SAP Universal Journal analyzes the major impact of S/4 HANA Finance’s table architecture design on General Ledger Accounting. Furthermore, it also checks the impact of business process transactions and configuration changes.
The concept of the Universal Journal in SAP emerges with the first launch of SAP S/4 HANA Finance. And with every new version, it is getting better. With S/4HANA SAP eliminated data, such as aggregates and indexes, it also further reduced memory footprints and table design.
When we compare SAP ECC to the S/4HANA database, we come across so many benefits that the universal journal has brought in S4 HANA Finance.
We learn about them each here below:
One Database – ACDOCA
The ACDOCA Table helps to keep Reports and tables in one database itself. It does not need to store balanced and open items separately.
However, this was not the same way in SAP’s ECC model. In ECC, the system stores SAP General Ledger (G/L), customer and vendor balances and open items in various database tables to support reporting.
All the fields from sub-modules of S/4HANA Finance are available in the table ACDOCA. These Sub-modules are:
Now in SAP S/4HANA Finance, we can create secondary cost elements as G/L accounts. Consequently, it allows the version of the financial statements as well to include and show secondary cost elements.
However, in the earlier version of SAP (ECC), the FI (i.e. the financials) does not include secondary cost elements. As a result, the financial statements could not display the secondary cost elements.
With SAP S/4HANA Finance, when you post a journal entry, the header record is posted in table BKPF, and the line item record is posted in table ACDOCA. There are rare exceptions in which only line item records in table ACDOCA are written, without a corresponding document header record. This includes transactions related to carrying forward, corrections in migration, and so on.
ACDOCA contains all fields (360+)
Table ACDOCA contains all fields (360+) required for G/L, CO, FI-AA, ML, and CO-PA
Table ACDOCA has fields from CO, ML, and FI-AA that aren’t in table BSEG.
Additional Features of ACDOCA
No Limitation of 999 Document Line Item: Due to the 999-document line item posting limitation, table BSEG is usually aggregated. This limitation doesn’t exist in table ACDOCA.
Store all CO Postings: Table ACDOCA stores all CO internal postings. While BSEG does not store these postings.
Store Carry Forward Postings: Table ACDOCA stores carry forward transaction postings and correction line items from migration. However, Table BSEG does not store these lines.
Fast multidimensional reporting: This is possible from table ACDOCA without replicating data to SAP Business Warehouse (SAP BW).
There are several technical changes in general Ledger Accounting such as:
The old data stored in table “ FAGLFLEXA” and “FAGLFLEXT” now stored in ACDOCA
The ACDOCA also stores the data of new G/L public sector industry tables and joint venture accounting.
Customer-specific new G/L fields ZZ( cust) and ZZ(CUST)A are stored in table ACDOCA
A compatibility view is provided for the new G/L industry table and customer-specific new G/L tables.
Access to old data in tables is still possible via the V_TABLENAME_ORI Example V_FAGLFLEXA_ORI
The old data of table FAGLFLEXT is stored in table FAGLFLEXT_BCK
Customers can access the old data in customer-defined new G/L tables that are created as views in the Data Dictionary ( DDIC) . The V_FAGLFLEXA_ORI view can be used as a template.
SAP S/4 HANA Finance also provides for the unification of master data maintenance for G/L accounts and cost elements with the introduction of account type and cost element attributes in transaction FS00.
Some Unique Features of Ledgers & Document postings
Document numbers in CO – Transaction that you post in CO uses a CO document number. For example, while reposting’s – KB11N, you can use original documents (prima nota) for the universal journal entry.
The existing customizing for CO document numbers is still valid
The field name in the Universal Journal entry is CO_BELNR
Journal Entries triggered from other applications (FI, Logistics, etc.)
A cryptic document number is generated into the field CO_BELNR. You require this number for CO compatibility views.
You can group the Universal Journal entries from CO with the CO document number you generated (e.g., cross-company postings).
Document summarization is still possible for other tables because table ACDOCA stores the complete detail needed for all components based on table ACDOCA (G/L, FI-AA, ML, CO, CO-PA).
Table BSEG’s three-digit (999) line item posting limitation still exists in SAP S/4HANA Finance, but because table ACDOCA stores the full detail and has a six-digit field for line item numbering and posting, extensive summarization is still possible.
FI postings with SAP S/4 HANA Finance
Table ACDOCA posted via the accounting interface is similar to table FAGLFLEXA (new G/L) in the past.
The entries that you previously stored in tables COEP, FAGLFLEXA, ANEP, MLIT, and so on can now store in table ACDOCA.
Table BSEG entries are the same and not changed.
Costing-based CO-PA, Profit Center Accounting, Special Purpose Ledger (FI-SL), and Enterprise Controlling Consolidation System (EC-CS) work as before.
Document numbers with SAP S/4 HANA Finance
With the Universal Journal, you can create any journal entry to components such as G/L, CO, ML, and FI-AA. Furthermore, you can generate a single legal document number and populate in tables BKPF and ACDOCA in the field BELNR. This document number is year-dependent and company code-specific
The system generates a transaction number for CO. You can capture this number in the CO_BELNR field for CO. Consequently, it generates a new number for every 999 lines. In short, one FI (legal) document can have many corresponding CO document numbers, but they are all linked together.
G/L and cost element planning don’t work in SAP S/4HANA Finance as a stand-alone function. You need to activate SAP BPC for SAP S/4HANA Finance for planning to work.
Noteworthy, you can use the statistical account assignment setting for fixed assets and material account objects to flow in accounting documents. It eliminates the feature of traditional FI to create cost element category 90 for fixed assets accounts.
Ledger: Leading, Non Leading Ledger and Extension
The leading ledger concept remains the same; that is, it contains a full set of line items in table ACDOCA and is the source for actual CO data (assigned to actual version 0).
Non-leading standard ledgers, as in the earlier version, can still be assigned to selected company codes. A non-leading ledger contains a full set of line items in table ACDOCA. It inherits the currency configuration of the leading ledger and can have a different fiscal year variant and open period variant.
The extension ledger contains only adjustment postings. In reporting, the extension ledger inherits postings of the base ledger,
The extension ledger is assigned to the base ledger and only accepts ledger-specific manual adjustment postings. It inherits currency settings and the fiscal year variant of the base ledger but can have a separate open period variant and company code assignment. Thus, the extension ledger takes the base from the standard ledger. This prevents multiple data footprints and significantly reduces data redundancy because the journal entries don’t need to be posted to both the extension and the standard ledger.
The extension ledger can report on all the transaction data of the base ledger, so it allows you to create views without affecting the base ledger.
Functionality Impact of Universal Journal in SAP
SAP S/4 HANA Finance has two major functionality impacts on General Ledger Accounting.
Open Item reports have been removed from SAP S/4 HANA due to introduction of Universal Journal .
2. Processing of Transaction FAGLGVTR for balance carry forward has now been simplified with SAP S/4 HANA Finance.
New Table Introduced in S/4 HANA Finance
ACDOCA (This one table includes all)
Obsolete tables removed in SAP S/4 HANA Finance, along with Index tables:
BSIS
BSAS
GLT0
BSID
BSAD
KNC1
KNC3
BSIK
BSAK
LFC1
LFC3
FAGLFLEXT
FAGLFLEXA
Nutshell – Brief
Universal Journal has the capability of keeping data in one place. Thus called a single source of truth. As it follows the On the Fly calculation process, makes life simple for its users and developers.
It not only made the year-end process much smoother but also made it much faster. SAP Universal Journal has integrated the functionalities of S/4HANA in its best possible way. And it is still getting better with every new launch. You must read it as deep as possible to learn its amazing features and use them at most.