Material ledger data forms the basis of actual costing and is used to manage valuation prices in multiple currencies and valuations. Consequently, material ledger data supplements the material master record. In addition, material ledger data can refer to materials that are part of sales order stock and project stock.

The most important information in material ledger data is:

Using material ledger data, the system collects information on material movements (such as goods receipts and invoice receipts) in each period at historical exchange rates. This data is used during material price determination to calculate new valuation prices for the material. Then, the material stock account is reconciled in multiple currencies with the accounts in Financial Accounting.

If the material ledger is active for a particular plant (and consequently for all materials in that plant), material ledger data is automatically created upon the creation of the material master record or upon production startup. You can see whether the material ledger is active by looking in the accounting view of the material master record.