General cost objects (SAP Library - Cost Object Controlling (CO-PC-OBJ))

General Cost Objects

Cost objects in the R/3 System that are not represented by the objects of other applications are represented by general cost objects. Examples of cost objects that are represented by objects of other applications are production orders, sales orders, and projects.

Cost Object Controlling allows you to:

Calculate planned costs and actual costs

Transfer actual costs to other objects in the SAP System

Analyze planned costs and actual costs

There are two types of general cost objects:

General cost object with cumulative time base

A cumulative time base means that costs are tracked for the entire undertaking. The target/actual comparison compares the planned costs of the entire project to the actual costs incurred to date.

A cumulative time base is normally used for intangible goods that are only produced once or that have a very short life span.

The planning instrument for cost planning for a general cost object with a cumulative time base is unit costing.

General cost object with a periodic time base

A periodic time base means that the actual costs for the period are compared to the planned costs for the period.

A periodic time base is normally used for intangible goods that are produced over an extended length of time.

The planning instrument for a general cost object with a periodic time base is the planner profile.

You use the cost object category to specify whether you want to use a general cost object with a cumulative time base or periodic time base. You create a master record in the SAP System for each general cost object.

The master record contains the following information:

Short text

Long text

Object currency

Name of person responsible

Administrative information

Control parameters for the calculation of overhead

Deletion flag

The master record assigns the general cost object to a cost object category. The cost object category determines various parameters including the following:

Whether the general cost object is settled by period or cumulatively

Which functions are active for the general cost object

Note

The fields Costing sheet and Overhead key are only displayed in the cost object master record if the Overhead indicator is set in the relevant cost object category. Only then can you apply overhead to the cost object.

The master record assigns the general cost object to the following organizational units of the SAP system:

Controlling area

Company code

Business area (if applicable)

Plant (if applicable)

Profit center (if applicable)