Tip #73

You can vastly improve the format of aging reports!
SAP has always come with pre-delivered customer and vendor aging reports. However, these reports do not come in a user-friendly format, and they are difficult to download to Microsoft Excel for further analysis. With this tip, you will learn a setting that vastly improves the format and usability of these reports without the need for any programming.        Find out more on page 226

This book provides 100 practical, little-known tips, tricks, and workarounds to help you get the most out of your SAP system. Whether you’re a user, super-user, or consultant, you’ll find useful information to help you:

Save Time and Money
With the time-saving shortcuts and workarounds provided, users of all levels will get the most out of their daily interaction with the system.

Increase Efficiency
Use these insightful tips to configure screens to your personal needs, to significantly reduce the number of IT trouble tickets, and to work more efficiently. The books’ hands-on approach and easy-to-follow layout will help you to pick up new skills in no time.

Work Smarter
Your SAP user experience will be friendlier and easier, and you may even find yourself saying, “I had no idea you could do this that way!” or “I wish I had known how to do this a long time ago!”

Highlights

• Account determination
• Document splitting
• Drilldown reports
• Worklists
• Material Ledger
• GAAP
• ABAP List Viewer reports
• Screen variants
• Cost of sales accounting
• Statistical cost elements

The Author

Paul Ovigele is an independent SAP ERP Financials consultant and a certified chartered accountant. He has implemented the Financial Accounting and Controlling components in numerous industries around the world, has had several articles published in Financials Expert, and has presented at various SAP Financials conferences in both Europe and the United States.

Table of Contents

• ... Acknowledgments ... 11
• ... Introduction ... 13
• PART 1 ... Master Data ... 15
• 1 ... Easily Maintaining General Ledger Accounts ... 17
• 2 ... Creating Cost Elements Automatically ... 19
• 3 ... Paying Vendors with Multiple Bank Accounts ... 21
• 4 ... Maintaining IBAN in the Master Records ... 23
• 5 ... Defining Sensitive Fields ... 25
• 6 ... Direct Posting to Asset Reconciliation Accounts ... 27
• 7 ... Assigning Cost Centers on Assets ... 29
• 8 ... Netting Off Customer and Vendor Items ... 31
• 9 ... Deriving Segments ... 33
• 10 ... Defining Currency Types ... 35
• 11 ... Creating Trading Partners ... 38
• PART 2 ... Transaction Processing ... 41
• 12 ... Clearing Customer Invoices ... 43
• 13 ... Reversing a Reversal Document ... 45
• 14 ... Defining Ledger Groups ... 47
• 15 ... Recording Advance Payments ... 49
• 16 ... Payment Run Free Selection ... 52
• 17 ... Using Enjoy Transactions versus Complex Postings ... 54
• 18 ... Deriving Profit Centers from Customer or Vendor Transfers ... 57
• 19 ... Posting Fast Invoice Entry for MIRO ... 61
• 20 ... Manually Clearing Multiple Accounts ... 63
• 21 ... Posting to Special Periods ... 65
• PART 3 ... Display ... 67
• 22 ... Displaying Parallel Currencies ... 69
• 23 ... Downloading to Excel ... 71
• 24 ... Sorting the Payment Run Output List ... 74
• 25 ... Using the Document Display Editing Options ... 76
• 26 ... Resetting Cleared Items en Masse ... 78
• 27 ... Eliminating Check Printing Overflow ... 81
• 28 ... Specifying Period Texts ... 83
• 29 ... Defining Special Fields ... 85
• 30 ... Adding Fields to the Mass Change Option ... 87
• 31 ... Maintaining Worklists for FI Data ... 89
• PART 4 ... Data Analysis ... 93
• 32 ... Deriving the Assignment Number ... 95
• 33 ... Maintaining the GR/IR Account ... 97
• 34 ... Finding an FI Document ... 100
• 35 ... Displaying Number Range Gaps ... 102
• 36 ... Account Determination Analysis ... 104
• 37 ... How to Interpret Subcontracting Account Postings ... 106
• 38 ... Analyzing the LIV Document List ... 108
• 39 ... Correcting Billing Documents with Errors ... 110
• 40 ... Reconciling the General Ledger with the Asset Subledger ... 112
• PART 5 ... Account Assignment ... 115
• 41 ... Assigning Alternative Reconciliation Accounts ... 117
• 42 ... Determining Revenue Accounts ... 120
• 43 ... Setting Up Revenue Recognition Accounts ... 123
• 44 ... Setting Up Material Ledger Account Determination ... 126
• 45 ... Setting Up Document Splitting ... 129
• 46 ... Performing Foreign Currency Valuation ... 134
• 47 ... Specifying Third-Party Orders Account Assignment ... 136
• 48 ... Using the Debit/Credit Shift Setting ... 138
• 49 ... Setting Up Travel Management Account Determination ... 140
• PART 6 ... Environment ... 143
• 50 ... Establishing Default Settings for Enjoy Transactions ... 145
• 51 ... Customizing Fields with Accounting Editing Options ... 148
• 52 ... Displaying LIV and Finance Document Numbers ... 151
• 53 ... Mass Change for Fixed Assets ... 154
• 54 ... Modifying Message Control Settings ... 159
• 55 ... Maintaining Text Determination Configuration ... 162
• 56 ... Activating Barcode Entry for Non-PO Invoices ... 165
• 57 ... Activating Barcode Entry for PO Invoices ... 168
• 58 ... Defining Payment Groupings ... 171
• 59 ... Setting Up Payment Tolerance Groups ... 174
• PART 7 ... Integration ... 179
• 60 ... Aligning FI and Logistics Document Numbers ... 181
• 61 ... Aligning FI and Billing Document Numbers ... 185
• 62 ... Accruing Freight on Sales Orders ... 188
• 63 ... Handling Planned Delivery Costs ... 193
• 64 ... Handling Unplanned Delivery Costs ... 197
• 65 ... Creating Statistical Cost Elements ... 200
• 66 ... Configuring Production Settlement Accounts ... 204
• 67 ... Posting to a General Ledger Account and a Material in MIRO ... 206
• 68 ... Referencing Sales Document Numbers ... 209
• 69 ... Assigning Accounts for Non-Stock PO Items ... 212
• 70 ... Setting Up a Goods-in-Transit Account ... 215
• PART 8 ... Reporting ... 219
• 71 ... Adding Fields to Fixed Asset Reports ... 221
• 72 ... Adding Fields to Customer/Vendor Address Lists ... 223
• 73 ... Improving the Format of Aging Reports ... 226
• 74 ... Financial Statements by Functional Areas ... 229
• 75 ... Report on Vendors and Customers with No Activity ... 233
• 76 ... Display Offsetting Account for FI Documents ... 236
• 77 ... Creating Report Painter Reports for SAP General Ledger ... 239
• 78 ... Creating Drill-Down Reports ... 242
• 79 ... Using Drill-Down Reports ... 245
• 80 ... Quick Access to FI Reports ... 249
• PART 9 ... Data Update ... 253
• 81 ... Enabling Line Item Display for General Ledger Accounts ... 255
• 82 ... Enabling Open Item Management for General Ledger Accounts ... 257
• 83 ... Deleting Financial Accounting Master Data ... 260
• 84 ... Deleting Financial Accounting Transactional Data ... 263
• 85 ... Deleting Fixed Assets Data ... 266
• 86 ... Deleting Bank Statements that Have Been Posted ... 268
• 87 ... Update Withholding Tax Postings Retroactively ... 271
• 88 ... Populating the Check Number in a Payment Document ... 274
• 89 ... Handling Check Assignment Errors ... 276
• 90 ... Transfering CO Planning Documents to SAP General Ledger ... 279
• PART 10 ... Technical ... 283
• 91 ... Configuring Transaction Variant for FI Enjoy Transactions ... 285
• 92 ... Designing Screen Layout for Transaction MIRO ... 287
• 93 ... Making Financial Statement Version Modifiable in Production Client ... 290
• 94 ... Maintaining Selection Variables in Variants ... 293
• 95 ... Creating Transaction Codes for Report Painter Reports ... 296
• 96 ... Creating Transaction Codes for SAP Query Reports ... 299
• 97 ... Scheduling Materials Management Period Close ... 302
• 98 ... Maintaining Custom Reports in an Area Menu ... 305
• 99 ... Validating Account and Cost Center Combinations ... 309
• 100 ... Scheduling Payment Program Automatically ... 313
• ... Glossary ... 317
• ... Additional Resources ... 331
• ... The Author ... 333
• ... Index ... 335