General Ledger master in SAP control the posting of a accounting transaction to General Ledger accounts and then processing it to Profit and loss account and balance sheet.
Before you can make postings to a General Ledger account, you have to create these master record in system.
General Ledger Master Data Structure in SAP FI
General Ledger master records are divided into two areas so that company codes can use same chart of accounts.
Chart of accounts area (General Data) in SAP
Chart of accounts segment in general ledger master area contains data that is valid for all company codes, such as the account number, determines whether the account is a balance sheet or a profit and loss account. Account group which controls the field to be displayed at company code specific area, trading partner and group chart of accounts.
Company code specific area
Company code specific area in general ledger master contains data that may vary from one company code to another such as the currency to which account may be posted, balances only in local currency, tax category, posting without tax permitted, reconciliation account for account type, open item management, line item display, field status group.
General Ledger Master Data and Account Group relation in SAP
While creating a General Ledger Master data in SAP, the first thing you need to do is to specify the account group. System uses the account group to determine a valid number interval for the General Ledger Master and the status of the fields in the company code specific data.
The field status maintained at account group determines whether a field is;
- hidden
- required
- optional
- display
When you specify an account number for creation of the account group, system will check whether the GL A/c is in the area of the account group’s number interval. Generally GL account numbers are numeric but if someone wants it to be maintained alphanumeric then that setting can be done in account group number interval.
Number range maintained at the account group level is by default treated as interval numbers once range is defined in SAP. If you try to create a General Ledger account in SAP with a number which is already created then system will prevent you from creating it new General Ledger account.
Different functions for General Ledger Master in SAP;
- Creating a GL Master Record
- Changing a GL Master Record
- Displaying a GL Master Record
- Blocking a GL Account
- Marking a GL Master Record for deletion
All these functions can be carried on from T Code: FS00
Important fields used in General Ledger Master of SAP FICO Module
Balance Only in Local Currency
You set this indicator for a clearing account. If you have set this indicator for goods and invoices received account then difference of the invoice amount and the goods received amount posted automatically in local currencies.
Example: Suppose you have an invoice of $1000 which got translated by using that day’s local currency of 1 USD = EURO 45. At the time of receive of goods the exchange rate was 1USD= EURO 25.
If the indicator is on the system will clear this account without passing any entry for the exchange rate difference. If it’s not selected then system will pass an extra entry for the exchange rate difference for the difference in exchange rates.
Tax Category
You set this indicator when the general ledger account master is subject to tax on sales/purchases. If the General Ledger Account is not subject to tax on sales/purchases, you may not fill the field.
Reconciliation Account for a Account Type
When you post a customer or vendor account in sub ledgers, the system automatically posts to the respective reconciliation account. This account can only be automatically posted by system. You can do posting to this account manually.
Under this tab in General Ledger Master you define which type of reconciliation account you are creating. If it is for customer then select customer as the reconciliation account type.
Open Item Management
If you want to check any account for a particular business transaction, whether an offsetting posting has already been made then this tab should be selected. For bank clearing account, goods/invoice received clearing account etc you have to select the option of open item management.
Line item display
When you set this indicator, system will display all items posted to the account that have not yet been archived. There are certain accounts for which line items display should not be selected as line item display is managed at a different place. Lists of those accounts are below;
General Ledger Accounts in SAP | Remarks |
Reconciliation A/c | Managed in respective Sub ledgers Ex: For Customer reconciliation you need to look into the sub ledger of accounts receivable where you can see the details customer wise. |
Sales Revenue A/c | Detail line items can be seen in sales and distribution module. |
Material Stock A/c | Detail line items can be seen in Material Management module. |
Field status group for general ledger master in SAP
You assign a filed status group from the drop down list available at the General Ledger Master Data creation. Different field status is used for different GL Master Data on the basis of its use. For an expenses account we select the field status group “G004-Cost Centre”.
When you use GL Account for posting, the filed status determines which field appear in the screens while posting business transactions to General Ledger Account. The field status group determine the status of fields as hidden or required entry or optional entry or display.
Suppose in the field status you use cost centre field as hidden then the field can not been seen while posting a transactions. If it’s set to require then you have to enter a cost centre while posting the transactions.
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