While document type control the header area of a document, posting keys control the line items of the document. Each line item will consist of a posting key.
A posting key will control:
- whether a line item is a debit or a credit.
- which account type can be used for the line item.
- field status settings determining how a field functions, such as is a field required, optional, or suppressed.
Similar to document types, posting keys are defined at the client level.
In addition to the control functions shown in the figure, Posting Key Details, the posting key also specifies the following features:
- Whether the line item is connected to a payment transaction. You will need this information to analyze the payment history and create payment notices.
- Whether the posting is sales-relevant and the sales figure of the account will be updated by the transaction. For example, by the posting of a customer invoice.
SAP delivers posting keys for each type of account, such as Account Receivable, Accounts Payable, General Ledger, Assets, and Materials. Unlike document types, additional posting keys are generally not configured in the system.