Implementation of Inventory Accounting 

Purpose

To activate Inventory Accounting based on classic SAP Accounting, follow the implementation steps in the Checklist for Implementing Inventory Accounting in SAP CWM.

The present document contains background information on how certain activities in Customizing or the application menu differ from classic SAP Accounting. For more information, see Differences Between Inventory Accounting and Classic SAP Accounting.

Use the checklist mentioned above to record the steps you complete.

For more information, see:

·         SAP Catch Weight Management

·         Goods Movements

Prerequisites

You have activated SAP CWM in the Implementation Guide (IMG) under Industry Solution Catch Weight Management → Activate SAP Catch Weight Management in Client.

Process Flow

1. Activate Inventory Accounting

In the IMG of the Industry Solution Catch Weight Management, choose Inventory Accounting → Activate Controlling Area for Inventory Accounting.

2. Activate Languages

In the IMG of the Industry Solution Catch Weight Management, choose Inventory Accounting → Activate Texts After Language Import.

After you have carried out these steps, the Industry Business Solution SAP CWM (including Inventory Accounting) is active.

3. Specify the RFC Destination

To ensure correct transport for Inventory Accounting, you specify an RFC destination for each target client. In the application menu of the initial screen, choose Tools → System Administration → Administration → Network → RFC Destinations in the main tree (or transaction SM59).

The target client must conform to the following naming conventions:

Position	Entry
1 - 3	System ID
4 - 7	CLNT
8 - 10	Target client

·         QALCLNT001

·         PRDCLNT001

·         PRDCLNT002

If the RFC destination is missing, the import of the transport terminates with an error message.

The required RFC destinations must be created in all relevant target systems. Application menu: Tools → Administration → Administration → Network → RFC Destinations → R/3 Connections

4. Create Accounts

Since the WIP posting logic differs from that in classic SAP Accounting, choose Financial Accounting → General Ledger → Master Records → Individual Processing → Centrally (transaction FS00) to create accounts (P&L accounts) for secondary cost elements with one of the following cost element categories:

·        41: Overhead rates

·        43: Activity allocation

This step is only required for secondary cost elements that are used for allocation to production orders or process orders (WIP).

In classic SAP Accounting, it is not possible to create an account for a secondary cost element. When Inventory Accounting is active, you can do this for cost elements of cost element categories 41 and 43. Only a warning message appears.

5. Customizing

Financial Accounting

Cost-of-Sales Accounting

The derivation of functional areas is not supported for postings in Inventory Accounting.

The functional area is only derived and documented in the G/L document when the posting is transferred to the general ledger. If you access the Inventory Accounting document through the audit trail, no functional area can be seen in the document.

You can continue to use the classic SAP Accounting reports for the functional area level.

Parallel Currencies

All company codes assigned to a given controlling area must have the same settings for multiple currencies.

Currency types 10, 30, 40, 50, and 60 are supported for the company code.

Business Area

The inventory ledger does not support the derivation of business areas. The business area is only derived and documented in the G/L document when the posting is transferred to the general ledger. If you access the document in the inventory ledger through the audit trail, no business area can be seen in the document.

You can continue to use the classic SAP Accounting reports for the business area level.

Controlling

Maintain Controlling Area

See the corresponding step in the checklist.

Currency types 10 and 30 are supported as controlling area currencies.

Multiple Valuation/Transfer Prices

Multiple valuation and transfer prices are not supported. Therefore, no settings need to be made here.

Cost Element Accounting

You must create an account for each secondary cost element with cost element category 41 (overhead rates) or 43 (allocation of activities/processes) that you use for allocation to manufacturing orders.

In classic SAP Accounting, it is not possible to create an account for a secondary cost element. When Inventory Accounting is active, you can do this for cost elements of cost element categories 41 and 43. Only a warning message appears.

You can create the account first and then the cost element, or vice-versa.

Cost Center Accounting

Layout for Activity Price Planning

Since Inventory Accounting does not separate values into fixed and variable components, you plan activity prices using a layout that can only plan a total price.

The recommended standard layout 1-261 is specified in the planner profile SAPEASY.

Internal Orders

Commitments and Funds Commitments

Commitments management is not supported.

Product Cost Controlling

Product Cost Planning

Templates

You cannot use Activity-Based Costing to allocate overhead in the standard cost estimate or to manufacturing  orders because the necessary data is not available in Inventory Accounting. It is therefore not possible to create templates in the environments mentioned in step 10 of the checklist. These environments contain all functions that use parameters that are not filled by Inventory Accounting.

Ad Hoc Cost Estimates

Only the base unit of measure is supported for ad hoc cost estimates. Costs are neither calculated nor displayed in the valuation unit of measure.

Cost Object Controlling

The Cost Object Controlling processes have been replaced by the Inventory Accounting processes.

Product Cost by Period

You cannot use the Product Cost by Period component.

Product cost collectors and cost object hierarchies are not supported.

Product Cost by Order

Define Origin Groups

Origin groups provide detailed information on the origin of material costs and overhead. This function is not supported for Inventory Accounting; no origin group can be defined in the material master.

You can continue to use origin groups for raw material cost estimates.

Check Order Types

You do not need to define settlement profiles for production and process orders because no settlement in Product Cost by Order or Period takes place in the period-end close. For more information, see Period-End Closing.

You must use the setting Collective order with automatic goods movement. If you do not use this setting, no goods movements take place between the manufacturing orders in collective order processing. In that case, the costs collected on each order would have to be settled to the respective higher-level order in the period-end closing activities of classic SAP Accounting. This is not possible, however, because these settlements are not part of the period-end closing process in Inventory Accounting.

Define Cost-Accounting-Relevant Default Values for Order Types and Plants

Here the only relevant settings are Prel./Vers.Cstg, Net Order Price, and Planned Cost Calculation.

The results analysis key is not required.

No costing variant is needed for simultaneous costing:

·        All goods movements are valuated with the inventory price.

·        Internal activity allocations always use the planned price of the period.

·        Overhead is calculated using the costing sheet specified in the costing variant for the standard cost estimate.

Therefore, no setting is needed for the Simul. Costing field.

Period-End Closing

No work in process is calculated during period-end closing in Inventory Accounting because the work in process is assigned directly to the work-in-process inventory account. The production variances are posted during WIP clearing. You can calculate target costs. The relevant IMG activities are Define Target Cost Versions and the activities under User-Defined Error Management.

For more information, see the checklist under period-end closing.

Product Cost by Sales Order

The Product Cost by Sales Order functions are only supported if you are using a valuated sales order inventory. It is not possible to assign costs to sales orders (controlling objects). Furthermore, you cannot use any valuation prices based on sales orders; The sales order stocks (as well as the make-to-stock inventory) are valuated using the inventory price at the plant.

Control of Sales-Order-Related Production / Product Cost by Sales Order

See the corresponding steps in the checklist.

Actual Costing/Material Ledger

The Actual Costing/Material Ledger component is not supported. Therefore, no settings need to be made here.

If you used the Material Ledger in your live system, you must deactivate it before you can activate Inventory Accounting. For more information, see SAP Note 425487.

Information System

Control Parameters

Reports are available in many functions. These reports usually display actual costs as the default setting, such as plan/actual cost comparisons. Actual costs cannot be displayed in the classic SAP Accounting reports because there are no actual costs in the tables of classic SAP Accounting. To be able to use these reports in Inventory Accounting, you can define new layouts that do not display actual costs. To enable all users to access the new layouts, you set the Shared indicator.

We recommend deselecting this indicator after you go live.

Profitability Analysis

Allocation of Production Variances to CO-PA

Inventory Accounting does not support this function. Therefore, no settings need to be made.

You can assign a profitability segment to the cost element for variances under Flows of Actual Values à Direct Posting from FI/MM à Automatic Account Assignment (transaction OKB9). However, this does not make it possible to analyze variances by variance category because no variance categories are available.

Materials Management

Configure Automatic Postings

Transaction WIP: This transaction is used with all postings to WIP inventory accounts.

Note the following:

·         You cannot use the WIP inventory account for any transaction other than WIP.

·         Do not post to the account manually.

·         Do not change the account assignment in the production system without first booking out all inventories.