Define company

In this step you can create companies. A company is an organizational unit in Accounting which represents a business organization according to the requirements of commercial law in a particular country.

You store basic data for each company in company definition. You only specify particular functions when you customize in Financial Accounting. Company G0000 is preset in all foreign key tables.

In the SAP system, consolidation functions in financial accounting are based on companies. A company can comprise one or more company codes.

When you create a company you should bear in mind the following points relating to group accounting:

If your organization uses several clients, the companies which only appear as group-internal business partners, and are not operational in each system, must be maintained in each client. This is a precondition for the account assignment of a group-internal trading partner.

Companies must be cataloged in a list of company IDs which is consistent across the group. The parent company usually provides this list of company IDs.

It is also acceptable to designate legally dependent branches 'companies' and join them together as a legal unit by consolidation.

Recommendation

SAP recommends that you keep the preset company ID G00000 if you only require one company. In this way you reduce the number of tables which you need to adjust.

Activities

Create your companies.

Further notes

All company codes for a company must work with the same operational chart of accounts and fiscal year. The currencies used can be different.

Define Credit Control Area

In this step, you define your credit control areas. The credit control area is an organizational unit that specifies and checks a credit limit for customers.

Note

A credit control area can include one or more company codes. It is not possible to assign a company code to more than one control control area. Within a credit control area, the credit limits must be specified in the same currency.

Standard settings

The credit control area 0001 is defined in the SAP standard system.

Activities

Define your credit control areas.

Edit, Copy, Delete, Check Company Code

In this activity you create your company codes. The company code is an organizational unit used in accounting. It is used to structure the business organization from a financial accounting perspective.

We recommend that you copy a company code from an existing company code. This has the advantage that you also copy the existing company code-specific parameters. If necessary, you can then change certain data in the relevant application. This is much less time-consuming than creating a new company code. See "Recommendations" for more details about copying a company code.

If you do not wish to copy an existing company code, you can create a new company code and make all the settings yourself. You define your company codes by specifying the following information:

Company code key

You can select a four-character alpha-numeric key as the company code key. This key identifies the company code and must be entered when posting business transactions or creating company code-specific master data, for example.

Company code name

Address data

The address data is necessary for correspondence and is printed on reports, such as the advance return for tax on sales/purchases.

Country currency

Your accounts must be managed in the national currency. This currency is also known as the local currency or the company code currency. Amounts that are posted in foreign currency are translated into local currency.

Country key

The country key specifies which country is to be seen as the home country; all other countries are interpreted as "abroad". This is significant for business and payment transactions because different forms are used for foreign payment transactions. This setting also enables you to use different address formatting for foreign correspondence.

Language key

The system uses the language key to determine text automatically in the language of the relevant country. This is necessary when creating checks, for example.

You do not specify the functional characteristic of the company code until configuring the relevant application.

You can set up several company codes per client to manage the accounts of independent organizations simultaneously. At least one company code must be set up in each client.

To take full advantage of SAP system integration, you must link company codes to the organizational units of other applications. If, for example, you specify a CO account assignment (for example, cost center or internal order) when entering a document in FI, then the system must determine a controlling area to transfer this data to CO. You must specify how the system is to determine the appropriate controlling area.

The system derives the controlling area from the company code if you assign it directly to a company code. You can also assign several company codes to one controlling area.

Standard settings

Company code 0001 has already been created in clients 000 and 001 for the country DE (Germany). All country-specific information ("parameters") is preset in this company code, such as the payment methods, tax calculation procedures, and chart of accounts typical for this country.

If you want to create a company code for the USA and its legal requirements, you must first of all run the country installation program in client 001. The country of company code 0001 is then set to "US" and all country-specific parameters related to it are set to the USA. For more information, see the Set Up Clients activity under "Basic Functions" in the Customizing menu.

Recommendation

You should keep the preset company code number 0001 if you only require one company code. This keeps to a minimum the number of tables you need to set up.

You can copy a company code using a special Customizing function. Company code-specific specifications are copied to your new company code. The target company code must not yet be defined, it is defined automatically during the copying procedure.

SAP recommends the following procedure when creating company codes:

1. Create the company code using the function "Copy Company Code".2. Enter special company code data with the function "Edit Company Code Data".

You can also use the function "Edit Company Code Data" to create a company code. However, in this instance, the company code "global data" is not copied. If you create a company code using the "Copy" function, most of the "global data" is also copied.

Further notes

You should create a company code according to tax law, commercial law, and other financial accounting criteria. As a rule, a company code in the SAP system represents a legally independent company. The company code can also represent a legally dependent operating unit based abroad if there are external reporting requirements for this operating unit, which can also be in the relevant local currency.

For segment reporting according to Anglo-American accounting practices, you need to represent the regions in which the company has significant dealings. This reporting data can be generated entirely on the basis of company codes.

For processing company codes, there are extended functions that you can access with the function call "administer" or "Copy, delete, check company code". The entry in the company code table is processed in these functions as well as all dependent Customizing and system tables in which the plant is a key.

For more information on the extended functions, see Copy/Delete/Check/Process Project IMG.

In addition to these functions, there is also the "Replace" function. You use this function if you want to change a company code key. This is only possible if no postings have been made in the company code that is to be replaced. You should therefore only use this function for newly-created company codes.

Activities

1. Create your company codes based on the reference (company code 0001) delivered with the standard system. SAP recommends using the function "Copy Company Code" to create your company codes.2. Go to the activity "Edit Company Code Data" and change the name, description, address, and currency. Maintain the company code data that has not been copied.3. Use the project IMG view to postprocess data that is changed automatically. You can also carry out postprocessing at a later stage since the system keeps the generated project view.

Define Business Area

Use

In this section you create business areas. A business area is an organizational unit within accounting that represents a separate area of operations or responsibilities in a business organization.

When defining a business area, you enter a four-character alphanumeric key and the name of the business area.

In a client, you can set up several business areas to which the system can assign the postings made in all company codes defined in this client. To ensure consistency in document entry, you should give business areas the same name in all company codes.

You make all other specifications for your business areas in the Financial Accounting Implementation Guide.

Activities

If necessary, create business areas.

Further notes

For more information about business areas, see the SAP Library under Financial Accounting -> General Ledger Accounting -> Business Area.

Define Functional Area

In this activity you create your functional areas.

Example

Typical functional areas are Sales, Production, Marketing, Administration and Research & Development.

Activities

Create the functional areas you require.

Maintain consolidation business area

In this activity you create consolidation business areas. A consolidation business area is an accounting organizational unit that represents a central business segment within a business organization and that has a balance sheet which can be included in business area consolidation.

In the SAP system, you execute the functions for consolidating business areas based on consolidation business areas.

Activities

Define consolidation business areas by assigning them 4-character IDs.

Assign company code to company

In this step you assign the company codes which you want to include in the group accounting to a company.

Requirements

You must have first completed the steps Create company code and Create company.

Activities

Assign the company codes to a company.

Assign company code to credit control area

In this step, you assign company codes to a credit control area.

Requirements

You must first have performed the steps "Create company codes" and "Create credit control area".

Standard settings

Examples of company codes assigned to credit control areas have been defined in the SAP standard system.

Activities

1. Assign each of the company codes to a credit control area as you require.2. Ensure that the appropriate credit limit is specified for the credit control areas and/or for the individual customers. You determine the credit limits via the Accounts Receivable area menu.

Assign business area to consolidation business area

In this step you allocate the business areas to consolidation business areas, as required for consolidation.

Requirements

You must first perform the steps Create business area and Create consolidation business area.

Activities

Allocate the business areas to the consolidation business areas in a 1:1 or N:1 ratio.

Define Field Status Variants

In this activity you can define and edit field status variants and groups. You group several field status groups together in one field status variant. You assign the field status variants to a company code in the activity Assign Company Code to Field Status Variants. This allows you to work with the same field status groups in any number of company codes.

You can also define and process field status groups. You must define a field status group in the company code-specific area of each G/L account. The field status group determines which fields are ready for input, which are required entry fields, and which are hidden during document entry. Bear in mind that additional account assignments (i.e. cost centers or orders) are only possible if data can be entered in the corresponding fields.

Standard settings

Field status variant 0001 is entered for company code 0001 in the standard SAP software. Field status groups are already defined for this variant.

Note

You cannot attach a field status to some fields, such as those in the document header. You can, however, switch between required and optional entry field designations in the document type for some of these header fields.

The field status group you enter in the reconciliation accounts affects postings to the related customer or vendor accounts. You cannot enter a field status group in the customer or vendor accounts. Field status groups are determined for customer and vendor accounts from their respective reconciliation accounts, via the G/L account number in their master records.

There are other factors, besides the field status group itself, which have an influence on the field status. Among these are:

the field status defined for the posting key.

The status "optional entry field" was assigned to posting keys 40 and 50 in the standard system. These are the standard posting keys for G/L account postings. The "optional entry field" status has no effect on the field status.

Specifications for the document type.

You can specify here that a reference number and document header text must always be entered, for example.

Recommendation

Designate field status via the field status groups in the G/L accounts. This allows you a more account-specific screen layout. You cannot differentiate by posting key, since there are only two such keys for postings to G/L accounts.

The situation with reconciliation accounts is different. You do not make any differentiated field status definition via the master record for these special G/L accounts. You use the debit and credit posting keys instead.

Activities

1. Create new field status variants using Edit -> New entries . You can also use the copy function to create new field status variants. To do this, select Edit -> Copy as . When copying field status variants, the accompanying field status groups are also copied.2. Look at the standard field status groups.3. Find out which fields on the entry screens should be

o ready for input

o required entry fields

o hidden for the G/L accounts in your company.

You do not make this definition for each account, but rather for groups of accounts. This is why you may want to adapt the field status groups included in the standard system.4. If necessary, change the standard field status groups, or define your own for each field status variant.5. You can delete field status variants that are no longer required via Edit -> Delete . The accompanying field status groups will also be deleted.

Assign Company Code to Field Status Variants

Use

In this IMG activity, you assign the company codes in which you want to work with identical field status groups to the same field status variant.

You define your field status group per field status variant. For more information, see Define Field Status Definition Groups.

Standard settings

In the SAP standard, a field status variant of the same name is assigned to company code 0001.

Activities

Assign the company codes concerned to the same field status variant.

Maintain Fiscal Year Variant (Maintain Shortened Fisc. Year)

You can define the following characteristics for a fiscal year variant:

how many posting periods a fiscal year has

how many special periods you need

how the system is to determine the posting periods when posting

When defining your fiscal year, you have the following options:

o Your fiscal year is the calendar year

In this case, you must only select the Calendar year field.o Your fiscal year is not the same as the calendar year and is not year-dependent

In this case, you first enter the number of your posting periods in the Number posting per. field. To define your posting periods, select your fiscal year variant and select Periods on the navigation screen. On this screen, enter the month and the day of the period end and the period in each case.

o Your fiscal year is not the same as the calendar year and is year-dependent

Enter the number of your posting periods in the field Number posting periods and select the field Year-dependent. To define your posting periods, select your fiscal year variant and select Periods on the navigation screen. The system asks for which calendar year your year-dependent fiscal year variant is valid. You then enter the month and day of the period end for each of your periods, and the periods themselves.

It is also possible to determine names for the periods of a non-year-specific fiscal year variant. To do so, select your fiscal year variant and choose Period texts on the navigation screen. You can specify a three-character abbreviation (Jan, Feb, Mar...) and a 20-character long text (January, February, March).

Standard settings

The following fiscal year variants have been created in the standard system:

Variants in which the fiscal year is the same as the calendar and has up to four special periods

Variants for shortened fiscal years. For more information on shortened fiscal years, see Defining shortened fiscal years.

Variants for non-calendar fiscal years:

o April to March with four special periods

o July to June with four special periods

o October to September with four special periods

Variants that are set up on a weekly basis. These variants can only be used in the Special Purpose Ledger (FI-SL) application.

Activities

1. Check the standard fiscal year variants.2. Change the existing variants, if necessary, or create your own variants.

Defining shortened fiscal year

A shortened fiscal year is a fiscal year having less than twelve months, but for which year-end closing must be carried out. The definition of a shortened fiscal year is always year-dependent, since it represents a year-related exception. You must always define an entire calendar year when defining a fiscal year variant.  The

year-related fiscal year variant therefore contains not only the periods from the shortened fiscal year, but also other periods from the previous or subsequent fiscal year.

There are two ways to define a shortened fiscal year:

If you only use Financial Accounting (FI) without Asset Accounting (FI-AA), you can begin a fiscal year with any period.

ExampleIf your shortened year goes from January to September, you can assign periods 004 to 012. Assign periods 001 to 003 of the new fiscal year to the months October-December.Specify the number of periods for the fiscal year variant (12 in the example above).NoteKeep in mind that the last period of a fiscal year must correspond to the number of periods in that year.  This means that if you want to define 12 periods, the last period in that year must be number 12.

If you also implement the Asset Accounting (FI-AA) component or another component such as Materials Management (MM) or Controlling (CO), each fiscal year must begin with period number 001, to allow asset depreciation calculations to be carried out accurately.

For a fiscal year variant, specify the periods and the number of periods the shortened fiscal year has.  This way, each fiscal year of the variant can begin with period 001.ExampleIf you define a fiscal year with twelve periods, it can contain a shortened year with nine periods (from 001 to 009).  The remaining calendar year contains the first three periods of the new fiscal year (periods 001 to 003).For more information about implementing the Asset Accounting component, see the Asset Accounting documentation.

Note

You define your shortened year and the following normal fiscal years under the same fiscal year variant. Bear in mind that you generally need to ensure that it is possible to post to previous fiscal years.

You need to keep the year-dependent fiscal year variant for as long as you are posting in or prior to a shortened fiscal year, or if you are transferring old data from this period. Year-dependent definitions will be deleted as soon as you convert the fiscal year variants from year-dependent to year-independent.

Caution

The fiscal year variant is used in several application components of the SAP system, for example, FI, FI-AA, CO, SD, MM, HR. In some application components, the calendar year-dependent definition of fiscal periods and years is still required if the shortened fiscal year is already in the past. If such a shortened fiscal year exists in your system, it must always be indicated as year-specific. You must not change this setting under any circumstances, even if the shortened fiscal year is already in the past.

Standard settings

Two shortened fiscal year variants are provided with the standard system: variant R1 for a Financial Accounting shortened year, and variant AM for shortened years when Asset Accounting is in use.

Activities

1. If you need to define a shortened fiscal year, first determine which of the two options above will be used.2. Define the shortened fiscal year.To define the shortened year for Asset Accounting, select Navigation -> Shortened fisc.yr.

Assign Company Code to a Fiscal Year Variant

For every company code, you must specify which fiscal year variant is to be used.

Requirements

You have defined the relevant fiscal year variant. The variant does not contain more than 16 periods. For more information, see Maintain Fiscal Year Variant.

Standard settings

The standard company code is assigned to the fiscal year variant that corresponds to the calendar year and uses four additional special periods.

Activities

Assign a fiscal year variant to each company code.

Define Variants for Open Posting Periods

In this activity, you can define variants for open posting periods.

Standard settings

In the standard setting, a separate variant for posting periods is defined for every company code. The name of this variant is identical to the company code name. Every company code is allocated to this variant with the same name. Thus nothing has changed in the system yet: Every company code has its own variant. If you want to and can continue working on this basis (for example, if you manage with only a few company codes), you do not have to make any changes in the configuration.

If however, you want to use identical variants in several company codes, you must change the default settings as described in the "Activities" section.

Activities

1. Change the name in one of the variants.2. Allocate all company codes, for which you want to use identical variants for open posting periods, to this variant.Detailed information on this can be found in the chapter "Allocate company code to variant".3. Delete the variants no longer required.

Assign Variants to Company Code

In this activity, you make the specification that is necessary to be able to work in several company codes with the same variant for open posting periods. For this reason, you assign the same variant key to the company codes you want to group together.

Activities

Assign the same variant to the corresponding company codes.

Open and Close Posting Periods

In this activity, you can specify which periods are open for posting for each variant. You have two time intervals (time period 1 and time period 2). In each interval, specify a period lower limit, a period upper limit, and the fiscal year.

You close a period by selecting the period specifications so that the period to be closed does not fall within them.

You can also assign authorization groups for permitted posting periods. This means that in month-end or year-end closing for example, you can open some posting periods for specific users only. The authorization group only has an effect on time period 1. The authorization object is F_BKPF_BUP (Accounting document: Authorizations for posting periods). For more information about assigning authorizations, see the corresponding section for User Maintenance.

Note

Specify G/L account numbers for your specifications. You define the permitted posting periods for the subledger accounting accounts using the relevant reconciliation accounts. To do this, specify the account type for the subledger accounting, such as D or K, and the relevant reconciliation account.

Caution

There must be a minimum entry for each variant. This entry must have + in column K, and the columns From Account and To Account must not contain entries. In the columns for the posting periods, specify the periods you want to always be open in this variant. With further entries, you define more specifically which periods are to be open for which accounts.

Activities

1. Specify the periods permitted for posting.2. First enter the periods permitted for posting for all variants (minimum entry).3. Then add entries for account types or account areas if the periods are to be further restricted for specific accounts.4. In addition, enter an authorization group for each time period 1 in order to limit user access.

Enter Global Parameters

In this activity, you can make various global specifications for the company code. In addition, you can look at the most important specifications of the company code at any time in the overview. This includes, among other things, the chart of accounts and the fiscal year variant.

Requirements

You have created the organizational unit "Company code" in the "Enterprise Structure" section of the Implementation Guide. For further information see "Create company code".

Standard settings

For the standard company code 0001, the global parameters for Germany have already been set, such as, for example, the payment methods, the tax calculation procedures and the chart of accounts most frequently used in Germany.

If you need a company code for a different country and the corresponding legal requirements, you must first of all run the country installation program in client 001. The country which you need is then entered as the country of company code 0001 and all the country-specific parameters associated with it are also converted to this country. Read the chapter "Set up client" within your Customizing project.

Activities

You can look at the most important specifications. You make these specifications later from other activities.

Define Document Types for Entry View

Use

In this activity, you define your document types. Document types are used to differentiate the business transactions and to manage how document are stored. This documentation describes the special procedure for setting up document types for New General Ledger Accounting.

For general information about defining document types, see Define Document Types.

Activities

If you only work with one ledger (the leading ledger), proceed as follows:In this activity, define for all postings the document types for the documents in the entry view. Also assign a number range to the document types.

For example: Document Type SA, G/L Account Document, Number Range 01Document Type SB, G/L Account Posting, Number Range 12

If you work with a leading ledger and with non-leading ledgers, proceed as follows:Since the majority of postings has the same effect in all ledgers, define in this IMG activity the document types for the entry view for postings that affect all ledgers. Also assign a number range to the document types.

Example:Document Type SA, G/L Account Document, Number Range 01Document Type SB, G/L Account Posting, Number Range 12In the case of postings that do not have the same effect on all ledgers, proceed as follows:

o Postings only for the leading ledger:Define a separate document type for these postings. Assign a unique number range to this document type.

Example:Document Type SX, Closing Postings, Number Range 90

o Postings for non-leading ledgers:You make these settings under Define Document Types for Entry View in a Ledger.

Note

By segregating the ledger-related postings (here, the leading ledger) in a separate number range, you ensure the contiguous assignment of document numbers at the ledger level for each number range.

Document Number Ranges

A number range must be assigned to each document type in the SAP System. Via the document types, you distinguish the postings according to the different business transactions, for example customer payment, vendor credit memo, and so on. To store documents separately according to document types, you must assign a separate number range to each document type, for example to invoices or to credit memos.

In the following activities:

You define your document number ranges.

You can determine which intervals of document number ranges are to be copied from one company code into another.

You can determine which intervals of document number ranges are to be copied from one fiscal year into another.

Define Document Number Ranges for Entry View

In this IMG activity you create number ranges for documents. For each number range you specify (among other things):

a number interval from which document numbers are selected

the type of number assignment (internal or external)

You assign one or more document types to each number range. The number range becomes effective via the document type specified in document entry and posting.

You can use one number range for several document types. This means you can differentiate documents by document type but combine them again for filing the original documents, provided you store your original documents under the EDP document number.

Note

The type of number assignment is of special importance. For each document type you should check whether a separate number range must be used and which type of number assignment is most appropriate.

One example of a case where external number assignment would be suitable is when you transfer documents into your SAP system from a non-SAP system. The numbers must be unique. The number range is not displayed with external numbers. You must therefore ensure that you do not skip any numbers when entering numbers manually (for organizational reasons).

You should use internal number assignment if the original documents do not have a unique document number. This is the case, for example, with vendor invoices.

Number ranges for documents are company code-dependent. You must therefore create your number ranges for each company code in which the document type is used, namely with the same number range key.

The number intervals must not overlap. If you use year-dependent number ranges, you can specify the same interval with the same key several times for different to- fiscal years  (the limit up to which a number range is still valid). If you want to define number ranges which are independent of the to-fiscal year, enter 9999 in the to- fiscal year field.

Caution

For sample documents, use a number range with key X2, for recurring entry documents with key X1. These keys may not be used for other number ranges.

Recommendation

Store your original documents (paper documents) under the EDP number of the SAP System. You should write the EDP document number on the original document. In this way, the original document for a business transaction can be found at any time.

Activities

1. Determine how document filing is to be carried out in your company codes.2. Define your number ranges accordingly.3. Make sure that the number ranges are assigned to the corresponding document types.

Notes on transporting

You transport number range objects as follows:

Choose Interval -> Transport in the accounting document Number Range screen.

All intervals for the selected number range object are deleted in the target system first. After the import, only the intervals you export are present. The number statuses are imported with their values at the time of export.

Dependent tables are not transported or converted.

Define Posting Keys

In this activity you define posting keys. Users specify a posting key before entering a line item. The posting key controls how the line item is entered and processed.

For each posting key, you define among other things:

which side of an account can be posted to,

which type of account can be posted to, and

which fields the system displays on the entry screens and whether an entry must be made (field status).

Note

The system also uses the field status group you specify in a G/L account to determine the status of fields in document entry. Field status groups are defined within a field status variant.

Recommendation

Use the posting keys delivered with the standard system.

Activities

1. Check the standard settings.2. Modify them if necessary.In particular, you may need to make changes to customer and vendor posting keys if a different field status is required.

Define Tolerance Groups for Employees

In this activity, you predefine various amount limits for your employees with which you determine:

the maximum document amount the employee is authorized to post

the maximum amount the employee can enter as a line item in a customer or vendor account

the maximum cash discount percentage the employee can grant in a line item

the maximum acceptable tolerance for payment differences for the employee.

Payment differences are posted automatically within certain tolerance groups. This way the system can post the difference by correcting the cash discount or by posting to a separate expense or revenue account.

In this respect you define:

the amounts or percentage rates up to which the system is to automatically post to a separate expense or revenue account if it is not possible to correct the cash discount or

up to which difference amounts the system is to correct the cash discount. In this case the cash discount is automatically increased or decreased by the difference. using tolerance groups.

You can also additionally differentiate these settings by company code. Since the same rules usually apply to a group of employees, enter the values for employee groups.  You can then enter amount limits and tolerances per employee group and company code.

Note

You can also define tolerances without specifying a tolerance group. Leave the field Grp empty in this case. The stored tolerances are then valid for all employees who are not allocated to a group. There must be at least one entry for every company code.

You can also specify tolerances for clearing procedures depending on your customers or vendors. The lower limits from the customer/vendor specifications and employee group are taken in each case during clearing.

Standard settings

In the system, sample tolerances are defined for the standard company codes.

Activities

1. For every company code, find out which tolerances are to be determined and whether a differentiation according to employee group is necessary. If you want to define different tolerances for your employees, specify the amount limits for each of the groups.  If the tolerance limits are to apply to all employees, leave the "group" field empty.2. Define the tolerances correspondingly.3. If you have defined differing tolerance groups, you then have to assign your employees to a certain tolerance group.  To do this, select the activity "Assign users to tolerance groups". This is where you enter your employees under the relevant groups.

Assign User/Tolerance Groups

In this activity, you assign Financial Accounting employees to whom you wish to give special tolerances to a group. Tolerances are defined for a group for posting and clearing documents or line items.

Note

For employees that you do not assign to a group, you must define tolerance values for which you leave the Group field blank and only specify the company code. For more information on this, see Define Tolerances (Vendors)

Activities

Enter your employees under the required group.

Revise Chart of Accounts

Before you prepare for G/L account creation in the R/3 System, you may have to revise your existing G/L chart of accounts.

This may be necessary because:

You want to reduce the number of G/L accounts you are already using.

Your current organization has several legally independent companies using different G/L accounts, but you now want them all to use the same chart of accounts in the R/3 System.

You want to extend the length of the account numbers.

Your cost accounting operations are currently carried out in financial accounting, but in the future you want to implement cost accounting as a separate component.

Activities

Prior to creating a chart of accounts and G/L accounts in the system, you should go through the following activities to find out which accounts your organization requires.

1. Determine the account classification (such as account system) you want to use to structure your chart of accounts with.2. Find out from your employees which G/L accounts are needed for which business transactions and which accounts they currently post to.3. Identify the accounts which are no longer required.4. Determine which particular accounts are used for automatic postings or special G/L transactions in the R/3 System. Decide which ones you want to include in your chart of accounts. To do this, analyze the charts of accounts delivered with the standard system.

Additional Information

The Financial Accounting documentation describes those G/L accounts that are specially needed in the R/3 System from a business perspective.

Edit Chart of Accounts List

In the chart of accounts list you enter the charts of accounts that you want to use in your organization (at client level).

Standard settings

The list already contains sample charts of accounts for some countries. Charts of accounts GKR and IKR, for example, have been entered for Germany.

Activities

1. Check whether you can use one of the charts of accounts supplied with the standard system. To do this, you can display the charts of accounts on the screen or print them out using the "Chart of Accounts" program. You can find the program under Accounting -> Financial accounting -> General ledger -> Information system -> General Ledger Reports -> Master Data -> -> Chart of Accounts Chart of Accounts.2. If you want to create your own chart of accounts, enter it in the chart of accounts list.

Define Account Group

When creating a G/L account, you must specify an account group.

The account group determines:

the interval in which the account number must be

which fields are required and optional entries when creating and changing master records

which fields are suppressed when creating and changing master data.

It enables you to control the layout of screens.

You use account groups to combine accounts according to the above criteria (for example, a P&L account group, asset account group and material account group).

Note

Account groups for G/L accounts are based on the chart of accounts.

Standard settings

Account groups are defined for the standard charts of accounts.

Activities

Check and change the standard account groups as needed. If you set up your own charts of accounts, you must specify account groups for them.

Define Retained Earnings Account

You assign a retained earnings account to each P&L account by specifying a P&L statement account type in the chart of accounts area of each P&L account.

At the end of a fiscal year, the system carries forward the balance of the P&L account to the retained earnings account. You can define one or more P&L statement account types per chart of accounts and assign them to retained earnings accounts.

Note

Your specification depends on the chart of accounts.

Requirements

The chart of accounts must be specified in the chart of accounts list.

Standard settings

Account 332000 was defined for chart of accounts IKR and account 900000 was defined for GKR, using the key "X" respectively.

Activities

1. Change the standard settings if necessary.If you do not use one of the standard charts of accounts, you must specify the P&L statement account type(s) and the retained earnings accounts for each new chart of accounts you set up.2. Make sure the accounts you specify are created.

Define Financial Statement Versions

In this activity:

You define the versions you need to create a balance sheet and profit and loss statement.

You can define versions for a specific chart of accounts, for a group chart of accounts, or without any specific assignment.

You then determine the financial statement items for your version.

You assign groups of accounts to the items at the lowest levels of the hierarchy. You can select the criteria that determine which items the accounts are displayed in. For example, accounts or groups of accounts can be assigned to particular items based on their balance.Alternatively, you can also assign functional area intervals at the lowest level of the structure, instead of account intervals. Either account intervals or functional area intervals can be assigned to a financial statement item. You must explicitly define financial statement versions to which functional areas are assigned as such. You do this by setting the "Fun.area allowed" indicator. This financial statement version can then also be used by the notes to financial statement in the G/L account information system.

Activities

Define the necessary versions and maintain the financial statement items.

Further notes

For more information on defining financial statement versions, see the FI Closing and Reporting documentation.

Define Account Groups with Screen Layout (Customers)

In this step, you determine the account groups for customers.

You can also define reference account groups for one-time accounts. You can use these to control the fields of the one-time account screen so that, for example, certain fields are displayed as required fields or are hidden.

When creating a customer account, you must specify an account group. You can specify a reference account group under "Control" in the "General data" part of a one-time account's master data. If you do not specify a reference account group, then, as previously, all fields of the one-time account screen are ready for input during document entry.

You use the account group to determine:

the interval for the account numbers

whether the number is assigned internally by the system or externally by the user (type of number assignment)

whether it is a one-time account

which fields are ready for input or must be filled when creating and changing master records (field status)

Example:You want to hide the address, communication and bank data fields for the one-time accounts. You determine the field status in the general data area for these fields since the fields are contained in this area. The reconciliation account field is defined as a required field since a reconciliation account must also be specified for the one-time accounts. This field is company code-dependent. You define the status of this field in the company code-dependent data area.

With the account groups, you group accounts together according to the criteria mentioned above, for example, one-time accounts. You determine the account number interval and the type of number assignment using the number ranges.

Note

If you create new account groups, do not forget to maintain the field status. Otherwise all corresponding fields are shown. It is recommended that you control the field status via the account groups. In exceptional cases, it can make sense to control the field status either dependent on company code or dependent on transaction.

Note on changing the account group

You may only delete an account group from the system if there are no master records referencing this account group. Otherwise you can no longer display or change the master record.

Changing the field status definition

If you hide a field at a later stage in which you had already made an entry, the field contents are still valid.

Changing number ranges

You can increase the upper limit of the number interval as long as there is no other interval containing the required numbers. You can allocate a new number range to the account group. The numbers of the new master records must then be contained in the new area.

Standard settings

Sample account groups have been defined.

Recommendation

Do not use the account groups to group the customer accounts according to content. Therefore do not attempt to allocate the accounts to accounting clerks via the account groups or to group customers together according to countries. You can do this via special master record fields.

Activities

1. Check and change the standard account groups if necessary.2. Make sure that the number ranges specified for the account groups have been created.

Create Number Ranges for Customer Accounts

In this activity you create the number ranges for the customer accounts. To do this, specify the following under a two-character key:

A number interval from which the account number for the customer accounts is to be selected

The type of number assignment (internal or external number assignment)

Allocate the number ranges to the account groups for customers.

Note

The type of number assignment is especially important. The following are possible:

Transferring the numbers of your customers/vendors from an existing system or a pre-system (external assignment: you enter a number when creating a master record).

Creating the master records under new numbers assigned by the SAP system (internal assignment: the system assigns a number when creating the master records).

External number assignment, for example, is useful if you transfer master data from a pre-system. In all other cases, you should use the internal number assignment. The SAP system offers a number of help functions to determine an account number. Therefore the account numbers no longer have to be "mnemonic". The help functions include the matchcode or the Prev.acct no. field in the customer/vendor master record.

Activities

1. Find out which number ranges are needed.2. Create these number ranges.

Notes on transport

You transport number range objects as follows:

Choose Interval -> Transport in the accounting document Number Range screen.

All intervals for the selected number range object are deleted in the target system first. After the import, only the intervals you export are present. The number statuses are imported with their values at the time of export.

Dependent tables are not transported or converted.

Additional information

For more information on this topic, see the "FI Document Posting" document.

Assign Number Ranges to Customer Account Groups

In this step you assign the number ranges you created in the preceding step to the account groups for customers. You can use one number range for several account groups.

Activities

Assign the required number ranges to the account groups.

Define Account Groups with Screen Layout (Vendors)

In this step you determine the account groups for vendors.

You can also define reference account groups for one-time accounts. These enable you to control the fields in the one-time account screen. You can, for example, make certain fields required fields and suppress others.

When creating a vendor account, an account group must be specified. You can enter a reference account group in the "General data" section of the one-time account master record under "Control data". If you do not specify a reference account group, all fields in the one-time account screen for document entry are ready for input (as before).

Via the account group you determine

The interval for the account numbers

Whether the number is assigned internally by the system or externally by the user (type of number assignment)

Whether it is a one-time account

Which fields are ready for input or must be filled when creating and changing master records (field status)

Example:In the one-time accounts you want to suppress the address, communication and bank detail fields. These fields are part of the general data and so you set the field status in the general data section. Define the reconciliation account as a required field since this is a required entry for one-time accounts as well. The field is company code-dependent so you define the status for this field in the company data section.

With the account groups, you group accounts together according to the criteria mentioned above, for example, one-time accounts. You determine the account number interval and the type of number assignment by using number ranges.

Note

Do not forget to maintain the field status when you create new account groups. If you do not mark a status for a field group, all the corresponding fields are displayed. We recommend that you control the field status by account group. In exceptional cases it may make sense to control the field status by company code or transaction.

Notes on changing the account group

You can only delete an account group from the system if no master record refers to this account group. Otherwise you can no longer display or change the master record.

Changing the field status definition

If you suppress a field which you have already filled in at an earlier date, the field content is still effective.

Changing number ranges

You can increase the upper limit of the number range interval as long as no other interval contains the required numbers. You can assign a new number range to the account group. The numbers of the new master records must then be within the new range.

Default settings

Sample account groups have been defined.

Recommendation

Do not use the account groups to group the vendor accounts according to content i.e. do not attempt to assign the accounts via the account groups to accounting clerks or to group vendors together according to countries. You can do this via special master record fields.

Activities

1. Check and change the standard account groups if necessary.2. Make sure that the number ranges specified for the account groups have been created.

Create Number Ranges for Vendor Accounts

In this activity you create the number ranges for vendor accounts. To do this, specify the following under a two-character key:

A number interval from which the account number for the vendor accounts is to be selected

The type of number assignment (internal or external number assignment)

Assign the number ranges to the account groups for vendors.

Note

The type of number assignment is especially important. The following is possible:

Transferring the numbers of your vendors from an existing system or a pre-system (external assignment)

Creating the master records under new numbers assigned by the SAP System (internal assignment)

External number assignment is useful, for example, if you transfer master data from a pre-system. In all other cases, you should use the internal number assignment. The SAP System offers a number of help functions to determine an account number. Therefore the account numbers no longer have to be "mnemonic". This includes, among other things, the matchcode or the field Prev.acct no. in the vendor master record.

Activities

1. Find out which number ranges are needed.2. Create these number ranges.

Notes on transport

You transport number range objects as follows:

Choose Interval -> Transport in the accounting document Number Range screen.

All intervals for the selected number range object are deleted in the target system first. After the import, only the intervals you export are present. The number statuses are imported with their values at the time of export.

Dependent tables are not transported or converted.

Additional information

For more information on this topic, see the FI Document Posting document.

Assign Number Ranges to Vendor Account Groups

In this step you allocate the number ranges you created in the preceding step to the account groups for vendors. You can use one number range for several account groups.

Activities

Allocate the required number ranges to the account groups.

Maintain Terms of Payment

In the step Maintain terms of payment, you can define rules with which the system can determine the required terms of payment automatically. The rules are stored under a four-character key. You assign the terms of payment specified to the vendors in the master record via the key. The key and the terms determined with it are proposed when entering a document to the vendor account.

Note

You can specify a key in the master data area for Financial Accounting and Sales + Distribution. You should use the same key.

You can use the same key for the terms of payment for both customers and vendors who have the same payment terms. SAP recommends, however, that you use different terms of payment keys for customers and vendors and limit the permitted account type correspondingly within the terms of payment. This, for example, then has an advantage if the sales department of your company changes a payment term for a customer. You can then adapt the accompanying customer terms of payment key without vendors being affected by the same terms of payment.

Standard settings

The most usual terms of payment have already been set in the standard system. These include specifications on the payment conditions, the day limit or the payment period baseline date, for example.

Recommendation

You do not normally have to make any additions or changes to the default settings, unless you want to:

Enter a separate help text for a payment term which deviates from the explanations created automatically

Exclude an account type for a payment term (in the standard system, a payment term applies to all account types of the business partner)

Change the payment conditions for a payment term

Indicate that it has to do with a holdback/retainage payment

In this case you must also define the holdback/retainage payment partial amounts in the subsequent step. For more information on this, read the section "Define terms of payment for holdback/retainage". In the current step "Maintain terms of payment", only the holdback/retainage payment terms are displayed under "Explanations" in so far as you have defined them.

Activities

1. Check whether you can use the default settings as they are without making any changes. You might have to change or extend the default settings.2. Ensure that the terms of payment key is entered in the vendor master record which represents the specified terms of payment.

Define Terms of Payment for Installment Payments

In this step you can determine whether an invoice amount is to be divided into partial amounts with different due dates. For these terms of holdback/retainage payment, you must determine the amount of the holdback/retainage in percent and the terms of payment for each holdback/retainage payment. If you then post an invoice with terms of holdback/retainage payment, the system generates the corresponding number of line items due to your specifications for the holdback/retainage.

Requirements

You make your specifications under a particular terms of payment key. You have already defined this previously in the step "Maintain terms of payment" as well as set the "Holdback/retainage payment" indicator under the payment conditions.

Activities

1. Define your partial amounts in percent for each terms of payment key affected. Make sure that you number the individual partial amounts consecutively.2. Ensure that the key is entered in the vendor master record which represents the specified terms of payment.

Define Dunning Procedures

In this activity you enter the settings that control the dunning program by:

Specifying the company codes to include in dunning.

You specify these company codes when configuring the dunning program. Setting up the dunning procedure you want to use.

Dunning procedures are company code independent. They determine the dunning interval, the grace periods for the due date determination, and the number of dunning levels. You can also set the dunning level at which you want to list all due items from an account in the dunning notice.

Setting the dunning charges.

You can either specify a fixed charge or have the system calculate the charge on the basis of a percentage rate you specify.

Specifying the net payment due date at which a particular dunning level is reached.

Specifying the dunning notice you want to send to your customers.

You have to define one or more forms for the notice.

Note

An account is only included in dunning if it assigned a dunning procedure. To exclude an account from dunning, you can set a dunning block for it.

Tips

Before defining several dunning procedures and forms, you should check whether you can fulfill all your requirements using one dunning procedure and one form.You should select Always dunn. notice? for the last dunning level so that items at this level are not skipped.You can store the header and footer texts separately for your dunning notices. If your letter paper already contains these specifications, you can remove the windows for these texts in the form you define using SAPscript.

Activities

1. Find out which company codes to include in dunning. Specify these company codes by choosing Environment -> Company code data.2. Find out how the dunning procedure should be set up and whether several dunning procedures are necessary.3. Define your dunning procedures.

o To create new dunning procedures, choose New procedure.

o To maintain the dunning levels, choose Goto -> Dunning levels in the dunning procedure. Enter the number of days in arrears for each dunning level. The system proposes values which you can overwrite.

o To maintain the dunning charges, choose Goto -> Dunning charges in the dunning procedure. First enter the currency and then enter the dunning charges for the different dunning levels. If you want to define dunning charges dependent on the dunnable amount, also enter the dunning amount. If you want to define charges in other currencies, choose Edit -> Other currency.

o To specify minimum amounts for dunning notices, choose Goto -> Minimum amounts in the dunning procedure. Enter the dunning level and the minimum amounts and/or the minimum percentage rates. You can also specify a minimum amount for the interest calculation for each dunning level.

o To determine sort fields, choose Environemnt -> Sort fields in the dunning procedures.

4. Find out which forms should be used for dunning.5. Create these forms and specify one or more forms for each dunning procedure.6. Make sure a dunning procedure is entered in the master records of the customers/vendors who are to be taken into consideration for dunning.

Further notes

For more information on the dunning program, see the FI Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable documentation.

Define Dunning Areas

In this step, you can define your dunning areas. Dunning areas are used if several organizational units are responsible for carrying out dunning within one company code. These organizational units are referred to as

dunning areas. The dunning area can correspond, for example, to a profit center, a distribution channel, a sales organization or a business area.

The individual dunning areas can use different procedures or the same dunning procedure.

The dunning areas with the required dunning procedures are to be entered into the customer or vendor master record if you use different dunning procedures.

Otherwise, the system uses the standard dunning procedure. The dunning area is then entered in the line item. The system enters the dunning area into the master record automatically with the corresponding data.

Note

The use of dunning areas is optional.

Requirements

If the field for the dunning area in the line item is to be ready for input, specify in the company code-specific specifications for dunning that you want to dun separately according to dunning areas. Also read "Setting up dunning program".

Activities

1. Define your dunning areas if you want to use them.2. Make sure that you specify for the required company codes that you want to dun according to dunning areas .3. Make sure that the required dunning areas are entered into the master records of the business partners with the dunning procedures, if you use different dunning procedures for the individual dunning areas.

Define Dunning Keys

Define your dunning keys in this step. With the dunning keys, you can limit the dunning level of an item. Define either instead of or in addition to the dunning key whether the items with a dunning key are to be displayed separately in the dunning letter.

Activities

Define your dunning keys.

Define Dunning Groupings

Dunning notices are generally created per business partner. In special cases, it can be useful to group together the open items of a business partner according to certain aspects and dun these items together.

In order to group items together for dunning notices, you need to define grouping keys (two-character, alphanumeric). For each key, specify a field from the line item whose contents are to comprise the main criteria for the group. Items whose contents in this field are identical, are dunned together.

Example

You are using the Financial Assets Management system and want to send your business partner a separate dunning notice for each leased property. To do this, you define a grouping key referring to the contract number field. As a result, open items with the same contract number can be dunned together.

Activities

1. Define the required grouping keys.2. Ensure that a grouping key for open items is specified in the relevant business partner master records, indicating according to which criterion items are grouped together for dunning.

Define House Banks

Each house bank of a company code is represented by a bank ID in the SAP system, every account at a house bank by an account ID.

In the SAP system, you use the bank ID and the account ID to specify bank details. These specifications are used, for example, for automatic payment transactions to determine the bank details for payment.

Standard settings

Several house banks are supplied as examples in the standard system in order to enable configuration of the payment program.

Note

For domestic banks, you should enter the bank number in the "bank key" field and for foreign banks, you should enter the SWIFT code in this field.

For Belgium, the first three house bank ID items must be numeric.

Do not forget to create a G/L account for the specified bank account. The G/L account is to be managed in the same currency as the account at the bank.

Activities

1. Work out the specifications you have to enter in the system for your house banks.2. Define your house banks and the corresponding accounts in the system under a bank ID or an account ID.

Additional information

If you have already carried out the step "Copy bank directory", you have already created house banks in the system or have updated the house bank data that already existed.

If this is the case, in this step you only have to create the house banks that were not created in the "Copy bank directory" step. You can also add any data that may be required to house banks that were copied along with the bank directory.

Check Post Office Bank Branch Numbers ( NOT RELEVANT)

Specify the valid numbers of the post office bank branches for each country. These specifications are used to check the post office bank current account numbers.

Standard settings

The numbers of the post office bank branches in Switzerland and Germany are contained in the system.

Activities

1. Check the numbers of the post office bank branches specified in the system.2. Add missing numbers if necessary.

Enter Name of Building Society

In this step, you enter the name of the Building Society for each bank or bank account. This is valid for Great Britain.

In order to guarantee that every transaction is carried out within two days, the name of the Building Society must be entered in the data carrier.

Activities

Please enter the name of the Building Society to make indentification of the bank key and account number easier.

Define Scenario

Use

In this activity you define scenarios for determining bank chains. A scenario specifies the way in which a bank chain is to be determined:

generally, i.e. not dependent on certain business partner bank details (general search)

dependent on the business partner (recipient-specific search)

with which fields and in which order

Standard settings

The SAP standard system contains a number of standard procedures (scenarios).

You cannot make changes to the standard system. If, however you need to make only minor changes, you should copy the standard delivery and adjust the copy to meet your requirements.

Activities

1. Check whether you can use one of the scenarios provided.2. If you cannot, define your own scenario in a separate name range (starting with Y, Z or 9).NotePlease note that this can slow performance considerably, because secondary indexes have only been created for the relevant database tables for the scenarios provided. If you want to create indexes, you should contact SAP.

a) Choose Edit -> New entries.b) Enter the data necessary for defining a a scenario:

o an ID for the scenario (0003, for example)

o a description of the scenario (general bank chain determination, for example)

3. Select Gen.Search if payments to be made are not dependent on the partner's bank details, and Rec.Search if the payments are to be dependent on the bank details.NoteIf you select both search options when determining the bank chain, the system first runs a search for a recipient-specific (that is, partner-dependent) bank chain, and then for a general bank chain.4. Select the defined scenario, and choose Scenario characteristics by double-clicking. Enter the necessary data.Example: Scenario Ranking SenderBank RecipCntry RecipBank Currency0003 0 yes yes yes yes0003 1 yes yes yes0003 2 yes yes0003 3 yes

Further notes

For more information on bank chains, see the SAP Library under FI - Financial Accounting -> Bank Accounting -> Bank Chains.

Activate Bank Chain

Use

In this activity you activate the bank chain function. In doing so, you specify that a bank chain is to be determined for a payment. In the activity Define Scenario, you decided whether to use an existing scenario to determine the bank chain, or whether to define a new scenario. You specify that scenario here.

Activities

Enter the required scenario (such as 0003) for determining the bank chain for the current client.

Further notes

For more information on bank chains, see the SAP Library under FI - Financial Accounting -> Bank Accounting -> Bank Chains.

Create General Bank Chain

Use

In this activity you define general bank chains. This means that payments can be processed via a general bank chain and are not dependent on the business partner's bank details.

Activities

1. Define the sequence of banks and the accounts from which payments are to be made.Select the line containing the data you have entered, then choose Bank chain. Enter the required data.Example:BankChn No. Cat Corr.ctry Corr.bank key Bank acct00001 1 1 DE 111555 12312312300001 2 2 US 222444 45645645600001 3 3 US 333666 3213213212. Define the bank chain to be used for a predefined combination of the following criteria:

o Currency

o Sender bank country

o Sender bank key

o Recipient bank country

o Recipient bank key

o Payment method supplement

Choose Edit -> New entries and enter the required data.Example:Crcy BankCtryS BankKeyS RecipCtry BankKeyR Bank chainDEM 00001

Further notes

For more information on bank chains, see the SAP Library under FI - Financial Accounting -> Bank Accounting -> Bank Chains.