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Lesson 5 of 5

What testers check

7 min

For a business tester, the Universal Journal is good news. Every process with a financial effect produces lines you can inspect, and all the attributes are on those lines. The task is to know what to check, every time, without becoming an accountant.

The four-point pattern

For every scenario that posts, check four things on the journal entry against the expected result you wrote before running the test:

  1. Account: each line hits the G/L account you expect (revenue, cost of goods sold, inventory, GR/IR, expense).
  2. Amount: the amounts are right in transaction currency and company code currency, and debits equal credits.
  3. Profit center (and cost center where relevant): the line is assigned to the right responsibility unit, not a dummy.
  4. Segment: derived correctly from the profit center for segment reporting.

Add process-specific checks on top: the customer and product on revenue lines for margin analysis, the asset number on asset postings, the tax lines on invoices, the partner company on intercompany postings.

Rarely checked, low impactText fields and assignment numbers. Useful for clearing, rarely critical in test.
Always checked, high impactAccount, amount, profit center, segment. The four-point pattern.
Rarely checked, high impactMarket segment attributes, functional area, additional currencies. Often missed; break management reporting.
Always checked, low impactPosting date and document type. Quick to confirm; worth a glance.
Where testers spend attention, and where the gaps tend to be.

Expected results by process

Scenario (Contoso)Expected linesExtra checks
Goods receipt of 500 rotors for PODebit raw materials inventory; credit GR/IRPlant 1710; price from PO; profit center
Supplier invoice for those rotorsDebit GR/IR; credit supplier; tax if applicablePrice variance lines if price differs
Goods issue of 50 alternatorsDebit cost of goods sold; credit finished goods inventoryProduct, profit center, margin analysis attributes
Billing of 50 alternatorsDebit receivable; credit revenue; credit taxCustomer, product, sales org 1710 on revenue line
Assessment of IT costsCredit IT cost center; debit receiving cost centers on a secondary cost accountPartner profit centers; totals net to zero

Expected journal entry lines for common scenarios.

Common Universal Journal defects found in testing

  • Dummy or default profit center: derivation from the product, cost center or a rule failed.
  • Missing market segment attributes: margin analysis cannot report by customer or product for those lines.
  • Wrong account from account determination: often a valuation class or account key problem.
  • Missing cost center on an expense: G/L account type not set to primary costs, or no default assignment.
  • Wrong currency translation: exchange rate missing or wrong rate type for the posting date.
  • Posting in the wrong period: posting date taken from the wrong field, or period control.
  1. Are the accounts as expected?Yes → check amounts · No → log an account determination defect with the source document and line
  2. Do amounts match in transaction and company code currency?Yes → check attributes · No → check pricing, valuation and exchange rates
  3. Are profit center and segment correct (not dummy)?Yes → check process-specific attributes · No → log a derivation or master data defect
  4. Are process-specific attributes present (customer, product, cost center, asset)?Yes → pass with evidence · No → log a defect; reporting will be wrong
Judging a journal entry in a process test.

What would you do?

A Contoso integration test of order to cash passes all logistics steps. The billing journal entry has the right revenue account, amount and profit center, but the product field on the revenue line is empty. The test lead wants to pass the scenario because "finance balances". What do you recommend?

Key points
  • For every posting scenario, check account, amount, profit center and segment against expected values.
  • Add process-specific checks: customer and product on revenue, cost center on expenses, asset on asset postings.
  • Silent defects such as dummy profit centers and missing market segment attributes are common and high impact.
  • A balanced journal entry is not automatically a correct one.

Check your understanding · not graded

Lesson check

  1. 1. What are the four points to check on every journal entry in a process test?

  2. 2. A journal entry balances but uses a dummy profit center. Should the test pass?

  3. 3. What is the expected journal entry for a supplier invoice matching a goods receipt?

  4. 4. Which defect is most likely to be missed by a shallow test?