Creating Direct Postings from FI

Objectives

After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
  • Post journal entries directly to profitability analysis
  • Post a revaluation of a material and view the profitability analysis documents

Direct Postings from FI

Diagram showing the business process for a Customer Loyalty Program Bonus payment. It includes direct posting in FI with assignment to the customer segment, integrating cost elements and value fields via COPA.

Direct postings enable you to post direct costs, revenue, and sales deductions to profitability segments. Examples of these postings include the following:

  • Licensing fees for purchased merchandise

  • Special direct costs from sales, such as transportation insurance for a certain shipment

  • Costs and revenues for services

  • Invoices received for a marketing campaign

You assign the values to a profitability segment directly in the FI posting transaction. In the FI posting transaction, you can call up a special assignment dialog box for each posting line by clicking the Prof. Segment field.

In this dialog box, the system displays the characteristics that you can choose from the operating concern you are working in. To define the structure of the dialog box, you can create a characteristic group for the RFBU activity in Customizing. The characteristic group defines which characteristics are displayed for selection.

In costing-based CO-PA, all the assignments of values and quantities to the value fields are defined in the PA transfer structure, FI, which you maintain in Customizing.

In Margin Analysis, data is posted in the same cost or revenue element. If your system allows dual postings to a profitability segment and a cost center, the real posting always goes to the profitability segment. The cost center is posted for statistical purposes only.

Create a Direct Posting from FI to CO-PA

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Business Example

Commissions (bonuses) for exceeding sales goals are paid once a year. A special payment is processed manually, directly in Financial Accounting. The expense for that payment has to be accounted for in CO-PA by customer.

Note

Costs usually flow through other Controlling components into CO-PA. However, you can also post them directly from FI into CO-PA. The profitability segment is determined based on the characteristic values that you have specified in the posting.

Use the App Post General Journal Entries in the tile group Controlling - Actual Data CO. Create a direct posting from FI to CO-PA.

Automatic Account Assignment

Flowchart of business process showing account determination, automatic account assignment, and redirection from ACDOCA to COEP and CE1, CE3 databases, incorporating FI, MM, and CO modules.

Automatic postings, such as those generated in Materials Management (MM), can be passed on to CO-PA using automatic PA assignment functions. The documents are updated in CO-PA for the profitability segment based on characteristic information in the corresponding FI document.

Automatic postings should be used in special cases for specific accounts and to represent rare business transactions.

It is recommended to use an automatic PA assignment for the following transactions:

  • Transferring price differences posted in the purchasing application component due to the price changes in an invoice.

  • Transferring income or expenses that occur due to the revaluation of material inventories.

  • Transferring inventory differences.

It is important to remember that the cost or revenue elements that receive automatic postings are assigned to value fields in the costing-based CO-PA. These value fields are in the PA transfer structure FI, which you maintain in Customizing.

How to Create a Direct Posting from MM to CO-PA

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Revalue a Material and Analyze the CO-PA Documents

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Business Example

During the year-end closing audit, a specific material has been detected with a unit cost that is too high. Because of this, the auditor tells you to reduce inventory value by 10%. In the scenario, you need to use the Change Material Price - MR21 app.

Note

Automatic posting, such as the ones created in MM, can be posted to CO-PA using automatic account assignment.

You can use direct posting to post to a profitability segment in the following cases:

  • Transfer of price differences as period costs.

    Example: In Purchasing, prices that deviate from the order are posted upon receipt of the invoice.

  • Transfer of revenues and expenses by material valuation as period costs.

    Example: Price changes can lead to a revaluation of material stocks, which can be posted as revenues or expenses.

  • Transfer of inventory differences as period costs.

Post a revaluation for product T-R29## in Material Management. Assume that the price of this product has decreased by 10%. The material price has not been revaluated with Product Cost Controlling, because the price indicator for this raw material has been set to V (moving average price). The posting is made in plant 1010 and therefore in company code 1010.

Save the document number and analyze the accounting and controlling documents.

Steps

  1. Go to the SAP Fiori Launchpad in your Training Desktop.

  2. Post a price change for product T-R29## .

    Select the appChange Material Price - MR21 in tile group Actual Data Logistics. In the Price Change - Overview Screen enter the data defined in the table below.

    Price Change - Overview Screen

    Field Name or Data TypeValue
    Posting DateCurrent date
    Company Code1010
    Plant1010
    MaterialT-R29##
    New Price9
    Tab: EUR CCde Crcy / 0L 

    In the Price Change - Overview Screen ,enter the material number. Press Enter to access the old material price.

    1. Select the app Change Material Price - MR21 in tile group Logistics.

    2. In the Price Change – Overview Screen, enter the data as defined in the table above.

    3. Press Enter to navigate to the next screen.

    4. Enter the material number and press Enter to get the current material price into the screen.

    5. Enter the new material price (which is the actual material price minus 10%) in the New Price field.

    6. Choose Save and note the document number: ____________.

    7. If prompted, confirm with Yes in the Exit Edition pop-up window where you are asked to save although no new price has been entered.

    8. Stay in app.

  3. What account assignment did the material price change document post to? Access the Price Change Document for your document number and verify the posting to FI and CO-PA. Note the G/L account number (primary cost element number): _________________________ and the value field in costing-based CO-PA: _______________________.

    Table 3

    FieldValue
    Document NumberYour Document Number
    YearCurrent Year

    1. In the Price Change - Overview Screen, choose Display Document.

    2. In the Price Change Document: Initial Screen, enter the document number for the material price change in the previous exercise step and choose Overview.

    3. Choose Accounting Documents on the Display Price Change Document: Overview screen and verify the accounting and controlling documents.

      The accounting document represents the posting to the G/L account (Account Type: "Primary Cost Element") according to the account assignment in customizing MM (transactionOMWB). Note the primary G/L account number: _____________________.

      The controlling document represents the posting to Margin Analysis, using the primary cost element like FI (automatic assignment to CO-PA with transaction OKB9).

      The profitability document represents the posting to costing-based CO-PA, using the value field that has been assigned to the primary cost element (transaction PA transfer structure KEI3). Note the value field: ______________________.

    4. Return to the Fiori Home page.

  4. Go to the SAP GUI.

  5. View the customizing for the integration from FI to CO-PA. To do this, use transaction KEI3for the assignment of value fields to primary cost elements. In the transaction KEI3, select the CO-PA transfer structure FI.

    1. In the SAP Easy Access Menu, go to transaction code SPRO. Choose SAP Reference IMG and then choose Controlling→Profitability Analysis→Flows of Actual Values→Direct Posting from FI/MM→Maintain PA Transfer Structure for Direct Postings (KEI3) in Customizing.

    2. Select the row for structure FI Financial Accounting, on the Change View "PA transfer structures": Overview screen.

    3. Choose PA Transfer Structure→Assignment Lines in the Dialog Structure column. Choose costing-based if prompted.

    4. Select row 10 and double-click Source in the Dialog Structure column.

    5. Under Cost Element, on the Change View "Source": Details screen, and double-click TCOST in the Group field.

      In the Display Cost Element Group dialog box, check the cost element in TCOST→PRIMCOST→INVENTLOSS→REVALLOSS. The cost element group contains the cost element used (52031000) in FI and Margin Analysis posting.

    6. Close the dialog.

    7. Double click Value Fields for the assignment line 10, and verify that the value field VV366 is assigned.

    8. Return to the Display IMG screen.

    Result

    You have completed this exercise.

  6. Confirm that the profit segment is activated for company code 1010 and the primary cost element.1

    1. .

      Verify that PrfSeg has been selected. This leads to an automatic creation of the controlling document in Margin Analysis and the profitability document in costing-based CO-PA.

    2. Return to the Display IMG screen.

    Result

    You have completed this exercise.

Summary

  • Direct postings enable posting of costs, revenue, and sales deductions to market segments.

  • Use automatic PA assignment for transactions like price differences and inventory.

  • Dual postings allow real posting to profitability segment and statistical posting to cost center.

  • Automatic postings should represent rare business transactions.

  • Maintain PA transfer structure FI for assignments in costing-based CO-PA.

Learning

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