Creating Line Item Reports and Reports in Margin Analysis

Objectives

After completing this lesson, you will be able to:

Perform line item reporting
Create account-based reports

Line Item Reporting

Image showing account-based actual line items and a layout configuration window to customize displayed columns.

Defining a line item report can help you to analyze specific business transactions. Based on the report type ALV — Advanced List Viewer, you can specify the layout of the line item report. Line item reports have an advantage over drill-down reports when it comes to calculating subtotals.

Reports based on line items enable you to use the following characteristics:

Characteristics at the segment level
Characteristics that are not activated as segment-level characteristics
The date when the line item was created
The person who created the line item

Functions in Line Item Reports

Image showing Reporting-Functions in a central yellow box connected to five reporting features: Totals, Subtotals, Filter, Sort, and Revaluate currency, each represented by icons and labeled text.

Because the line item list is defined using the layout functions in the Advanced List Viewer, you can display a list and adapt it to your requirements. You can then save the changes as a layout.

When you display a line item list, a number of additional functions are available to you. These functions enable you to display additional information, such as all the characteristic values of the current profitability segment or long texts for the plan data.

Note

Before the system selects the line items, it checks whether the selection criteria allows it to use database indexes (not for actual data in Margin Analysis, because this data are selected from table ACDOCA which does not need index tables). If not, a warning is issued. In this case, you need to further restrict the selection conditions. The warning also contains a suggestion on how to restrict the selection conditions. If you call up the line items from a drill-down report and receive a warning, first drill down to a deeper level and then call up line items from there.

Execute Line Item Reporting

DemoStart Demo

You want to execute the line item based report COPAACCLITEM using Margin Analysis. You want to navigate to the Actual Line Item list and create your own layout. You want to test the functions and locate which table the document has been posted to.

Margin Analysis Reports

Image showing a list of accounting items and tasks including separate forms, controlling area-specific reports, special line item reports, and cost element hierarchies, alongside a list of revenue and cost-related figures.

In SAP S/4HANA Finance, the Margin Analysis report can calculate the variable and fixed Cost of Goods Sold (COGS). Therefore, the value fieldsVal/COArea Crcy (Value Controlling Area Currency) and FixValue COCurr (Fixed Value in Controlling Area Currency) are available in Margin Analysis.

To calculate the variable costs, you define a formula that subtracts the fixed value from the total value. In this way it is possible to calculate the contribution costing.

The Margin Analysis is supported by separate forms and reports regarding the usage of cost elements.

A hierarchy on the cost element characteristic can only be represented by specifying a set. You can define line item layouts in Customizing.

You can display the following currencies in the same report:

Controlling area currency
Company code currency
Transaction currency

You can display the line item lists in Margin Analysis. You can also format the lists as per your requirement using your own line item layouts. If you do not specify a layout, the system uses the standard line item layout.

Transfer of Report Data

Image showing a Microsoft Excel pivot table with sales data of Automobiles, Bicycles, and Spare parts, alongside icons for Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel applications.

You can use a special format to transfer data to a spreadsheet application. Using the Transfer of Report Data function to export a report in XXL format, you can transfer all the selected characteristics of the report into the table calculation. In this way, it is possible to perform a breakdown through the individual characteristics in the table calculation.

You can use the Transfer of Report Data function if the following conditions are met:

The list currently displayed is a drill-down list. The function is not available in detail lists for technical reasons.
The report displays values as absolute values. The function is not available when you switch to percentages.

Select the characteristics that you want to transfer in the dialog box that appears. It is possible to select All Characteristics. However, it is advisable to select only some of the characteristics if the report list is too large for your spreadsheet application to handle.

The interface with Microsoft Word enables you to download drill-down reports to Microsoft Word and print them. You can print all the reports using Microsoft Word, except those reports that you called from another report using the report or report interface.

This function is active if the following conditions are met:

You work with Microsoft Windows.
You have Microsoft Word installed on your local server and entered in your path.

Create a Form Report in Margin Analysis

DemoStart Demo

Business Example

Your sales manager wants to obtain a daily sales report on customer sales figures. The report should contain the sales revenue, variable cost of goods sold and contribution margin.

Create a form and a drill-down report.

Summary

Line item reports analyze specific business transactions using ALV layout.
Margin Analysis calculates variable and fixed COGS using specific value fields.
Display multiple currencies in Margin Analysis reports.
Transfer report data to spreadsheets using XXL format.

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