Configuring Charge Types

Charge types can be grouped into charge categories. A useful code list is the UN/EDIFACT codelist 5237. All three entities are freely definable in Customizing.

You can use the charge subcategories of charge types to group and categorize charge types in a more granular way than charge categories. A suitable example is the code list resulting from UN/EDIFACT Recommendation 23: "FREIGHT COST CODE # FCC Harmonization of the Description of Freight Costs and Other Charges".

You define charge categories for charge types in the following Customizing activity: In Customizing, choose Transportation Management→Basic Functions→Charge Calculation→Basic Settings→Define Charge Categories.

You define charge subcategories for charge types in the following Customizing activity: In Customizing, choose Transportation Management→Basic Functions→Charge Calculation→Basic Settings→Define Charge Subcategories.

Charge categories and subcategories can be assigned in the charge type customizing activity, and can be used to determine the SD condition type during billing or MM service master record/ Activity number during settlement.

When defining charge types, you can use the following settings:

• Specify whether a charge type can result in a positive or negative value.
• Specify whether a charge type can be an absolute value or a percentage value.
• Specify whether you want to set the charge type as an absolute value or a percentage value each time you assign the charge type.
• Assign a charge type to a charge category and charge subcategory.
• Indicate if the charge is a tax.
• Specify if and how the system rounds a value.
• Assign a default calculation base to the charge type so you do not need to assign a calculation base each time you create a calculation sheet line item.
• Indicate whether a charge type is a leading charge type and so must have a value for the system to be able to calculate the charges.
• Mark a charge type as inactive, so the system cannot use the charge type to create any new calculation sheets or rate tables.
• Specify the transportation mode category, which restricts the charge types in a calculation sheet to those with the same transportation mode category as the associated agreement, and to those with no specified transportation mode category.
• Enter a charge type description in multiple languages.
• Specify other values used for air freight calculations or forwarding charges calculation.

This figure shows how the charge type, charge category, and charge subcategory influence the integration between SAP TM and SAP S/4 Sales & Distribution as well as Materials Management.

The charge types, charge categories, and charge subcategories are mapped in SAP S/4 to the following objects:

• Pricing condition types in SAP Sales and Distribution used for customer billing.
• Service activities in SAP Materials Management for carrier invoice processing.