When you create a master record for a business partner, you must enter an account group. The account group determines:
● Which screens and fields are necessary for entering master data
● Whether you can or must make an entry in these fields
● How master record numbers are assigned (externally by you or internally by the system) and the number range from which they are assigned
● Which partner functions are valid
● Whether the business partner is a one-time customer or one-time vendor
Additionally, for vendor master records only, the account group determines:
● Whether default purchasing data in the vendor master is to be transferred to article master records and purchasing information records
● Whether there are any other data retention levels below the purchasing organization level (for example, site or vendor sub-range level) at which data can be retained in the vendor master, and if so, what these are
If you create a master record for the partner function ship-to party, for example, the system proposes an account group. You can also use account groups to define all other partner function combinations (for example, if the ship-to party is also the payer for the goods).
In Customizing, you define account groups available in the following activities:
● Logistics Basic Data: Business Partners
○ Define Account Groups and Field Selection for Customers
○ Define Account Groups and Field Selection for Vendors
● Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable (Financial Accounting)
○ Define Account Groups with Screen Layout (Customers)
○ Define Account Groups with Screen Layout (Vendors)