The FI-AA component is integrated in numerous ways with other R/3 components. The integration of Asset Accounting with the FI (Financial Accounting, including Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable) component makes it possible to carry out

• Posting of asset acquisitions and retirements that are integrated with accounts payable and accounts receivable
• Account assignment of down payments to assets when you post down payments in the Financial Accounting (FI) component
• Posting of depreciation from Asset Accounting to the appropriate general ledger accounts

In addition, the integration with certain components allows you to make account assignment to assets from transactions that have to do with assets. These components are:

• These components are: MM (Materials Management) and
• PM (Plant Maintenance)

If you post to an asset when entering a purchase requisition or an outline agreement, the system checks, with reference to the planned delivery date, whether the fixed asset actually exists and whether you can post to it. The same checks are carried out if you post to a fixed asset when entering a purchase order. Moreover, the system ensures that you do not exceed the upper limit for low-value assets. You can still change the asset, for which account assignment is to be performed, until receipt of the first goods or invoice for a purchase order.

If you want to carry out account assignment to assets when creating purchase orders, purchase requisitions and outline agreements, the account entered in Financial Accounting for "Acquisition and production costs" must be assigned to a field status group that allows entries in the field groups "asset number/sub-number," "transaction type," and "quantity."

Depending on the specifications in Materials Management Customizing, you can post the goods receipt for a purchase order as valuated or non-valuated. When the goods receipt is valuated, the system capitalizes the invoiced value of the goods (based on the purchase order) to the fixed asset. Non-valuated goods receipt is posted against a clearing account.

In commercial law, the start-up date of a fixed asset normally determines the start of capitalization. The start-up takes place, for the majority of fixed assets, directly after the physical goods receipt. In most cases, therefore, you should post valuated goods receipts.

You must decide whether invoice receipt takes place before or after goods receipt. If the invoice receipt is first, the invoice amount (minus taxes and, if applicable, cash discount) is capitalized to the asset. If the invoice receipt is second,, the difference between the invoice amount (without tax and cash discount) and the posted invoiced value of goods is capitalized, providing the goods receipt was valuated. For invoice receipt after a non-valuated goods receipt, the total invoice amount (minus tax and cash discount) is also capitalized.

You determine whether cash discount should already be deducted at the invoice receipt by means of the document type you select.

If you have account assignment to an asset while making a material reservation, the system checks whether the asset actually exists. Material withdrawal with account assignment to an asset results in capitalization of the purchase or production costs of the material to the fixed asset. When creating a material withdrawal document, you can refer to a material reservation, if there is one.

The system lets you enter assets as the receivers for the settlement of maintenance orders in the Plant Maintenance (PM) component. In this way, you can settle maintenance activities that require capitalization to assets. The system proposes the asset that is assigned to the given equipment or functional location as the settlement receiver.

In a similar manner, you can also settle production orders and internal orders to assets.