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Specify Characteristics for Selection and Update

In this activity, you define update characteristics and specify which ones you want the system to use to select profitability segments in template allocation.

Allocated costs in CO-PA are posted to the update characteristics (and to the characteristics derived from them). Update characteristics are used to locate cost drivers.

When you carry out the dynamic process allocation, the selection characteristics appear for selection. This enables you to limit the number of characteristic values.

Note

Delta postings to characteristics are no longer possible once the latter have been changed.

Activities

1. Select 'New Entries'.
2. Select the desired update characteristics in the "Characteristic" column using the possible entries function. The characteristics for the operating concern are then available.
Note: The characteristics "Product" and "Customer" are not offered for selection because the general allocation of sender objects to lowest-level characteristics usually causes performance problems.
3. To specify an update characteristic as a selection characteristic, click on the corresponding indicator in the "Selection" column.

Note

You can define other update characteristics which can then also be considered during profitability segment determination, but dependently of the characteristic values relating to the update characteristics defined under "New Entries". You do this in the transaction Maintain Process Template Determination and Other Update Characteristics. This makes sense if, for example, the characteristic "Customer" is to be included in operating concern determination for a specific customer group. (Example: if an update should occur at customer level whenever the characteristic "Customer group" receives the value "Major customer").