The classic G/L offers a feature called document simulation that helps you determine how the system automatically generates accounting entries, troubleshoot and fix missing configuration settings, and identify and rectify any mistakes made before posting the accounting transaction. This feature has improved in the new G/L and adds particular benefit to document splitting. Using document splitting, you can balance the document for predefined characteristics at runtime rather than waiting until period close.
Key Concept
You can simulate a financial document before you actually post it in the system. During the simulation process, the system performs all of the checks required for posting the financial document. Document simulation is a process by which the system checks whether the entries are complete and correct, provides an overview of the document items you entered, and also displays the system-generated automatic items. You can also use it for troubleshooting when you are testing, analyzing, and looking for potential issues, especially during the migration to the new G/L.
When you post an accounting document in your SAP system (any version), the system automatically determines many additional accounting entries based on the pre-configured automatic account determination settings. For example, the system automatically determines accounting entries for input tax, tax on sales and purchases, discounts, short payments, over payments, and more. It posts a balanced accounting document, including the automatically generated system entries. This feature would be valuable to you, for example, if you were to post a financial document and would like to review the accounting details prior to saving the document.
Similar to document simulation in the classic G/L, document simulation in the new G/L (starting in SAP ERP 2004 and above) offers useful information on accounting document simulations. The simulation is especially useful when you are using document splitting in the new G/L.
In the new G/L, an accounting document is displayed in two formats (views):
- Entry view. View of how the accounting document also appears in the sub-ledgers (such as AR and AP)
- G/L view. View of how the accounting document appears in the new G/L
In addition to document simulation in the new G/L, you have the additional feature of using expert mode within the G/L view. When you use expert mode, the system provides information about split documents. In addition, it also provides information on how the system used the document splitting rules to deliver the accounting entries.
I’ll walk you through step-by-step screenprints using document simulation in the new G/L and also provide details on some of the hidden features available to you. I’ll show you how document simulation applies to document splitting, and how expert mode works. My example includes screenprints from an SAP ERP 2005 system, which vary slightly from SAP ERP 2004.
Note
This feature of simulation in the new G/L is in addition to the existing document simulation of the classic G/L, so you’ll have two simulation features going forward.
Simulate New G/L Documents
Enter a standard G/L document using transaction FB50 as shown in Figure 1. In this example, I am posting a fairly simple accounting document with two items to Petty cash account 100000 with two different profit centers: 1005 and 1200.
Figure 1
Enter G/L document
The Segment column is a new feature available in the new G/L for segment reporting. Typical examples of segments could be the lines of businesses or the geographical regions of the organization. For legal reporting purposes, you may be required to balance the financial transactions at the segment level, which could be below the company-code level. The system assigns segments in respective profit centers: profit center 1005 is assigned segment 40000; profit center 1200 is assigned segment 10000.
To simulate the new G/L document, click on Document > Simulate General Ledger. Because the document splitting configuration is set in such a way that the transaction is balanced for the segment, the system creates additional items to balance the document for the segment. The system displays the simulated document in the new G/L as shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2
New G/L simulation
As expected, the simulated new G/L document has two additional system-generated line items (000003 and 000004) to post the balanced document for the field segment, as shown in Figure 3. See the sidebar, “How Did the System Generate Balanced Documents for the Segment?” for more information on how the system posts the balanced documents.
Figure 3
Balanced document for the Segment
The simulated new G/L document shows the details of postings to the leading ledger (0L). The new G/L offers use of different ledgers so you can perform parallel accounting for different accounting principles. You can define multiple ledgers, including the leading ledger and other non- leading ledgers. If you want to see the postings to other ledgers, choose the appropriate ledger (ZQ in this example) by selecting the Ledger button in Figure 3, which shows the simulated new G/L document for the ledger ZQ as shown in Figure 4. For the ZQ ledger, you may want the document to be posted to a different fiscal period.
Figure 4
Simulated new G/L document for the ledger ZQ
Expert Mode — New G/L Simulation
The new G/L also offers expert mode, which features more details and provides useful information on what configuration rules SAP used, especially for document splitting. Click on the Expert Mode button in the screen shown in Figure 4 and the system shows what document splitting configuration parameters the system used (Figure 5).
Figure 5
Simulated new G/L document in expert mode
Within expert mode, I’ll elaborate on and demonstrate two additional features available: the log of messages 
icon and the customizing for document splitting icon 
:
- Log of messages. The log of messages icon provides the detailed log of error and warning messages that you can see during document splitting. For example, if the system could not determine the segment, it issues the log message as shown in Figure 6. It’s important to note that the classic G/L simulation does not issue the error message that the balancing field Segment is missing. This error message appears only in new G/L simulation mode.
Figure 6
Log of messages
- Customizing for document splitting. Within expert mode, you can choose the customizing for document splitting icon and the system lists all of the configuration rules. This helps you understand how the system used the document splitting feature (Figure 7).
Figure 7
Customizing for document splitting
You can expand on Assigned Item Categories, Distribut. rules (distribution rules), and Base Item Categories to get more details on the customizing rules as shown in Figures 8 and 9.
Figure 8
Customizing for document splitting
Figure 9
Distribut. rules and Base Item Categories screen
New G/L Document Simulation After Documents Are Already Posted
Analysts can’t realistically enter the thousands of transactions to simulate the new G/L documents every time they post transactions (i.e., in real time). It would be very time consuming and also not serve the purpose. However, this feature is especially useful when you are in the design phase of implementing the new G/L, particularly for validating design rules. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of testing the new G/L functionalities; in fact, SAP strongly recommends you involve them during the migration phase.
However, what if you have already posted the new G/L document and want to know how the system applied the document splitting rules? Don’t worry — the SAP ERP system offers the program FAGL_SHOW_SPLIT for this purpose. With this program, you can get very detailed information on split documents (Figure 10) and also what splitting rules the system applied.
Figure 10
Simulation of document splitting using FAGL_SHOW_SPLIT
The program FAGL_SHOW_SPLIT displays the following:
- The accounting document after the system has applied document splitting rules.
- The configuration settings for the business transactions in customizing for document splitting.
- The detailed log of error and warning messages that could have occurred during the document splitting.
How Did the System Generate Balanced Documents for the Segment?
Document splitting rules in the new G/L provide very detailed and flexible rules on how to generate document splitting. Briefly, the system generates two additional accounting items (in my example) because the document splitting configuration is done in such a way as to create a balanced document (zero balance) for the segment (
Figure A). You can reach the screen shown in
Figure A by following menu path IMG > General Ledger Accounting (New) > Business transactions > Document splitting > Define document splitting Characteristics for General Ledger Accounting.
Figure A
Document splitting characteristics
In addition, a standard account number is required for the automatically generated accounting items for zero-balancing the document as shown in Figure B. You can reach the screen shown in Figure B by following menu path IMG > General Ledger Accounting (New) > Business transactions > Document splitting > Define Zero-Balancing clearing account. I will explain in more detail why this number is required in a future article about document splitting.
Figure B
Standard account for zero balancing document
Mitresh Kundalia
Mitresh Kundalia heads the SAP practice at Quality Systems & Software (www.QSandS.com), a consulting firm specializing in SAP S/4HANA, SAP General Ledger, and complex System Landscape Optimization (SLO)-type reorganizations. Mitresh is widely acknowledged as a leading SAP expert, with multiple publications and an SAP-PRESS book to his credit. He has published more than 50 peer-reviewed articles and white papers, and he has given presentations at various SAP conferences and events. Mitresh is the chief solutions architect of General Ledger Migration Optimizer (GLMO), a leading product to accelerate and jump-start the SAP S/4HANA and SAP General Ledger initiatives; SAP Data Reorganization Optimizer (SDRO), an SLO-type product for managing complex system landscape reorganizations; and Group Currency Activation and Conversion (GCAC), a product suite to manage introduction of parallel currencies and conversion of data in a live SAP system.
You may contact the author at Mitresh@QSandS.com.
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