Opening And Closing Posting Periods
Okay, now we have created a posting period variant and assigning it to a company code. We have done these two steps. We have created a posting period variant and assigned it to a company code using these two steps here, so now we’re going to do this. We’re going to establish the table which will actually tell the system which are the periods to be open and which are the periods to be closed, and link the table to the posting period variant.
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Okay, let us do it now. Let’s say we have a table like this. Don’t look at this first. This was the next next topic. Look at this first. I want to close all the periods from January to March, open the period, April and close all the period, May to December, so how am I going to do that? I Come here, see this, open and close posting periods. This is a third step under the subject of posting periods, launch the screen, you go to posting period variant 1000. That’s the one which is assigned to Sun, right? Even though we created a posting period variant called test. That’s just for an example. I’ve created that, assigned it a company code, but we still use 1000.
Now, this is a variant, posting period variant. What you do here is, you see this account type, these are the classification of G/L accounts plus it’s for all the accounts, regardless of whether it’s a G/L account, or vendor account, or material account. A stands for asset account. D stands for customer accounts. K stands for vendor accounts. S for G/L accounts, M for material, and you can ignore this for a moment. We won’t be using this. This is an indicator which is used to identify different types of accounts but the reason why SAP is providing us an indicator to identify different G/L accounts is for us to actually open a particular account type.
I will explain the use of different account types like later on. We just look at this first. Let’s look at a simple example whereby I want to open a period from 1st of January to 12th of January 2009. Okay. Let’s look at this example here. I want to open a posting period for the entire fiscal year, as simple as that. All I have to do is just come here, I just put the range December, 2009, and then, save it so I can post to any period which falls within this range. But normally, that won’t be the case in a typical company, only the current period will be open, and the previous period will be closed, so as the future periods. See, only the current period will be open. This will be the normal scenario in any company, so we can’t be opening the whole financial year because then you run into a problem whereby documents are wrongly posted to different periods.
We don’t want this to happen, right? We want to post documents belonging to a current period, only to a current period. If you leave the whole thing open, the whole financial year open, then there is a danger whereby the accounting clerk posts a document which belongs to period 4, two different periods, let’s say period 3, and it will be wrong. So if you close the period 3, then when the accounting clerk enters the posting date which refers to posting period 3, the system will throw an error message saying that period 3 is closed. So then, he will realize that he is posting to the wrong period and correct it to the correct period, which is 4th period. That’s the purpose of closing the other periods which are not relevant, which are not current period, and leave only the current period open. If you want to establish this, all you have to do is, go here, just put 4, and 4, and save it. This means that only the period 4 is open. Let me go back here. Only period 4 is open. Let me prove it to you. Let me try to post a document. FB50, period 4 is open, right? So I can post it to period 4, but let me just try to post it to period 3. Period 3, choose an account code, cash in bank, credit, 100. This one, debit, 100. I need to put this date. See, posting period 3 is not open. Let me show it to you again. See, only 4 is open, as per this table here. Posting period 3 is closed. Okay, let me just change it to 4 to see whether the system will allow me to post it to period 4. FB50 again. Okay, leave it as this date, period 4, and I come here, I choose cash in bank, add it, 100, debit, 100, I need to specify this, double click, let’s put in a date, dummy date, now, simulate. See, no problem. The system is allowing me to post it.
As long as you can simulate, that means there are no errors. You can just post it straight away. It’s allowing me to post period 4, simply because the period 4 is open. Now let me show you the usage of these additional lines here, this A-D-K-M-S.
Alright. Let’s say you have a requirement in a company whereby you want to open all the accounts for period 4, but only for G/L accounts, you want to open the period 3, okay, how are you going to do that? If you have only one line here and you don’t have any other lines here, how are we going to set up this? That means only for G/L accounts, you want to open period 3 and all other accounts, you want to open period 4, you can’t really do that. That’s the reason SAP has provided us these additional lines here. By using this indicator, you can actually refer to a particular group of accounts. If I use A, means it refers to all the asset accounts.
Let me tell you one more thing. As long as you have defined a G/L account as a recon for asset, it will be considered as a asset account. Let me show you. I’m going to pull out the building. See this? As long as I define a G/L account as a recon account for asset, then it will be treated as an asset account. So when you say A, it actually refers to this account, A100000 building account or any other account which has got a recon account of assets. Similarly, D refers to customer accounts. Okay. SAP using D to refer to customers because in German, the word customer starts with a word which starts with D. It is not in English, okay. If it’s English, then for customers, we can use C. But since it’s German, the word for customer starts with D, so that’s why they are specified as D, same goes to K. They are not using V. Normally, they should use V if it’s English, but since in German vendors are referred to something else where the word starts with K, so that’s why we’re using K. So coming back to this, D means refers to customer reconciliation accounts. Let me just go to customer reconciliation accounts.
So when I say D, it refers to these accounts or any other account which has got a record account of customers. Similarly for K, how I going to use these account types is, coming back here, the G/L accounts should be open for period 3, so how do I refer to G/L account? G/L account is referred by as G/L account.
What are G/L accounts? Any accounts which does not fall into these categories are considered G/L accounts. Okay, once again, for example, input FS00, let’s see, cash in bank is a typical G/L account because it doesn’t have a recon account, it doesn’t fall into it any of this. Cash in bank is not a asset account, it’s not a customer account, it’s not a vendor account, so therefore, it’s not even a material account, and therefore, it’s a G/L account.
Any account which does not fall into these four categories is considered as a G/L account. So all I have to do is come to a G/L account indicator here. It should be open for period 3, right? I just specify as these three and three, form period and two period. Okay, so this means that if I save this, what it means is that I can’t save this. You know why? All account, the plus sign should be a greater margin than the sub account ranges. Okay, always remember this. All account which has got a plus sign must be having a greater range than the sub ranges. So in this case, 4 is of the same length. The plus sign must include the period of the sub ranges, so I must change this. Always remember, all accounts should also include the ranges of the sub ranges. 3 to 4 is larger than period three, right? I’m talking about the range. The range is larger, so we conform to this pattern here. Always remember, if you specify a sub range, then you have to modify the all range to include this sub range as well, so, three and four now is correct. Now, what happens is that this fact has been set up, so the jail account is open for period 3, and all other accounts open for 3-4. We must also copy this and paste it here too. CTRL+Y and CTRL+V. If you press CTRL+ Y, you can copy and highlight the block. Once again, CTRL+Y to highlight a block, copy, CTRL+C, and then, CTRL+ V, so you can paste it like that, or if not, you have to, you can manually type it in also doesn’t really matter.
I should not include the 4 because only period 4 is open for all other accounts, so this must be 4. Just change to 4. Asset account is open for period 4. Customer account is open for period 4. Vendor account is open for period 4. Material account is open for period 4, and only the G/L account is open for period 3. Okay. Let us save this. But as I said earlier, all accounts should include the entire range, 3 and 4. It cannot be 4 and 4. Then you’ll get an error. Let’s do some postings now. I’m going to post a vendor invoice. The vendor invoice K, vendor invoice meaning that I’m going to post to vendor reconciliation account, which is identified by K. I should You should not be able to post it to period 3 because it’s closed. I should be able to post to only period 4. Let us check it now. Alright, let me go back to see whether I’ve saved it again. Already saved, okay. Good.
Now, go back here. It’s FB60. Enter incoming invoices. Select the vendor. Go to posting period 3, March. It should not allow me because it’s closed. Go back now. Sales, 100, now let me simulate. See, period 4 is not open. Oh sorry, what am I doing now? What is closed? Period 3. I should post to period 3, sorry. Once again, now select and change it to period 3. Let me try to post to period 3, sales, see this, period 3 is not open for account type K and G?L account. This is a recon account for vendors, 400001. GLC, it is not open. Let me go there. You know why? Period 3 is closed only because period 4 only opened, so you can’t really post to period 3. Let us change to period 4 now. Now it says period 4 is not open for account type S. Account type S is G/L account that is because only period 3 is open for G/L account. Okay, so if I open this, if I open this up, then I’ll be able to post it.
Let me just do it. See, now I can go. Now, you’ve seen how the postings are controlled. Let me change it back to three. So let us see whether the G/L account can be posted to period 3 and not period 4.
Okay. Let’s go to FB50 now. Period 4 should not be allowed because only 3 is open. Let me confirm that. Okay, cash in bank, credit, 100. These two are G/L accounts. Let me just put in the date. You see, period 4 is not open for account type S. You see, only period 4 is closed, only period 3 is open. Let me change it to period 3 now. I can’t really change from here. I have to quit and come back again. Now, I’m going to put period 3. Document date can be any date. I’ll change it. Let me just move it as false.
Okay, see whether the system accepts. Yeah, you see, it accepts. You just need to specify the additional date here, then I’m ready to post. Okay, see, I can post to period 3 for G/L accounts, because for G/L accounts, period 3 is open and period 4 is closed, so that’s how we play with different account types. You have to consider these different account types only if you have this kind of scenario, where only a certain account types are allowed for certain period, and all other accounts are open for other period. If you have a simple situation like this, then you don’t really have to bother these lines here, just concentrate on this, all accounts, and then, specify 1 to 12, or 4, or whatever it may be. Alright, you can even delete them. You can delete them off if you don’t want to specify open period for specific account types.
One more thing, you can even specify an account interval. For example, let me just close this, now, let me go here. How to specify an account interval?. This, ZZZZ account range means that I don’t want to filter by an account, a particular G/L account. So, for example, if I want to filter by a particular G/L account, that means I want to open the Period 3 only for a G/L account, a particular GL account, say for example, this one. I want to open the Period 3 only for this account, so what I do is that I just copy this. I’m going to put here, 1000, and I open 3, and for all the other accounts, period 4 should be opened, okay. What I’m saying here is that, both also are S, right, so both also refers to G/L account, but only for G/L account, 200,000, period 3 should be opened, and for all other G/L accounts, period 4 should be opened. Let me show it here. It means applicable for only GL account. This is what it means. All other G/L accounts are open for period 4. Let me just check that whether it works or not.
Okay. Go back, FB50, let me just put a date here. It means I can’t really post to period 4 for just G/L account, 200,000. Debit, 100, I choose a different G/L account, this one, credit, 100, see what happens, let me just specify the date.
Period 4 is not open for contract S G/L account. See, period 4 is not open, so I can’t post to this account. Only this account is affected now because only period 3 is open. Okay, let me post it to Period 3 to see what happens. Period 3, I change this to period 3. This one can be any date. Just a reminder, document date doesn’t really control the posting period, so I can put any date. Only the posting date controls the posting period. Remember that always. Okay, now I put 200,000, debit, 100, and G/L account, credit, 100, and simulate.
Period 3 is not open as G/L account. See, Period 3 is not open for this G/L account here because it falls under this range, S. Only four is open. Three is not open. So in order to solve this problem, I open like this, 3 to 4 so that this too can be true. Simulate again. I just need to specify a G/L account here, the error message is gone. You also specify here. Simulate. See, now it can go through because this 200,000, posting Period 3 is open for 200,000 and the 200,001 falls here. Posting period is open for 3-4, so it allows. That’s the purpose of this account interval.
If you see account intervals like this, empty to ZZZZ, that means all accounts are applicable. This means all range. This is only a specific range. We have shown you how to create this table, and then, keep the posting period variant here. See, it’s already linked to posting period variant here.
You can also create a new entry putting the posting period variant, 1000, and specify the same thing. You know what to specify, right? I’m going to put back everything in order. I’m going to delete this off, and this one, I’m going to open the period 1 to 12, thus, I’d be easier for our training. I don’t want to be specific to a particular period and, you know how I’m doing this? CTRL+ Y to select the block, and CTRL+C to copy, and then, CTRL+V to paste it. It’s easier. Okay. This is what I want from our testing.
