Defining Master Data 

Use

In the special purpose ledgers you can define master data for all dimensions used.

Features

You define master data in the special purpose ledgers if you want to enter additional master data information that is not contained in the master data of other applications.

If there is no master data information for the dimension Business Area in any other SAP application, and this dimension is defined in your FI-SL coding block, you can enter master data for the dimension Business Area.

In the figure below, FI-SL master data is created for the dimension Profit Center for company 1000. Company 1000 also uses master data from the Controlling (CO) and Financial Accounting (FI) applications.

You do not have to define master data for all of the dimensions used in the FI-SL system. If the master data is defined in the databases of other applications, you can use this master data without entering it again in FI-SL. The system decides which master data is used based on the conditions defined in the installation.

You should only maintain FI-SL master data if you want to create master data exclusively for the FI-SL system (and not for other applications), and/or if the data is not defined in any other application in the system.

The system uses master data as text for the Report Writer and validates values for the FI-SL Allocations (assessment/distribution) and Planning components. The system also uses the master data during document entry in the FI-SL system to validate the values entered.

You can define master data at client level and at company code or company level. The system first searches for the master data at company code or company level. If it does not find any master data there, it searches for master data at client level. In the FI-SL system, you can define master data for dimensions that are not defined in other applications.

Master data is stored by dimension; therefore, a dimension must exist in the FI-SL coding block before you can enter master data for the dimension. Also, in the FI-SL system, you can only create master data for dimensions that are defined specifically for FI-SL.

You can also create FI-SL tables with names other than T830X for your FI-SL master data and master data text. These tables have the same structure as tables T830A and T831A.

For the FI-SL master data, you can enter values and language-specific texts to describe these values. These values only update FI-SL tables; they do not update other applications' databases. In most cases, you should not enter values for master data that exists in other systems.

The values that you enter in the FI-SL master data do not have to be identical to the values defined in the databases of other applications. The FI-SL system can use both FI-SL master data and master data in other applications' databases, but it does not mix the values for a single dimension.

If you use a user-defined user exit to validate a master data value, you can run the user exits with function CMOD. This enables you to create and activate user exits without having to modify the master data management program.

You can use the existing exits. However, if you create new exits, these must begin with =Uxx, so that they can be differentiated from the existing exits (=xx).

Validating Master Data Combinations

An additional function is available for validating combinations of dimensions. In Customizing for the Special Purpose Ledger, choose Basic Settings ® Master Data ® Maintain Integrated Master Data. Here you can validate the dimensions stored in the object tables for summary tables and ensure that:

·        Only combinations of specific dimensions are valid

·        Dimensions or dimension combinations are only valid for a specific period of time

When you carry out a posting for the ledgers that use the table, the system validates the dimension combinations.

Before you can define the dimension combinations of an object table, you have to maintain entries in Customizing (table T800D) for the individual dimensions of the table. For more information, see the Maintain Integrated Master Data activity in the Implementation Guide (IMG) for Special Purpose Ledger.

You must also activate the dimension combinations so that the FI-SL programs can validate them.

Dimension validation is different to the validation/substitution functions. With dimension validations, you can perform simple validations on combinations of dimensions stored in object tables when you post data. Validations/substitutions enable you to create complex Boolean formulas for validating/substituting data according to your individual system setup and requirements.