Lesson 1 of 6
Journal entry basics
6 min
Most journal entries in SAP S/4HANA are created automatically by other processes. The ones finance enters by hand, such as accruals, reclassifications and corrections, are few but important, because they are where judgment enters the books. This lesson walks through posting one properly in the Fiori app Post General Journal Entries (the classic equivalent is FB50).
The header
| Header field | What it means | Contoso example |
|---|---|---|
| Company code | The legal entity the entry belongs to | 1710 |
| Journal entry date | The date of the source document, such as the invoice date | Sept 28 |
| Posting date | The date the entry hits the books; decides fiscal year and period | Sept 30, period 9 |
| Journal entry type | Classifies the entry and controls number range and allowed account types | SA (G/L account document) |
| Currency | Transaction currency; amounts are also translated into company code currency | USD |
| Reference and header text | Free text that helps others understand the entry later | ACCR-0925 consulting accrual |
| Ledger group | Leave empty to post to all ledgers; fill only for ledger-specific adjustments | Empty |
Header fields of a general journal entry.
The lines
Each line has a G/L account, a debit or credit amount, and the attributes the account requires: a cost center for a primary cost account, a tax code where relevant, perhaps a profit center or a text. The Fiori app shows debit and credit columns; behind the scenes, SAP assigns a posting key to each line, for example 40 for a G/L debit and 50 for a G/L credit. In classic transactions such as FB01, you enter the posting key yourself. Total debits must equal total credits before the entry can be posted.
- Enter headerCompany code 1710, dates, type SA, currency USD, reference
- Enter linesDebit consulting expense 8,000 USD with cost center; credit accrued liabilities 8,000 USD
- SimulateCheck derived fields: profit center, segment, tax lines, company code currency amounts
- PostSystem assigns the journal entry number from the type's number range
- ReviewOpen in Manage Journal Entries; confirm lines, attributes and ledgers
Journal entry types
The journal entry type (still called document type in many screens and transactions) tells everyone what kind of entry it is, decides its number range, and limits which account types it may post to. Most manual G/L entries use SA. Others are created by processes.
| Type | Typical source | Posted by |
|---|---|---|
| SA | G/L account document: accruals, reclassifications, corrections | Finance users |
| AB | General accounting document, often clearings and reversals | System and finance |
| KR / KG | Supplier invoice / supplier credit memo | Accounts payable |
| DR / DG | Customer invoice / customer credit memo entered in finance | Accounts receivable |
| RV | Billing document transferred from sales | Order-to-cash, automatically |
| WE | Goods receipt | Inventory management, automatically |
| AA | Asset posting | Asset accounting |
Currencies and dates
Every line is stored in at least the transaction currency and the company code currency (USD for 1710), and often in further currencies such as a group currency. If you post in EUR, the system translates using the exchange rate for the posting date unless you enter a rate. The posting date is the one that matters for accounting: it decides the period, and therefore whether the posting is allowed (the period must be open) and where it appears in reports.
Many lines, templates and uploads
Some manual entries have dozens of lines, such as a monthly reclassification across cost centers. Typing them is slow and error-prone. Post General Journal Entries lets you save an entry as a template and reuse it, and SAP provides spreadsheet upload for journal entries (the verification requester app, for example, accepts an upload), so lines can be prepared in a controlled template and loaded in one step. Uploaded entries go through the same checks as typed ones: open period, required fields, tolerances and, where configured, verification. Test the upload route separately if your users rely on it, because a template column in the wrong format fails differently from a typing error.
What would you do?
On October 2, a Contoso accountant posts a September accrual. She enters a journal entry date of September 30 and leaves the posting date at today's default. Period 9 is still open. What happens, and what should she have done?
- Post General Journal Entries is the main app for manual entries; FB50 is the classic equivalent.
- The posting date decides the fiscal period; the journal entry date records the source date.
- Journal entry types such as SA classify entries and control number ranges and allowed accounts.
- Posting keys (40 debit, 50 credit for G/L lines) sit behind the debit and credit columns.
- Simulate before posting to see derived lines and attributes.
Check your understanding · not graded
Lesson check
1. Which date decides the period a journal entry posts into?
2. Which journal entry type is typically used for manual G/L entries?
3. Which posting key is the standard G/L debit?
4. What does simulation show before posting?