Define company

In this step you can create companies. A company is an organizational unit

in Accounting which represents a business organization according to the
requirements of commercial law in a particular country.

You store basic data for each company in company definition. You only
specify particular functions when you customize in Financial Accounting.
Company G0000 is preset in all foreign key tables.

In the SAP system, consolidation functions in financial accounting are based

on companies. A company can comprise one or more company codes.

When you create a company, you should bear in mind the following points
relating to group accounting:

 If your organization uses several clients, the companies which only

appear as group-internal business partners, and are not operational in
each system, must be maintained in each client. This is a precondition
for the account assignment of a group-internal trading partner.

 Companies must be cataloged in a list of company IDs which is

consistent across the group. The parent company usually provides this
list of company IDs.

 It is also acceptable to designate legally dependent branches

'companies' and join them together as a legal unit by consolidation.

Recommendation

SAP recommends that you keep the preset company ID G00000 if you only
require one company. In this way you reduce the number of tables which you
need to adjust.

Activities

Create your companies.

Further notes

All company codes for a company must work with the same operational
chart of accounts and fiscal year. The currencies used can be different.

Edit, Copy, Delete, Check Company Code

In this activity you create your company codes. The company code is an
organizational unit used in accounting. It is used to structure the business
organization from a financial accounting perspective.

We recommend that you copy a company code from an existing company

code. This has the advantage that you also copy the existing company code-
specific parameters. If necessary, you can then change certain data in the
relevant application. This is much less time-consuming than creating a new
company code. See "Recommendations" for more details about copying a
company code.

If you do not wish to copy an existing company code, you can create a new
company code and make all the settings yourself. You define your company
codes by specifying the following information:

 Company code key

You can select a four-character alpha-numeric key as the company code key.
This key identifies the company code and must be entered when posting
business transactions or creating company code-specific master data, for
example.

 Company code name

 Address data

The address data is necessary for correspondence and is printed on reports,

such as the advance return for tax on sales/purchases.

 Country currency

Your accounts must be managed in the national currency. This currency is

also known as the local currency or the company code currency. Amounts
that are posted in foreign currency are translated into local currency.

 Country key

The country key specifies which country is to be seen as the home country;
all other countries are interpreted as "abroad". This is significant for business
and payment transactions because different forms are used for foreign
payment transactions. This setting also enables you to use different address
formatting for foreign correspondence.

 Language key
The system uses the language key to determine text automatically in the
language of the relevant country. This is necessary when creating checks, for
example.

You do not specify the functional characteristic of the company code until
configuring the relevant application.

You can set up several company codes per client to manage the accounts of
independent organizations simultaneously. At least one company code must
be set up in each client.

To take full advantage of SAP system integration, you must link company
codes to the organizational units of other applications. If, for example, you
specify a CO account assignment (for example, cost center or internal
order) when entering a document in FI, then the system must determine a
controlling area to transfer this data to CO. You must specify how the
system is to determine the appropriate controlling area.

The system derives the controlling area from the company code if you assign
it directly to a company code. You can also assign several company codes to
one controlling area.

Standard settings

Company code 0001 has already been created in clients 000 and 001 for the
country DE (Germany). All country-specific information ("parameters") is
preset in this company code, such as the payment methods, tax calculation
procedures, and chart of accounts typical for this country.

If you want to create a company code for the USA and its legal requirements,
you must first of all run the country installation program in client 001. The
country of company code 0001 is then set to "US" and all country-specific
parameters related to it are set to the USA. For more information, see the
Set Up Clients activity under "Basic Functions" in the Customizing menu.

Recommendation

You should keep the preset company code number 0001 if you only require
one company code. This keeps to a minimum the number of tables you need
to set up.

You can copy a company code using a special Customizing function.

Company code-specific specifications are copied to your new company code.
The target company code must not yet be defined, it is defined automatically
during the copying procedure.
SAP recommends the following procedure when creating company codes:

1. Create the company code using the function "Copy Company Code".

2. Enter special company code data with the function "Edit Company Code
Data".

You can also use the function "Edit Company Code Data" to create a
company code. However, in this instance, the company code "global data" is
not copied. If you create a company code using the "Copy" function, most of
the "global data" is also copied.

Further notes

You should create a company code according to tax law, commercial law, and
other financial accounting criteria. As a rule, a company code in the SAP
system represents a legally independent company. The company code can
also represent a legally dependent operating unit based abroad if there are
external reporting requirements for this operating unit, which can also be in
the relevant local currency.

For segment reporting according to Anglo-American accounting practices,

you need to represent the regions in which the company has significant
dealings. This reporting data can be generated entirely on the basis of
company codes.

For processing company codes, there are extended functions that you can
access with the function call "administer" or "Copy, delete, check company
code". The entry in the company code table is processed in these functions
as well as all dependent Customizing and system tables in which the plant is
a key.

For more information on the extended functions, see

Copy/Delete/Check/Process Project IMG.

In addition to these functions, there is also the "Replace" function. You use
this function if you want to change a company code key. This is only possible
if no postings have been made in the company code that is to be replaced.
You should therefore only use this function for newly-created company codes.

Activities

1. Create your company codes based on the reference (company code 0001)
delivered with the standard system. SAP recommends using the function
"Copy Company Code" to create your company codes.
2. Go to the activity "Edit Company Code Data" and change the name,
description, address, and currency. Maintain the company code data that has
not been copied.

3. Use the project IMG view to postprocess data that is changed

automatically. You can also carry out postprocessing at a later stage since
the system keeps the generated project view.

Assign company code to company

In this step you assign the company codes which you want to include in the
group accounting to a company.

Requirements

You must have first completed the steps Create company code and Create
company.

Activities

Assign the company codes to a company.

Define Business Area

Use

In this section you create business areas. A business area is an

organizational unit within accounting that represents a separate area of
operations or responsibilities in a business organization.

When defining a business area, you enter a four-character alphanumeric key

and the name of the business area.

In a client, you can set up several business areas to which the system can
assign the postings made in all company codes defined in this client. To
ensure consistency in document entry, you should give business areas the
same name in all company codes.

You make all other specifications for your business areas in the Financial
Accounting Implementation Guide.

Activities

If necessary, create business areas.

Further notes
For more information about business areas, see the SAP Library under
Financial Accounting -> General Ledger Accounting -> Business Area.

Edit Chart of Accounts List

In the chart of accounts list you enter the charts of accounts that you
want to use in your organization (at client level).

Standard settings

The list already contains sample charts of accounts for some countries.
Charts of accounts GKR and IKR, for example, have been entered for
Germany.

Activities

1. Check whether you can use one of the charts of accounts supplied with
the standard system. To do this, you can display the charts of accounts on
the screen or print them out using the "Chart of Accounts" program. You can
find the program under Accounting -> Financial accounting -> General
ledger -> Information system -> General Ledger Reports -> Master Data -> -
> Chart of Accounts Chart of Accounts.

2. If you want to create your own chart of accounts, enter it in the chart of
accounts list.

Assign Company Code to Chart of Accounts

For each company code, you need to specify which chart of accounts is to
be used. Several company codes can use the same chart of accounts.

Requirements

The chart of accounts must be defined in the chart of accounts list.

Choose Edit Chart of Accounts List to enter a chart of accounts in the
chart of accounts list.

Standard settings

Corresponding charts of accounts were assigned to the standard company

codes.

Activities

 If you use a standard company code, check whether the chart of

accounts you require is assigned to it.

 Assign the required chart of accounts to your company code.

Define Account Group

When creating a G/L account, you must specify an account group.

The account group determines:

 the interval in which the account number must be

 which fields are required and optional entries when creating and
changing master records

 which fields are suppressed when creating and changing master data.

It enables you to control the layout of screens.

You use account groups to combine accounts according to the above criteria
(for example, a P&L account group, asset account group and material
account group).

Note

Account groups for G/L accounts are based on the chart of accounts.

Standard settings

Account groups are defined for the standard charts of accounts.

Activities

Check and change the standard account groups as needed. If you set up your
own charts of accounts, you must specify account groups for

Define Retained Earnings Account

You assign a retained earnings account to each P&L account by specifying a

P&L statement account type in the chart of accounts area of each P&L
account.

At the end of a fiscal year, the system carries forward the balance of the P&L
account to the retained earnings account. You can define one or more P&L
statement account types per chart of accounts and assign them to retained
earnings accounts.

Note

Your specification depends on the chart of accounts.

Requirements

The chart of accounts must be specified in the chart of accounts list.

Standard settings

Account 332000 was defined for chart of accounts IKR and account 900000
was defined for GKR, using the key "X" respectively.

Activities

1. Change the standard settings if necessary.

If you do not use one of the standard charts of accounts, you must specify
the P&L statement account type(s) and the retained earnings accounts for
each new chart of accounts you set up.

2. Make sure the accounts you specify are created.

Posting Periods

It is possible to specify which company codes are open independent of a

company code. Thus, as many company codes as required can use the same
variants for open company codes.

In the following activities, you make the necessary settings to be able to

manage identical posting periods in several company codes

Open and Close Posting Periods

In this activity, you can specify which periods are open for posting for each
variant. You have two time intervals (time period 1 and time period 2). In
each interval, specify a period lower limit, a period upper limit, and the fiscal
year.

You close a period by selecting the period specifications so that the period to
be closed does not fall within them.

You can also assign authorization groups for permitted posting periods. This
means that in month-end or year-end closing for example, you can open
some posting periods for specific users only. The authorization group only
has an effect on time period 1. The authorization object is F_BKPF_BUP
(Accounting document: Authorizations for posting periods). For more
information about assigning authorizations, see the corresponding section for
User Maintenance.

Note

Specify G/L account numbers for your specifications. You define the
permitted posting periods for the subledger accounting accounts using the
relevant reconciliation accounts. To do this, specify the account type for the
subledger accounting, such as D or K, and the relevant reconciliation
account.

Caution

There must be a minimum entry for each variant. This entry must have + in
column K, and the columns From Account and To Account must not contain
entries. In the columns for the posting periods, specify the periods you want
to always be open in this variant. With further entries, you define more
specifically which periods are to be open for which accounts.

Activities

1. Specify the periods permitted for posting.

2. First enter the periods permitted for posting for all variants (minimum
entry).

3. Then add entries for account types or account areas if the periods are to
be further restricted for specific accounts.

4. In addition, enter an authorization group for each time period 1 in order to

limit user access.

Define Variants for Open Posting Periods

In this activity, you can define variants for open posting periods.

Standard settings

In the standard setting, a separate variant for posting periods is defined for
every company code. The name of this variant is identical to the company
code name. Every company code is allocated to this variant with the same
name. Thus nothing has changed in the system yet: Every company code
has its own variant. If you want to and can continue working on this basis (for
example, if you manage with only a few company codes), you do not have to
make any changes in the configuration.

If however, you want to use identical variants in several company codes, you
must change the default settings as described in the "Activities" section.

Activities

1. Change the name in one of the variants.

2. Allocate all company codes, for which you want to use identical variants
for open posting periods, to this variant.
Detailed information on this can be found in the chapter "Allocate
company code to variant".

3. Delete the variants no longer required.

Assign Variants to Company Code

In this activity, you make the specification that is necessary to be able to

work in several company codes with the same variant for open posting
periods. For this reason, you assign the same variant key to the company
codes you want to group together.

Activities

Assign the same variant to the corresponding company codes.

Define Field Status Variants

In this activity you can define and edit field status variants and groups. You
group several field status groups together in one field status variant. You
assign the field status variants to a company code in the activity Assign
Company Code to Field Status Variants. This allows you to work with the
same field status groups in any number of company codes.

You can also define and process field status groups. You must define a field
status group in the company code-specific area of each G/L account. The
field status group determines which fields are ready for input, which are
required entry fields, and which are hidden during document entry. Bear in
mind that additional account assignments (i.e. cost centers or orders) are
only possible if data can be entered in the corresponding fields.

Standard settings

Field status variant 0001 is entered for company code 0001 in the standard
SAP software. Field status groups are already defined for this variant.

Note

You cannot attach a field status to some fields, such as those in the
document header. You can, however, switch between required and optional
entry field designations in the document type for some of these header
fields.

The field status group you enter in the reconciliation accounts affects
postings to the related customer or vendor accounts. You cannot enter a field
status group in the customer or vendor accounts. Field status groups are
determined for customer and vendor accounts from their respective
reconciliation accounts, via the G/L account number in their master records.

There are other factors, besides the field status group itself, which have an
influence on the field status. Among these are:

 the field status defined for the posting key.

The status "optional entry field" was assigned to posting keys 40 and 50 in
the standard system. These are the standard posting keys for G/L account
postings. The "optional entry field" status has no effect on the field status.

 Specifications for the document type.

You can specify here that a reference number and document header text
must always be entered, for example.

Recommendation

Designate field status via the field status groups in the G/L accounts. This
allows you a more account-specific screen layout. You cannot differentiate by
posting key, since there are only two such keys for postings to G/L accounts.

The situation with reconciliation accounts is different. You do not make any
differentiated field status definition via the master record for these special
G/L accounts. You use the debit and credit posting keys instead.

Activities

1. Create new field status variants using Edit -> New entries . You can also
use the copy function to create new field status variants. To do this, select
Edit -> Copy as . When copying field status variants, the accompanying field
status groups are also copied.

2. Look at the standard field status groups.

3. Find out which fields on the entry screens should be

o ready for input

o required entry fields

o hidden for the G/L accounts in your company.

You do not make this definition for each account, but rather for groups of
accounts. This is why you may want to adapt the field status groups included
in the standard system.
4. If necessary, change the standard field status groups, or define your own
for each field status variant.

5. You can delete field status variants that are no longer required via Edit ->
Delete . The accompanying field status groups will also be deleted.