Document 

Definition

Record of a posting in Financial Accounting. We distinguish between original documents and IT documents. Examples of original documents are receipts, invoices, checks, or bank statements. Examples of IT documents are accounting documents, sample documents, or recurring entry documents.

The accounting document reproduces the original document in the system. All other IT documents are used as entry tools. Each document then remains in the system as a coherent unit until it is archived.

Use

Documents are essential for checking the accuracy of postings in the compact journal and general ledger. For this reason, each posting is based on a document.

Documents represent the link between the business transaction and posting in accounting.

Only complete documents can be posted in the SAP system. "Complete" means that the balance from the debit and credit items is zero. Further conditions for posting a document are that you must enter the basic account assignment data, such as document date, posting date, document type, posting key, account number, and amounts. You must make entries in all the required fields (these are defined as "required" during system configuration).

Structure

A document consists of a document header and at least two document line items:

●     Document Header

The document header is a part of the document that contains information that applies to the entire document, such as the document date and document number. It also includes controlling information such as the document type.

●     Document Line Item

The document line item is a part of the document that contains information on an item. This includes the amount, an account number, whether the item is a debit or credit, and additional information depending on the transaction to be posted. A document line item can also contain additional account assignments (for example, profit center, cost center) and an explanatory text.

Document Views

You can display a document in two different views in General Ledger Accounting:

●     Entry View

In the entry view, a document contains the document line items originally entered or transferred from the original component.

●     General Ledger View

In the general ledger view, a document contains the document line items originally entered or transferred from the original component, split line items generated by document splitting, or additionally generated clearing items. Documents in the general ledger view always apply to a specific ledger.

You can display the posted documents in the entry view and in the general ledger view. For more information, see Document Display.

Integration

In addition to the accounting documents described above, the system recognizes certain other documents such as sample documents and recurring entry documents. These are documents that are designed to simplify document entry. For more information, see Posting with Sample Documents and Recurring Entries.

You can transfer a large amount of document data from a non-SAP system to the SAP system. Various functions are available for this purpose. For more information, see Accounting Documents: Data Transfer Workbench.