Last Updated on August 31, 2024 by admin

Learn how the SAP system is determined the posting period is automatically when you post or record the document in SAP. In this SAP tutorials, you will learn a scenario, how the SAP is automatically determine the posting period and updated in a FI document transaction.

How the posting period was determined in SAP

When the user posts an accounting document, the system automatically update the period number in the header of the SAP FI document.

  • When the user posts any FI document (Vendor Invoice, Customer Invoice, G/L document, Payment Document), the system determined the period.
  • The user won’t update the period number manually in the system and it is also not recommended to enter the posting period manually when document is posting.
  • Each document consists two areas i.e.
    • Document Header
    • Line Items
  • The document header details are updated in a BKPF table
  • The line item details are updated in a BSEG Table.
  • There are various fields are existed in the document header related to dates. The following the date fields are available (You can check the document header fields through the transaction code: SE11 & by entering the BKPF table.
    • Document Date (BKPF-BLDAT)
    • Posting Date (BKPF-BUDAT)
    • Day on which accounting document was entered (BKPF-CPUDT)
    • Translation Date (BKPF-WWERT)
  • The posting period field (BKPF-MONAT) is available in the document header.

BKPF Table - SAP Posting Period field

Note: You can view the table fields by using the transaction code: SE11 or SE16.

How the Posting Period Field is updated?

  • The field period: (BKPF-MONAT) will automatically determined based on the date updated in the field (BKPF-BUDAT).
  • Based on the posting date (BKPF-BUDAT), the system automatically determine the posting period in a document.
  • Based on the posting date, the system check the Global parameters settings of company code (Fiscal Year Variant), and validate the posting period of FI document.
  • Before posting the document, the system check the posting period variant of company code and if the period is opened or closed. If the posting period is open, then system allows to pos

For Example: The fiscal year for the company code: AD01 was assigned as April – March as financial year. When you are posting a invoice and the posting date was updated as 02.05.2024, based on the posting date the SAP system automatically determine as the 2nd Period. Because the financial year for the company code AD01 was from April – March. As the 1st period was April, 2nd Period was May, so the SAP system determine the period as per the date updated in the posting date field.

Example 2: For the company code: AD01, the financial year is from January to December (1st Period – January, 2nd Period – February, 3rd Period -March, 4th Period- April, 5th Period- May and so on). The date was entered as 02.05.2024, now the system automatically determine the period as 5, because the financial year for AD02 company was from January to December and 02.05.2024 date falls under the May i.e. 5th Period

So based on the Posting date, the system automatically determines the financial year and posting period as per the fiscal year that has been assigned to the company code.