Normally, most of the business transactions affecting the FI-SL System will come from other SAP R/3 Systems (for example, transactions for material purchases or customer invoicing). Documents are stored in the source application database where the documents are entered. You can also store these documents, along with the detailed transaction information, in an optional FI-SL line item database.

You usually store data in an FI-SL line item database when:

• You want to input data directly to the FI-SL System, for example, when data comes from an external system or when the data is only used by the FI-SL System.

• You want to create a detailed audit trail of document information that is posted to the FI-SL System.

• You want to store line items for your rollups, for example, to reverse the rollup after it has been executed and/or drill down from the summary rollup data to the original data in reporting.

With the added flexibility of storing documents in an FI-SL line item database, you can define when you need an audit trail in the FI-SL System. By storing documents in an FI-SL line item database, you can also retrieve and review the documents in more detail from the FI-SL System.

In Customizing for Special Purpose Ledger, you can define at which levels an FI-SL line item database should be updated:

• For a company

• For a ledger

• For a ledger/activity combination

• For a company/ledger combination

• For an activity/ledger/company combination

• For an activity

If you set the line item update indicator in any one of the above places in the FI-SL system, the line item database will be updated; however, the line item database will only be updated for the item(s) you select.

One record per document line will be written to the line item database for a ledger, regardless of how many times you set the line item update indicator in your system setup. For information about setting the line item update indicator, see the Implementation Guide (IMG) for Special Purpose Ledger.

The actual line item database contains:

You cannot change fixed dimensions.

The variable dimensions are the same as those defined in the summary database table.

The derived fields are the same as those defined in the summary database table.

These optional fields are only defined in the line item database if you want to include additional information for a document, for example, if you want to store the document line description.

The plan line item table contains:

- detailed information about document lines for plan documents entered into the FI-SL system.

You use this table to store plan data from previous plans and to make changes to the plan data.

You cannot change fixed dimensions.

The variable dimensions are the same as those defined in the summary database table.

The derived fields are the same as those defined in the summary database table.

These optional fields are only defined in the line item database if you want to include additional information for a document, for example, if you want to store the document line description.

Examples of line item database table structures are delivered with your standard system: GLREFA (for actual data/local ledgers), and GLREFP (for plan data/local ledgers). These tables are only examples and must be copied for use in your system.