SAP Central Finance Initial Load

Last Updated on August 30, 2022 by Pradeep

Central Finance Initial Load – Description

The SAP Central Finance Initial Load is used to transfer postings from your source system to your Central Finance system for a particular period. For instance, the current fiscal year.

SAP Central Finance’s initial load (data load) is handled by three different types of objects:

Cost Objects

Objects are like orders which are used as a reference during financial postings. Therefore, these objects must be replicated in the central Finance systems before the replication of financial postings. Noteworthy, you perform the cost objects replication from the SAP LT Replication server, instead of Central Finance.

Financial Postings

The initial load of financial postings replicates historic documents from the source system. Here, you do the configuration for SAP sources in the source system. The initial load occurs only if all master data is present in the central system. Further, you can start online replication only after the initial load, even if the initial load was empty.

Controlling Postings

This portion of the SAP Central Finance initial load replicates the postings that are relevant only to Controlling in SAP (CO) and not Finance (FI). For example, Overhead cost allocations. You can perform cost object customization in the SAP LT Replication Server.

Before we start the initial load, we will add the activities in the source system to minimize data errors.

Activities to add before SAP Central Finance Initial Load

1. Execute all scheduled jobs; Don’t schedule new jobs.
2. Perform closing for periodic asset postings ( Program RAPERB2000).
3. Execute the periodic depreciation posting run ( Program RAPOST2000).
4. Lock all periods, apart from the current period in FI and CO ( Plan and actual).
5. I also recommend that you run a consistency check process (RFINDEX) as below:
   • Document against indexes
   • Documents against transaction figures
   • Indexes against transaction figures
6. Run the consistency checks process for all fiscal years in the system.
   • Please note, if you are using a new GL, then execute reconciliation for GL and the Sub Ledgers by either running the report TFC_COMPARE_VZ or opening Transaction FAGLF03.
7. If you are using the new GL, compare the ledgers by the report RGUCOMP4.
8. Reconcile Material Management with G/L by report RM07MBST/RM07MMFI
9. Carry forward balances, for all currencies and all ledgers to ensure that all balance carry-forwards are complete and consistent.
10. Finally, for AR and AP (account payables and account receivables) run report SAPF010 for GL accounts, and open transaction FAGLGVTR.

Postings Excluded from Initial Load Process

The following postings cannot be transferred as part of the SAP Central Finance initial load and ongoing replication:

1. Postings to GL reconciliation postings
2. Recurring entries
3. Sample Documents
4. Noted Items
5. Parked documents
6. Balance carry forward items
7. Closing operations
8. Year-end closing postings where the reference transaction (AWTYP) is GLYEC
9. You can’t transfer Clearings as part of the initial load. However, you can activate the transfer of clearings via ongoing replication. (For more information see Handling of Open Items).
10. Likewise, you cannot transfer Clearing resets as part of the initial load. However, you can activate the transfer of clearing resets via ongoing replication. (For more information see Handling of Open Items).

Read SAP Central Finance – Layers and Building Blocks

Configuration in the source system

To customize financial postings in the SAP source system, open the transaction SM30 to view VCFIN_SOURCE_SE. Then click the Maintain button.

For every relevant company code, maintain the following fields:

• Start-Balances – Include the starting fiscal year for the balances in the initial load.
• Start-Documents – Likewise include the starting fiscal period for accounting documents also in the initial load.
• Periods – Keep the number of financial periods. Do not delete it. Report RFIN_CFIN_CLEANUP. Use this field to clean data in the transfer tables.
• GL Reconciliation – Select the checkbox if you require to replicate the G/L reconciliation postings from CO during the initial load. However, if CO replication is active, do not select this checkbox. Otherwise, documents would be posted twice.
• Initial Load Finished – Select this checkbox if the initial load has been completed.
• Package size – Finally, include the number of documents in each transfer package during the initial load.

Configuration in Target System

Choose Logical System for SAP Central Finance Initial Load

In this activity, you need to select the logical source systems for the initial load. Central Finance uses logical systems to upload data from the corresponding source systems. The initial load of financial postings (Initial load of cost objects and CO postings) does not use the SAP LT server to transfer data. Instead, the data is retrieved using RFC calls to the source system.

Define Clearing and substitution Accounts

In the first step of the initial load, You transfer all balances related to reconciliation accounts to their assigned substitution accounts. The second step is Post the open items to the reconciliation accounts.

While you post the offsetting entries to the substitution account, once the initial load is complete, the balances of the substitution accounts should automatically be zero.

FI Initial Load execution for all Company Code or selected Company Codes

You have the option of executing an FI initial load for all company codes or selected company codes. The activities which relate to these options are available in Customizing for Central Finance.

To execute the initial load for selected company codes, you must first create initial load groups to which you assign company codes. To execute the initial load for all maintained source systems and company codes at the same time you don’t need to use initial load groups.

Noteworthy, it is not possible to mix these methods. If you execute the initial load using one method and afterwards decide you want to use another method, then first delete the initial load data.

Learn- What is Company Code and How to create it?

SAP Central Finance Initial Load of CO Postings

As I mentioned earlier, CO Master Data and postings must occur before FI postings. At this point, you should replicate the CO master data via the SAP LT server.

Before you can start the initial load of CO secondary postings, you must complete the necessary preparations.

Preparations to do before SAP Central Finance Initial Load of CO Postings

1. Assign an SAP application Integration Framework runtime configuration group to the replication object.
2. Set up an RFC destination for the source system.
3. Define the logical system for the source and Central Finance system.
4. Lastly, Assign an RFC destination to the logical system for the source system.

Please note, that you do this in the transaction CFIN_CO_INIT_PREP. In this Customizing activity, you complete the following preparatory activities before the initial load of CO secondary postings take place.

Preparatory activities before the initial load of CO secondary postings

• First, convert CO-PA line items and characteristics into the key-value pair structure CFIN_COPA.
• Second, Store additional attributes to generate the CO key sub number for the CO key sub number ( HRKFT) field in table COEP.
• Further, Store references of the original documents for the reposting documents using the business transaction RKU3.

Initial Load for CO Secondary Posting Documents

Perform the below activities:

• First, Once you activate the objects, you can use the SAP LT server to control the load and replication of data.
• Second, in the LT server cockpit, enter your mass ID.
• Third, on the table overview page, you can stop or start a table by choosing the Data Provisioning push button.
• Lastly, enter the table (COBK) for which you have defined your predefined objects and choose start Replication.

Initial Load Preparation for Management Accounting

The initial load for CO secondary posting documents starts from the SAP LT server cockpit. Before this step, you must ensure that the preparation is required before the initial load of management accounting CO posting takes place.

Prepare for and Monitor the initial Load of CO postings

In this activity, you can complete the preparation required before the initial load of Management accounting takes place. Noteworthy, you can use this activity to convert CO-PA line items and characteristics and modify the CFIN_CO_ADD table.

Smoke Test for Cost Object Mapping and CO Document Replication

Here you can simulate cost object mapping and management accounting document replication by executing the necessary checks. You can do this without creating the cost object mapping or posting. It is intended to help you to find missing customizing and master data before the actual transaction posting takes place.

SAP Central Finance Initial Load for FICO Postings

This step of the SAP Central Finance initial load transfers the SAP FI documents or balances to Central Finance system. The initial load only includes postings up to and including the day before the initial load starts.

This is to say, that postings that are made on the day of carrying out the initial load and which have not been transferred using SAP Landscape Transformation Replication Server (SAP LT Replication Server), may be missing.

Therefore, after the extraction process is complete, you must always start the extraction run again in delta mode. You should do this by choosing Start New Run. This is to enable the system to identify any postings which were not included in the first data extraction run.

Monitor Data Extraction

The extraction step must be finished before you can start this step of the initial load. This monitoring report is also available by calling transaction FINS_CFIN_LOAD1 or program FINS_MASS_DATA_MONITOR.

Simulation of Mapping and Postings

• Simulate Mapping
• Monitor Simulation of Mapping
• Simulate Postings
• Monitor Simulation Posting

Post Initial Load Data

As a prerequisite to this step of the initial load, the step Initial Load – Extract Data must be finished. Additionally, the initial load posts quantities from management accounting documents. Thus, the cost objects from the source system must be mapped to cost objects in the Central Finance and these quantities must be permitted in the Central Finance system.

The activity calls the program FINS_MASS_DATA_MASTER.

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Conclusion

The initial Load process applies to every Central Finance implementation Project. This is an important step for the SAP Central Finance project.

Certainly, an SAP Finance Consultant must have good practical knowledge of the initial load process to make the implementation smooth and error-free. Therefore you should learn SAP Central Finance thoroughly and deeply.

Visit Course Page: SAP Central Finance S/4HANA Training