G/L Account Master Data

The G/L Account Master data is divided into following two parts:

Chart of Accounts Data
This part contains information about G/L Account that will not change from company code to company code and will be constant for all.

Company Code Data
This part contains information about G/L Account that will be relevant to Company Code. This can be maintained separately for every company code after extension of G/L Account.


Note: Refer Chart of Accounts 1 & Chart of Accounts 2 before starting on G/L Account Master Data


The Chart of Accounts data includes:

Account Number
Enter the appropriate G/L Account number as per numbering maintained for Account Groups.

Account Group
Select the appropriate Account Group from drop down list available.

Nature of Account
Select if this is Profit & Loss or Balance Sheet Account

Short Text
Maintain short text for the G/L Account. Please maintain some logical text here as many reports show this text against the G/L account number.

Long Text
Enter complete description of the G/L account.


The Company Code data includes:

The Account Currency
G/L account will be posted with currency assigned in master data only. In case of G/L with foreign currency will be posted in foreign currency only and then system will convert in to local currency based on exchange rate maintain in the system. It also helps to revaluate open items in foreign currency.

Balances in local currency only indicator
This indicator is set for clearing accounts, to clear line items in various currencies with one local currency amount and without posting any exchange rate difference that may occur.

Tax Category
This field determines if the G/L Account is tax relevant, a tax account or a G/L where specific type of tax will be posted. This field has a drop down list from where one can select the appropriate indicator. Following options are available for selection:

-              Only input tax allowed
+             Only output tax allowed
*             All tax types allowed
<             Input Tax Account
>             Output Tax Account

Apart from above options, system shows tax codes, which can also be selected. In this case, system will not allow the user to post document with any other tax codes in the G/L account.

Posting without tax allowed
If this field is selected it indicates that the account can still be posted to even if a tax code has not been entered.

Reconciliation for account type
The reconciliation accounts are defined by specifying in the G/L master data the account type for which the account is used. When there is a posting to an account in the sub-ledger, the system automatically posts to the corresponding reconciliation account. The accounts for receivables and payables are typical reconciliation accounts. Using the reconciliation account procedure, it is possible to create a balance sheet and a profit and loss statement at any time, since the amounts that are posted to the sub-ledger accounts are also posted automatically to the general ledger.

During regular reconciliation, it is checked whether the balance of the reconciliation account corresponds to the balance of the corresponding sub-ledger accounts. Reconciliation accounts are defined by specifying in the G/L account master record the account type (such as fixed assets, vendor or customer) for which the account is to be used. In this way, the account can only be assigned to accounts in the corresponding sub-ledger. The assignment of the sub-ledger account to a reconciliation account is set in the master record of the sub-ledger account. It is not possible to post to reconciliation accounts manually from the general ledger.

Open item management
If this indicator is set it mark the line item as open or cleared. If this field is selected, the system starts treating every posted document as open item. The items are to be cleared by the user either manually or automatically against other line items.

In case of these G/L accounts the balance is always amount equal to the total of open items. The line item indicator has to be activated if open item management is to be used.

Line item display
For an account defined with line item display, all items that have been posed to this account are displayed if they have not been archived.

Note: Please use Line Item and Open item Management options with care, as it may cause the system to store additional data and also activation/deactivation of these indicators after posting of documents may cause inconsistency.

Sort key
It specifies which entry the system transfers from the document header or from the line item to the Allocation field on the date of posting. After the value is transferred it is helpful to clear or search items on the account according to the Allocation field value.

Field status group
The field status group specified in the G/L account controls which fields are displayed when posting transaction to a G/L account. A field may be suppressed, required or optional during transaction postings.

Post Automatically only
Set this option for the G/L accounts where no manual transactions are to be posted. This indicator plays a very vital role to control the postings in any G/L accounts.

For e.g. all Inventory accounts should be marked as Post Automatically only, this will avoid any difference in FI-MM reconciliation (T Code MB5L)

Recon account ready for input
This indicator is applicable in case of reconciliation accounts. If this indicator is activated, system allows the user to change the reconciliation account for the entry during document processing. In order to make this functionality work, you need to assign the alternate G/L accounts in customizing. IMG Path: Financial Accounting (New) > Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable > Business Transactions > Postings with Alternative Reconciliation Account > Define Alternative Reconciliation Accounts


Reference Material
G/L Account Master Data SAP Help
User Manual on creation of General Ledger Master Data

Tags#
Automatic posting in General Ledger in SAP, SAP Chart of Account data of G/L, SAP Company Code Data of G/L, SAP General Ledger Master Data, SAP Post Automatically, SAP Recon Account Ready for Input