Tell us what you think

We want to create the best possible experience for our learners. Your feedback helps us to improve the experience for everyone.

Setting up Activity Types for Direct Activity Allocation

Objectives

After completing this lesson, you will be able to:

Describe the use of activity types
Recall key fields in activity type master records
Create activity types

Activity Types

Activity types are units that classify the activities performed on cost centers, for example:

consulting hours,
service hours,
units produced.

If a cost center provides activities for other cost centers or projects, this means that the resources of this cost center are used and the resource costs must be allocated to the receivers of the activity. Activity types serve as tracing factors for this cost allocation.

The graphic explains that a sender cost center produces activity type IT Services as an example and other cost centers claim this activity. Per unit of activity, the receiving cost centers have to pay the cost rate for this activity type. The selling cost center is therefore credited of activity costs and the receiving cost centers are debited.

Activity output quantities are measured in activity units such as hours, pieces, kilowatt-hours, for example. You can post plan activity unit quantities as well as post the actual consumed for a period.

Usually once a year you maintain activity type cost rates for cost centers. That is, how much the cost center charges per activity unit provided. For example, the IT department charges €100 for each hour of service.

Activity Type Master Data

1. You can restrict the use of the activity type to certain types of cost centers by entering the allowed cost center categories in the activity type master record. Up to eight separate cost center categories can be entered or you can allow all by entering an asterisk (*).

2. To be useful for the system, an activity must have a unit to be measured with. SAP S/4HANA has a large amount of default available units for measuring time, weight, size, consumption and so on such as hour, kilogram, meters, and megawatt hour.

3. Activity allocation transfers costs with a secondary cost G/L account, which is defined as the default type in the activity type master data.

Create an Activity Type

The manager of the IT department wants to track the hours (and subsequently the cost) their department spends supporting other departments. For this reason, they ask you to help them create an activity type in the system with which they can track these tasks.

Use the simulation to understand how to create activity type master data.

ExerciseStart Exercise

Next lesson