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Process documentationSetting Up Accrual Calculation Models in SAP NetWeaver BI

 

The costs planned in marketing for the operative plan are reflected in financial accounting, either as an expense or as sales deductions. In addition to this, accruals must be set up. Both the periods in which the expenses or sales deductions are to be taken into consideration as well as the amount of the accruals to be set up are subject to national or international accounting principles.

The accrual calculation and the SAP NetWeaver Business Intelligence (SAP NetWeaver BI) component reports can help you to appraise an operative plan or scenario and can be used as a basis for communication with the financial accounting department.

The following scenarios are possible:

  • Finance-oriented calculation

    The goal of a finance-oriented calculation is to appraise the operative plan.

    The planned costs for marketing spends and, optionally, for marketing organization and product category are distributed, or “accrued”, over the planned campaign duration for each campaign. You can also define the relevant duration yourself.

    If required, you can use a BAdI to define the accrual method as being dependent on the spend item. In the standard, distribution to the day across months is provided.

    The result is saved in the DataStore object 0CRM_OACC and can then be analyzed using a SAP NetWeaver BI report.

    For example, the system performs a calculation once a month as a “final calculation”, which can then be communicated to financial accounting in the form of an appropriate report. However, you can also perform as many preliminary calculations as you wish before the final calculation each month.

    You can include the accruals in a monthly plan optimization process in which the current plan is adjusted according to the latest developments. This can be particularly useful for accrual-relevant costs for which a disproportionately high or low development can be used to adjust the relevant accruals. An example of this are coupon redemption costs, which you can align with the actual redemption rates at appropriate intervals.

    These adjustments can also lead to different values for past months in comparison with the previous month's calculation. The total of these values is displayed in the current calculation month and can form the basis for correcting the corresponding accruals.

  • Scenario-based calculation

    The calculation can also be used in the context of SAP CRM scenario planning.

    You can accrue the planned costs for various scenarios and compare them using the relevant SAP NetWeaver BI reports. For more information, see the scenario planning documentation.

When setting up the calculation model in SAP NetWeaver BI you use the transaction rsmrm_accr, which is based on the functions of the analysis process designer.

Prerequisites

  • You usually plan your marketing project costs in accordance with the various marketing spends.

  • You may also choose to distribute them according to organization or product category so that the accrual calculation can take place based on this cost planning.

Process

The set up of the calculation model is performed as follows:

  1. Selection of planning data

    To select planning data, you use the functions of the analysis process designer. You would normally enter a query as a data source that retrieves the planning data in the following form:

    • Object: Marketing element

    • Attributes of marketing element: Date from, date until

    • Characteristics: Marketing spends, product category, marketing organization

    • Key figure: Amount (+ currency of amount)

    The data is usually in a BPS strategic InfoCube in the BI system. As with all queries that are based on BPS strategic InfoCubes, the special variable for the request ID named 0S_RQMRC “Most Current Data” also needs to be used here. Include this variable as a filter condition in the query so that planning data can be read. If you do not use this variable, the query will not select any data.

    For finance-oriented calculations you will normally only use active marketing elements with a particular lowest status. You also enter the exact filter conditions of this type directly in the query, for example. The query 0CRM_C10_Q0005 is delivered for this purpose.

    This kind of filtering is not normally needed for scenario-based calculations. Here, all marketing elements contained in a scenario should be used. The data retrieval for scenario-based calculations is thus set up separately. The system determines the campaigns to be selected automatically from the scenario concerned and passes them on as a filter condition at the time of calculation. The query 0CRM_C10_Q0003 is delivered for this purpose.

    For both scenario and finance calculation it is important to filter by accrual relevant = true, in order to consider only the accrual relevant marketing costs in the calculation.

    Note Note

    The date specifications for the marketing elements are generally attributes of the marketing element. You therefore need to activate the master data of the marketing element 0CRM_MKTELM before starting an accrual calculation.

    Note that the aforementioned master data activation is required for any type of reporting that uses attributes of marketing elements and is meant to provide the most up-to-date status.

    Alternatively, you can also set up the data retrieval so that it works correctly with master data that has not been activated.

    End of the note.
  2. Derivation of accrual methods

    Once it has been read, the system distributes the planning data to periods according to an accrual method. The default accrual method currently offered by the system is a day-to-day distribution to each period. However, you can also define your own accrual methods.

    An accrual model allows three different ways of determining an accrual method:

    • Fixed method: Uniform accrual method for all planning data.

    • Derivation according to planning profile: Selection of accrual method depending on the planning profile group of the marketing element. The assignments made to a planning profile group here are only valid for this specific model. You can make a generic assignment that is valid for all models in Customizing view RSMRMV_A_DEF_MAP.

    • Derivation by BAdI: Selection of accrual method by BAdI RSMRM_ACCR_BADI.

    Here you can define the name of an accrual method for each planned data row.

  3. Determination of period pattern

    The calculation of accruals can take place either in calendar months or in posting periods of a particular fiscal year variant.

Result

You have created a finance oriented accrual calculation model that you can use to trigger the calculation of accruals in transaction rsmrm_accr.

Note Note

The scenario based calculation is scheduled directly from scenario planning.

End of the note.