Lesson 3 of 5
Posting goods issue
10 min
Goods issue is the moment the goods legally and financially leave the company's inventory. It is a single click, but it triggers a lot: inventory goes down, cost of goods sold goes up, the delivery becomes billable, and several statuses change. For finance, it is one of the most important postings in order to cash.
Posting it
In SAP GUI, post goods issue from the delivery in VL02N with the Post Goods Issue function, or for many deliveries at once from the outbound delivery monitor (VL06O, deliveries for goods issue). In Fiori, apps such as Pick Outbound Delivery offer a Post GI step once picking is complete, and Manage Outbound Deliveries lets you post goods issue for selected deliveries. With EWM, goods issue is posted in EWM.
Goods issue takes its data from the delivery and cannot be changed on the way. If the quantity, batch or storage location is wrong, fix the delivery first. The posting date is the actual goods issue date, and both the materials management period and the financial posting period must be open for that date.
What goods issue creates
- Material documentMovement type 601 reduces unrestricted stock of CMC-ALT-100 in plant 1710, storage location 171A by 50
- Journal entryDebit cost of goods sold, credit finished goods inventory, valued at standard cost
- Delivery statusGoods movement status becomes complete
- Order statusDelivery status of order 1000457 moves to fully delivered, or partially if quantity remains
- Billing due listThe delivery becomes due for delivery-related billing
The accounting result
The journal entry uses automatic account determination in materials management. The inventory account comes from the product's valuation class; the offsetting cost of goods sold account comes from the goods issue transaction for deliveries. You do not need the configuration keys to test it, but you do need the expected accounts from Dan's finance team.
| Line | Account (illustrative) | Debit | Credit | Key attributes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cost of goods sold | $7,500.00 | Profit center for alternators; product, customer and other margin analysis attributes | |
| 2 | Finished goods inventory | $7,500.00 | Plant 1710, valuation of CMC-ALT-100 at $150.00 standard cost |
In SAP S/4HANA the journal entry sits in the Universal Journal, so the cost of goods sold line already carries margin analysis attributes such as customer and product. Material valuation runs through the Material Ledger, which is active for all valuated materials in SAP S/4HANA. If your company uses actual costing, the value at goods issue is still the standard or moving price at the time of posting; actual cost adjustments come later at period end.
Finding the documents
- From the delivery, open the document flow: the goods issue appears as a material document below the delivery, with its goods movement status.
- Display the material document with
MIGOor the Material Documents Overview app, and on the Doc Info tab open the FI documents. - Or open the journal entry in Manage Journal Entries and display it in T-account view to check debit and credit.
- Does the delivery's document flow show a goods issue material document?Yes → open it · No → goods issue not posted; check picking status and error messages
- Is the movement type 601 (or your project's equivalent) with the right quantity and storage location?Yes → open the journal entry · No → fix the delivery data and its determination
- Does the journal entry debit cost of goods sold and credit inventory for the expected amount?Yes → check attributes · No → check valuation (plant, price) and account determination
- Are profit center and margin analysis attributes as expected?Yes → goods issue verified · No → finance master data or derivation finding
What would you do?
Contoso's goods issue for delivery 80001234 posted successfully, but the journal entry shows inventory credited at $156.00 per piece instead of $150.00. What is the most likely cause?
- Goods issue posts a material document (movement type 601) and a journal entry.
- The journal entry debits cost of goods sold and credits inventory, valued per plant.
- Goods issue updates delivery and order statuses and makes the delivery billable.
- Data comes from the delivery; fix the delivery, not the posting.
Check your understanding · not graded
Lesson check
1. Which movement type does standard goods issue for a delivery use?
2. What journal entry does goods issue of finished goods post?
3. After goods issue, which document becomes possible for the delivery?
4. Goods issue shows the wrong storage location. Where should it be fixed for the future?