In this SAP FICO tutorial, you will learn what is chart of accounts in SAP, different types of charts of accounts, and how to create a new chart of accounts in SAP ECC & S4 Hana system.
#What is Chart of Accounts
#Creation of chart of accounts in ECC
#Creation of chart of accounts in S4 HANA
#Changes between ECC & S4HANA
After maintaining the required enterprise structure, the next step designing the General Ledger accounting. A chart of accounts is the first step that we need to implement as a part of the G/L accounts setup.
What is Chart of Accounts in SAP
The chart of accounts(COA) is a list of General Ledger accounts that are used by an organization. The master chart of accounts must be assigned to each company code.
Types of Chart of Accounts:-
- Operating chart of Accounts
- Country-Specific chart of Accounts
- Group Chart of Accounts
Operating chart of accounts:-
The operating chart of accounts contains the G/L accounts that use for posting in company code for daily activities and are used in both financial accounting and cost accounting. You have to assign an operating chart of accounts to a company code.
- It is a main operational chart of accounts and assigned to a company code using transaction code:
Country-Specific Chart of Accounts
The country-specific chart of accounts contains the G/L accounts needed to meet the country’s legal requirements. Country-specific charts of accounts are assigned to company codes, and this is optional.
- It is a country-specific requirement for COA.
- It can be assigned in the configuration screen of the Assignment of chart of accounts –> company code.
- When the country-specific chart of accounts is assigned to a company code, you can assign an alternative chart of accounts in the General Ledger master record,
Group Chart of Accounts:-
The Group chart of accounts contains the G/L accounts used by the entire corporate group, and this COA is used to consolidate the reports for the entire corporate group.
- It is used to consolidate operational chart of accounts
- It is assigned in the operational chart of accounts screen. When the group COA is assigned in Operational COA, the group account number field will be enabled in the GL master record at the chart of account area level.
How to Define a Chart of Accounts in ECC System
We can use the following methods to create a new chart of accounts in SAP
- Transaction Code:– OB13
- SAP Menu Path:- IMG –> Financial Accounting –> General Ledger Accounting –> G/L Accounts –> Master Data –> Preparations –> Edit Chart of Accounts List
SAP Delivers a sample chart of accounts for each country level, based on your requirements you can copy from the existing chart of accounts to a new chart of accounts.
In this SAP tutorial guide, you learn how to create a chart of accounts(COA) in both the ECC system & S4HANA system.
Definition of Chart of Accounts in ECC System:
Step 1:- Enter the Transaction code SPRO in the SAP command field to get the Implementation Guide.
Step 2:- Click on SAP Reference IMG
Step 3: Navigate the below path and click on Edit Chart of Accounts List to create a new Chart of Accounts.
Step 4: The Existing Chart of Accounts that are already created now displayed below; click on the New Entries button to create a new COA
Step 5:- Update the required data in the new entries screen.
1. Chart of Accounts:- Enter the 4 digits alphanumeric code of the Chart of Accounts
2. Description:– Enter the Description of the Chart of Accounts
3. Maintain Language:- Select the language of the Chart of Accounts
4. Length of G/L Account Number:– Update the length of Gl Account Number. The maximum length of G/L account number that SAP supports is 10.
5. Integration:- We can have controlling Integration Manual creation of cost of elements or Automatic creation of cost of elements. It is advisable to have Manual creation of elements in SAP
6. Consolidation:– Enter the Group Chart of Accounts for the consolidation of Reports.
7. Status:- Keep it blank as we are creating a new COA. If you want to block, you select the blocked option to make the chart of accounts in blocked status.
After updating the required data, click on the save icon, and you will get the message “Data was saved”
Thus Chart of Accounts ADAR was created in the ECC system.
Creation of Chart of Accounts in SAP S4 Hana
Step 1: Execute the t-code ‘OB13’ in the SAP command field
Step 2: Click on the new entries button to define a new chart of accounts
Step 3: On the new entries screen, update the following details:
Chart of Accounts: Enter the chart of accounts key that you want to create in the S4HANA system
Description: Enter the description for the newly created COA.
Maintain Language: Maintain the language key that you want to maintain G/L accounts with the default language.
Length of G/L Accounts Number: Maintain the length of the General Ledger account number. For example, here we have maintained as 6, so the G/L account numbers under this COA will be defined with 6 digits key.
Chart of Accounts Changes in ECC & S4HANA
- In SAP S4 Hana, the field controlling integration is not available. Now in S4 Hana, Controlling is directly integrated with Financial Accounting
- In SAP ECC, the controlling module is treated as a separate module, so in the chart of account screen – you need to select how controlling is integrated with the financial accounting module.