Document Type 

Definition

A key that distinguishes the business transactions to be posted. The document type determines where the document is stored and specifies the account types to be posted.

Use

The document type has the following functions:

·        It allows you to differentiate between the business transactions to be posted. The document type tells you what sort of a business transaction it is. This is useful, for example, when displaying line items for an account. The assignment of document types to business transaction variants is of central importance in document splitting (see Making Settings for Document Splitting).

·        It allows you to control how postings are made to account types (vendor, customer, or G/L accounts). The document type determines the account types to which postings can be made with that document type.

·        It allows you to assign document numbers. A number range is assigned to every document type. The numbers for the documents you create are taken from this number range. The original documents from one number range should be stored together. In this way, the document type controls document storage.

To ensure that the document numbers in the leading ledger as well as those in the non-leading ledgers do not present any gaps, you should define a document type with its own number range for postings from valuations to the leading ledger. You then use this document type for valuation postings to the non-leading ledgers as well. Notwithstanding, you assign a distinct number range to this document type for postings from valuations to non-leading ledgers. To do this, go to Customizing for Financial Accounting (New) and Financial Accounting Global Settings (New) →Document → Document Number Ranges → Define Document Types for Entry View in One Ledger.

For more information about the contiguous document number assignment, see Contiguous Document Number Assignment in Non-Leading Ledgers.

Document types are defined at client level. In the standard system, SAP delivers document types that you can use or change. You can also define your own document types.

Before you delete document types, check whether they are still being used in the system.

You define your document types in Customizing for Financial Accounting (New) under Financial Accounting Global Settings (New) → Document → Document Types.

Structure

In General Ledger Accounting, the document types you define for the documents in the entry view need to be different to those for the documents in the general ledger view:

·        Document Types for Documents in Entry View

¡        For your leading ledger, you can use the document types delivered by SAP or you can define your own document types.

¡        For your non-leading ledgers, you only need to define separate document types for documents in the entry view for those ledgers that are used as the representative ledger in a ledger group.

·        Document Types for Documents in General Ledger View

¡        For the leading ledger, the document in the entry view corresponds to the document in the general ledger view. Consequently, you do not need to define separate document types for documents in the general ledger view.

¡        For your non-leading ledgers, you only need to define separate document types for documents in the general ledger view if the fiscal year variant of the non-leading ledger  differs from the fiscal year variant of the leading ledger in a given company code.