CO-PA’s unique reporting characteristics and the way it generates its numbers might create a problem for your users. The period-end billing numbers in CO-PA often do not mirror the same-period billing numbers generated in the SD, FI, and PCA modules. If you have detailed knowledge of CO-PA, then you know that CO-PA looks ahead or even estimates certain numbers that are not seen in the other modules until later on in the billing cycle. The discrepancy is intentional. For users who do not understand how CO-PA works, however, it causes confusion and even casts doubt on the integrity of CO-PA reporting. As a result of this CO-PA "feature," many users spend a lot of time and effort "justifying" period-end billing reports in CO-PA. They often use Excel spreadsheets to track all billing entries occurring in SD, FI, and PCA, and then they compare and reconcile these with the totals of the CO-PA billing reports. This manual reconciliation is very frustrating. Fortunately, your users don’t have to perform this pesky task. Starting with release 4.5A, SAP has added a standard transaction that generates a report that reconciles the period billing total differences within the various reports. This new transaction is KEAT. The good news for folks not yet running release 4.5A or higher is that they can apply a hot pack to their system that enables KEAT in releases as far back as 3.0F. (See CSN note 112938.) Let me show you what KEAT can do by tracking a sales order through the system to CO-PA reporting. In Figure 1, the Conditions tab is selected for sales order 8106. This sales order is set up for the purchase of 10 P-100 pumps. The Conditions table outlines the price, tax, cash discount offered, total cost, and the projected profit on the order. Note that there is no entry for the cost of freight.     Assume that the order has been picked, shipped, and billed to the customer, and that the billing document number was recorded as 90031419. It takes only two steps to generate a report for this sales order using KEAT:

Step 1. Move to the KEAT Transaction

Follow the regular menu path Profitability Analysis>Tools>Analyze Value Flows>Check Billing Flow in Billing Document Transfer. You can also find KEAT in the IMG menu path Profitability Analysis>Tools>Analysis>Check Billing Flow in Billing Document Transfer.

Step 2. Enter Selection Data

Figure 2 details the KEAT entry screen. You will be requested to supply the active company code and currency type. Also, note that the other options on the entry screen offer wide-ranging selection possibilities. Remember that many documents are generated during the billing process. If you set the ranges too wide, it might take a while for the system to generate this report. In this example, I have entered the correct company code and currency type. To narrow down the processing time, I have also entered the single billing document number from my sales order (Figure 1). At this point, you may run the report.    

Step 3. Checking the Differences

After you enter the selection data and run the report, you will see a report similar to Figure 3. Take a moment to review the KEAT report and compare the results with the sales-order condition-table view shown in Figure 1. Notice that the KEAT report lists the sales-order data for sales order 8106, which has been recorded in CO-PA, SD, FI, and PCA. Also, along the top of the KEAT report are "delta" columns that allow for quick review of the differences in the data between CO-PA and FI, SD, and PCA. The deltas are highlighted in red in a real report.   Looking more closely, note the entry of $122.23 in the delta column for accrued freight. This means that the CO-PA database contains an entry for $122.23 that was not recorded in the SD data tables. Look back at the billing condition table to confirm that the freight entry is not there. Let me show you how to verify that the $122.23 amount the KEAT report is telling us is in CO-PA value field Accrued freight is, in fact, in that ledger. First, double-click on the delta column entry for SD and CO-PA. Figure 4 displays the billing document number where the difference occurred. (You would typically see multiple billing document numbers rather than just one as my example shows.) Also, you can survey period-end postings to see all the billing document numbers with differences. From here you can track back to the regional postings.     To investigate further, highlight the line item and click on the detail icon. Since you had been looking at a billing document, you now see an SD detail screen which allows you to look at the actual invoice or sales order. Figure 5 is the invoice 90031419 display screen found in SD.     Instead of looking at the sales order in the details view, continue to follow the posting logic for your sales order. Navigate to and select the Document Flow menu option Choose>Environment Document Flow. This option details the actual flow of documents generated and posted when the sales order was first entered and then finally billed. Take a moment to review Figure 6.     Next, move to Accounting from SD by clicking on the Accounting document display line found in the Document Flow details in Figure 6. Then select the Display document button, which will bring up the Accounting document display window in Figure 7.     To find the posting in CO-PA, click on the profitability analysis document to reach CO-PA line-item reporting. By scrolling through the value fields listed under the Value Fields tab, you will find the entry for Accrued freight (Figure 8).     Finally, for comparison purposes, Figure 9 shows a more typical KEAT report. The data displayed for this KEAT report was selected by entering a date range rather than just a single billing document number as in my example. As you can see, for the number of entries found in the delta columns, the ability to track back to and compare the original postings becomes very useful as more data is displayed. Remember that you can pick any other delta column numbers highlighted in red and move into the FI or PCA details view just like with my example for CO-PA.     By using KEAT to generate period-end billing reports, your users will not be confused, and you will have saved them from unnecessary manual reconciliation. They will not only be able to see where the report data is coming from, but also be able to track back and compare data.

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