to the customer
order entry screen will be shown as follow:
Logistics >Sales and Distribution >Sales >Order >Create
IMPORTANT FEATURE
Frequently the tree-structure menu paths can get a little confusing. When that happens, the
SAP standard menu icon (. ) can be used to collapse the menu back to its original starting
point.
Users of the ERP system typically use only a few of the thousands of transaction screens
available, and they tend to use them frequently. For example, people performing customer
order entry may use screens to enter inquiries, quotes and sales orders and check on the status
of material, but they will not likely be performing human resource functions or determining
plant maintenance schedules. For these users, the SAP ERP system provides an easier way to
navigate the system.
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Navigation
First, we can save this transaction in our favorites folder. Click on the back icon (. ) to return
to the tree-structured menu. The tree structure should still be opened to the Create Sales
Order transaction. To add this to our favorites folder, simple click on the create line and drag it
to the favorites folder:
Drag Create to Favorites
This will create a link to the Create Sales Order transaction under the Favorites menu:
Favorites can also be added and deleted using the add and delete favorites icons (.
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).
Navigation
The title of this new short cut leaves something to be desired, but we can edit it. Click on the
new Create shortcut, the follow the pull-down menu path More→Favorites→Change:
Note that in these instructions pull-down menu paths will be given using arrows rather than
triangles. The More→Favorites→Change menu path will produce the following pop-up
window:
Edit the transaction description so that it reads “Create Sales Order” and then click on the enter
icon ( ). The Favorites menu will now have the transaction Create Sales Order.
The Change a favorite pop-up window can also be accessed by clicking on the change favorites
icon:
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Navigation
Click here to change the favorite
Test the shortcut by clicking on it. This should bring you directly to Create Sales Documents
screen.
Transaction Codes
Another way to navigate in the ERP system is through Transaction Codes. Every transaction in
the ERP system is given a code number, and the ERP system allows for users to enter these
code numbers as another means of going directly to a transaction. SAP has been trying to
move users away from using transaction codes and had threatened to remove this option, but
many users are used to them, so entering transaction codes as a means of navigation is still
available.
To find the transaction code for the Create Sales Order process, make sure you are at the
screen Create Sales Document. Then select the pull-down menu path:
More→System→Status
and the following screen will appear:
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Navigation
Transaction Code
This screen gives the Transaction Code of the transaction associated with the current screen,
which in this case is VA01. This code can be used to get to the order entry screen from
anywhere in the ERP system. To illustrate this, we must first get back to the main screen. To do
this, click on the cancel icon ( ).
SAP provides three ways to move “back” in the ERP system, two of which are the Back and Exit
commands. The back command can be invoked using either the back icon ( ) or the F3 key.
The exit command is invoked using the exit icon (
) or the by holding the Shift key while
hitting the F3 key. The functions of these two keys differ depending on where they are used. In
general, the Exit key moves you farther out of the module or transaction you are currently in,
but this isn’t always the case. The Cancel command is invoked with the More→Cancel path or
with the F12 key. The cancel command allows the user to exit a transaction without saving any
data. Frequently the Cancel and Exit commands work identically.
To see how to use the transaction code, use the Back, Exit or Cancel commands to get back to
the main menu. If you exit too far, you will log off the SAP ERP system, but not before getting a
warning message:
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Navigation
Transaction codes are entered in the command field at the top-left of the SAP screen:
Command Field
We can use the transaction code VA01 to go directly to the sales order entry screen. To do this,
enter /nva01 into the command field as follows:
The /n tells SAP you want to cancel the current transaction and go to a new one. You can enter
the transaction code in upper or lower case. Click on the return key and you will go directly to
the sales order entry screen.
Click on the exit icon (
) to exit this screen. Now that we have entered the VA01 transaction
in the command field it is available from a pull-down menu.
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Navigation
Click on the page icon to get
a list of transaction codes
that you’ve used.
Select the transaction code from the pull-down menu and click on enter key to go to the create
sales order screen one more time. Click on the back icon (
) or exit icon ( .
), to go back to
the main screen.
Important Icons
In the last section you were introduced to three of the most common SAP icons. While
there are many icons used throughout the ERP system, the most common ones are summarized
below. If you are unsure of the function of a particular icon, just hold the mouse pointer over
the icon for a few seconds and a description of the icon will appear:
SAP Menu
KMMemMe
Back: As described previously, the back icon allows the user to exit a transaction
without saving data.
Exit: As described previously, the exit button allows the user to exit a transaction and
typically moves the user closer to the main screen than the back or cancel icon.
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Navigation
Execute: The execute icon is used to initiate a process that is typically time consuming,
like creating a report or calculating a new material requirements plan.
Save: This icon is used to save a completed transaction. It is important to remember
that nothing is saved until this icon is clicked.
Basic Interface Customization
Some configuration options can be set by following the pull-down menu path:
More→System→User profile→User data
First, note that following this menu path will create a new session (window). Select the
Defaults tab. Confirm the following entries on this screen:
Confirm that the OutputDevice (printer) is
set to LOCL with Output Immediately and
Delete After Output selected
Confirm the number, date and time
format are set as you would like them
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Navigation
In an enterprise-wide system, managing output (printing) is a significant task. For our purposes,
we will just tell the system to send any printed output immediately to the default Windows
printer.
As the SAP ERP system is used internationally, it must be adaptable to other languages and
practices. In Europe, for example, commas are used where we use decimal points and viceversa. Dates are specified in the form DD.MM.YYYY instead of MM/DD/YYYY as in the US. The
SAP ERP system can be configured to accommodate these differences. Click on the save icon
(
) to save these settings.
Note: Some changes made in this screen will not take effect until the user logs off and logs
on again.
One other change should be made to the interface. As transaction codes are useful, we can tell
the ERP system to display the transaction codes as part of the menu paths. To do this, from the
SAP Easy Access screen follow the pull-down menu path:
More→Extras→Settings
Which will produce the following pop-up screen:
Check Display technical names
Check Display technical names and then click on the continue icon (
). To see that the
transaction codes are now displayed, follow the tree-structure menu path:
Logistics > Sales and Distribution > Sales > Order
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Navigation
And notice that the transaction code VA01 is listed in front of the Create option.
Transaction Code displayed
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Navigation
Multiple Sessions
Some times it is useful to be looking at two (or more) different screens in SAP simultaneously.
To do this, the ERP system allows you to start up to six interactive sessions under one User ID.
In some cases, like following the menu path More→System→User profile→Own data, the
system automatically creases a new session. To create another session, follow the pull down
menu path:
More→System→Create Session
and another session will be started. You can switch between sessions using the Task Bar in
Windows.
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