This comprehensive reference provides you with a real-world understanding of the SAP ERP Financials application. You'll learn how to design and configure an SAP ERP Financials solution to satisfy your business requirements, including the more complex areas of configuration, and you'll explore how to manage data migration as part of an SAP ERP Financials implementation. Using the real-world, holistic business information provided in this book, you'll learn everything from the general areas of SAP ERP Financials and how they fit in the SAP landscape, to how the new General Ledger can work for you.

This invaluable guide is the one resource you need to understand the configuration and design process, the enterprise structure, reporting, data migration, Accounts Payable and Receivable, integration with other components, and all other critical areas of SAP ERP Financials. SAP ERP Financials: Configuration and Design is a must-have tool for all implementation teams, project managers, and consultants working on an SAP ERP Financials upgrade or new implementation.

Highlights

• Enterprise Structure
• The General Ledger
• Integration Areas
• Accounts Payable
• Accounts Receivable
• Asset Accounting
• Controlling
• Reporting
• Data Migration

About the Author(s)

Naeem Arif is an experienced SAP Consultant, having started his SAP career in 1995 on version 3.0h. He has been involved in the successful delivery of more than 12 projects across the full SAP ERP Financials landscape, working for some of the largest SAP consultancies in the world. Sheikh Tauseef is a highly-experienced SAP consultant with a track record of delivering quality SAP ERP Financials implementation projects across North America, Europe and Pakistan. During his career, Tauseef, who is a Chartered Accountant, has worked for global consultancies and brings an international perspective to the book.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ... 15

1 Overview ... 17
... 1.1 Introduction ... 17
... 1.2 Brief history of SAP ... 20
... 1.3 SAP Implementation Overview ... 21
... 1.4 SAP Navigation Basics ... 25
... 1.5 Summary ... 31

2 SAP Enterprise Structure ... 33
... 2.1 Building an Enterprise Structure ... 34
... 2.2 Building a Straw Man ... 35
... 2.3 Straw Man Design ... 39
... 2.4 Configuration of Enterprise Structure ... 41
... 2.5 Summary ... 65

3 Financial Accounting Component (FI) Global Settings ... 67
... 3.1 What Is a Document in SAP? ... 68
... 3.2 Configuration of Global Settings ... 71
... 3.3 Sales and Purchase Tax ... 109
... 3.4 Summary ... 119

4 New General Ledger ... 121
... 4.1 Overview of the GL ... 122
... 4.2 Building Your New GL Blueprint ... 127
... 4.3 Configuration Steps to Activate the New GL ... 129
... 4.4 Summary ... 162

5 Accounts Payable ... 163
... 5.1 Overview of the P2P cycle ... 164
... 5.2 Building an AP Business Model ... 167
... 5.3 Master Data ... 168
... 5.4 Vendor Account Groups ... 171
... 5.5 Vendor Number Ranges ... 180
... 5.6 Accounting Clerks ... 185
... 5.7 Define Sensitive Fields for Dual Control ... 186
... 5.8 House Banks ... 188
... 5.9 Invoice Processing ... 193
... 5.10 Document Parking ... 197
... 5.11 Outgoing Payments Processing ... 198
... 5.12 Summary ... 213

6 Accounts Receivable ... 215
... 6.1 Overview of the Order-to-Cash Process ... 215
... 6.2 Building an Accounts Receivable Business Model ... 218
... 6.3 Master Data ... 219
... 6.4 Customer Master Records ... 219
... 6.5 Finance Documents Global Settings ... 236
... 6.6 Customer Invoice Processing ... 237
... 6.7 Customer Payments ... 239
... 6.8 Debtor Management ... 246
... 6.9 Summary ... 264

7 Asset Accounting ... 265
... 7.1 Overview of Asset Accounting ... 266
... 7.2 Building Blocks of Asset Accounting ... 267
... 7.3 Building an Asset Accounting Business Model ... 272
... 7.4 Asset Accounting Configuration ... 273
... 7.5 Asset transaction processing ... 304
... 7.6 Summary ... 320

8 Controlling Component (CO) in SAP ERP ... 323
... 8.1 Overview and Diagram ... 324
... 8.2 Subcomponents of the Controlling Component (CO) ... 325
... 8.3 Building a Controlling Model ... 327
... 8.4 Configuration Settings in the Controlling Component (CO) ... 330
... 8.5 Summary ... 361

9 ERP Financials Integration ... 363
... 9.1 Automatic Account Determination ... 365
... 9.2 Master Data ... 382
... 9.3 Interfaces ... 390
... 9.4 The Value of Integration Testing ... 396
... 9.5 Summary ... 396

10 Data Migration ... 397
... 10.1 Key Principles of Data Migration ... 398
... 10.2 The Six-Step Migration Model ... 399
... 10.3 Inventory Transfer ... 404
... 10.4 Open Items Transfer ... 405
... 10.5 Upgrade to SAP ERP ECC 6.0 ... 406
... 10.6 Asset Accounting Legacy Data Transfer ... 407
... 10.7 Summary ... 413

11 Period-End Closing ... 415
... 11.1 Fast Close with the New GL ... 416
... 11.2 Key Elements of a Period End Timetable ... 417
... 11.3 Dependent Activities Already Completed ... 417
... 11.4 Analysis of Period-End Activities ... 417
... 11.5 Summary ... 424

12 SAP ERP Financials Reporting ... 425
... 12.1 Building Your Reporting Suite ... 425
... 12.2 Reporting Tools ... 427
... 12.3 Common Reporting Requirements ... 429
... 12.4 Creating Basic Management Accounting Reports with Report Painter ... 435
... 12.5 Summary ... 455