Lesson 4 of 5
Jumping to accounting
7 min
Logistics documents tell you what happened physically and commercially. The journal entry tells you what it meant financially. A tester or key user who can move confidently from one to the other can prove a process end to end. This lesson shows the jumps.
From a billing document
Display the billing document with VF03 or the Display Billing Documents app. From there you have two routes. The accounting overview (the Accounting function on the billing document) lists the accounting documents the billing created; select the journal entry and display it. Or open the document flow, select the accounting document in the tree and choose display. In the journal entry you should see the receivable on the customer, revenue and any tax.
From a material document
Goods movements (goods receipt, goods issue, transfer postings) create a material document. Display it with MIGO (choose Display, Material Document) or the Material Documents Overview app. On the header's Doc Info tab, the FI Documents function lists the related accounting documents. For Contoso's goods issue of 50 alternators, the journal entry shows cost of goods sold debited and finished goods inventory credited.
From a supplier invoice
Display the supplier invoice with MIR4 and use Follow-On Documents, or open it in the Manage Supplier Invoices app. The journal entry shows GR/IR debited and the supplier credited, plus any tax or price differences.
| Starting point | SAP GUI route | Fiori route | Typical journal entry |
|---|---|---|---|
| Billing document | VF03 → Accounting overview or document flow | Display Billing Documents → related documents | Debit receivable; credit revenue and tax |
| Goods issue for delivery | MIGO display → Doc Info tab → FI Documents | Material Documents Overview → accounting documents | Debit cost of goods sold; credit inventory |
| Goods receipt for PO | MIGO display → Doc Info tab → FI Documents; or PO history | Material Documents Overview; Manage Purchase Orders process flow | Debit inventory; credit GR/IR |
| Supplier invoice | MIR4 → Follow-On Documents | Manage Supplier Invoices → journal entry | Debit GR/IR; credit supplier |
Going the other way
Sometimes you start in finance: an unexpected amount on an account. Display the journal entry with the Manage Journal Entries app or FB03. The header shows a reference document and its type, and Manage Journal Entries has a related-documents section that navigates back to the billing document, material document or supplier invoice. For a visual check, Display Journal Entries in T-Account View lays the debits and credits out as T-accounts, which many business users find easier to read.
Why one logistics document can create several accounting documents
Open the accounting overview of a billing document and you may see more than one entry. That is normal. Depending on how your system is set up, you may see:
- The journal entry itself, which in SAP S/4HANA carries general ledger, controlling, profit center and margin analysis information together in one set of line items.
- A separate costing-based profitability analysis document, if your company still uses that approach alongside margin analysis.
- Entries in other company codes when a process crosses company codes, for example intercompany sales.
- Documents in add-on components that subscribe to the posting, such as revenue accounting, where those are in use.
In SAP ECC the list was longer: a single billing could create an FI document, a CO document, a profit center accounting document and a profitability analysis document, each stored separately. SAP S/4HANA's Universal Journal folded most of those into one journal entry, which is why the S/4HANA accounting overview usually looks simpler. The course on the Universal Journal covers why.
What would you do?
Contoso's goods receipt test shows a material document and a success message. When you open FI Documents from MIGO, the list is empty. The product is a valuated finished good in plant 1710. What is the most likely explanation?
- From billing: VF03 accounting overview or document flow. From goods movements: MIGO Doc Info → FI Documents. From supplier invoices: MIR4 Follow-On Documents.
- From finance back to logistics: Manage Journal Entries related documents or the reference document on the header.
- Display Journal Entries in T-Account View makes debits and credits easy to check.
- One logistics document can show several accounting documents; in SAP S/4HANA most detail sits in one journal entry.
Check your understanding · not graded
Lesson check
1. From a MIGO material document display, where do you find the related accounting documents?
2. Which Fiori app shows a journal entry's debits and credits as T-accounts?
3. What is the typical journal entry for a goods issue of finished goods to a customer delivery?
4. Why did ECC billing often show more accounting documents than S/4HANA?