Configuration Steps for Adding a New Company Code

 

We live in dynamic times with companies buying and selling subsidiaries frequently.  For companies that are already on SAP it becomes a project then to add acquisitions.  I've developed a spreadsheet that includes all the configuration changes that are required for adding a new company code to your structure.  Of course this does not include any customization but these are the standard configuration items to take under consideration when adding a new company code.

I have the process divided into six sections:

1. Enterprise Structure - Part 1


2. FI Configuration - Part 2


3. SD Configuration - Part 3


4. Logistics - General - Part 3


5. AR & AP - Part 4


6. Materials Management - Part 3

As you move through the process some items may have already been set-up in a previous step but it's good to check and make sure its been set up properly.

Enterprise Structure

• OX15 - Define Company(Trading Partner)


• OX02 - Create Company Code


• OX16 - Assign Company Code to Company


• OX06 - Maintain Controlling Area


• OX19 - Assign Copmany Code to Controlling Area


• OB45 - Create Credit Control Area


• OB38 - Assign Company Code Credit Control Area


• OX10 - Define, copy, delete, check Plant


• OX18 - Assign Plants to Company Code


• OX08 - Maintain Purchasing Organization


• OX01 - Assign Purchase Organization to Company Code


• OX17 - Assign Purchasing Organizastion to Plants


• OX09 - Maintain Storage Locations


• OVX5 - Define Sales Organization


• OVX3 - Assign Sales Organization to Company Code


• OVX6 - Assign Sales Organization - Distribution Channel


• OVXA - Assign Division to Sales Organization


• OVXD - Define Shipping Point


• OVXC - Assign Shipping Point to Plant


• OVXI - Define Distribution Channel


• OVXK - Assign Distribution Channel to Sales Org


• OVXG-Set up sales area-Links Sales Org-Dist Chanel-Div


• OVX8 - Check Enterprise Structure

Financial Module

• OBC4 - Define Field Status Variants(normally already exist if this is an existing operation and just adding a new company code)


• OBC5 - Assign Company Code to Field Status Vanriant


• OB37 - Assign Company Code to Fiscal Year Variant


• OBBO - Define Variants for Open Posting Periods


• OBBP - Assign Open Period Varaints to Company Code


• OB52 - Open and Close Posting Periods(Normally Done Monthly)


• FINSC_Ledger(OB22 for ECC) Local Currency should be Currency Type 10 while it is advisable to make Controlling Area Currency 30-Group Currency.  In this configuration if you set up Controlling Area Currency as Currency Type 20 then you will only have posts in Group Currency when it is a Cost Element which means Balance Sheet items will not have a Group Currency posting.  When you use Currency Type 30 you then have balance sheet and P&L postings in Group Currency.


• SM30 - Table V_001_COS - If your organization is using Cost of Sales Accounting its critical to make sure it's turned on here.


• OBYA - Define intercompany Clearing Accounts


• OKKP - Assign Company Code to Controlling Area.  This is interchangable with OX19 in the Enterprise Structure section.  Within this t-code you also need to Activate Components and control indicators.


• OBR3 - Set Company Code to Productive - this is impoirtant if you have this turned on if the Company Code is actively being used.  This protects customization and data from being deleted by mistake by having this trigger set.


• OB64 - Define Maximum Exchange Rate Difference - This is normally set at 10%.  This prevents large exchange rate difference errors from being post.


• OB63 - Default Fiscal Year, this is really only required for countries that require Fiscal Year Document Number Ranges.


• OB28 - Validation in Accounting Documents - When adding a new company code you need to confirm that any rerquired validations that were set up in other company codes have been copied to the new company code when required.


• OBBZ - Activate Substitution for Cost of Sales - this is important that the SAP substition 01-UKV is activated for each Company Code when Cost of Sales has been activated.  This makes sure the right Funtional Area is assigned to the respective Cost Center Categories


• OB62 - Assign Company Code to the correct Chart of Accounts.


• OBBS - Define Exchange Rate Ratios.  If you have foreign currencies transaction its critical to have the relationship between local currency and any foreign currency being used set up in this table.


• SM30 - V_FAGL_T881 Set the Leading Ledger.  This normally defaults to 0L


• SM30 - V_FAGL_T882G when you are using parallel ledgers you need to activate the other ledgers being used.  Most of the time this comes into play when you have company codes in a foreign country and non-leading ledgers are required for statutory accounting requirements specific to the other country.


• SPRO -- FA --> FA Global Settings --> Ledgers --> Ledger --> Assign Scenarios and Customer Fields to Ledger
  
  
  
  • 
  
  
  • This is necessary because it sets up what fields are updated in the Alternative Ledger.  These are standard scenarios.
  
  
  • Under Customer Fields you can also enter specific fields you want updated that may be specific to your organization and you can identify version specific updates as well.  These two are normally blank.
  
  
  
  


• SPRO -- FA --> FA Global Settings --> Ledgers --> Parallel Accounting --> Define and Assign Accounting Principles.


• OBYZ - Define Tax Procedures -- This item can be it's own separate blog.


• OBBG - Assign Tax Procedure to a Country


• FTXP - Define the tax codes to be used for sales and purchases.


• OB40 - Assign GL Accounts for Automatic Tax Postings


• OBCL - Sets non-taxable code as default for tax codes when posting invoices. Assigned by company code designation.

Many of these items require more details and discussions within your organization.  My goal here is to capture the basic standard items that need configured when creating a new company code.  In my next addtion I will cover SD, MM, and Logistics - General.

I'm actually going to cover AR & AP in the last part of this series.

SD Configuration

• VOR1 - Define Common Distribution Channels per Sales Organization.


• VOR2- Define Common Divisions per Sales Organization.


• OVR2 - Define Industry Sector for Customers


• VOV8 - Maintain New Sales Order Types


• OVZA/VN01 - Create Number ranges for SD Documents


• OVF2 - Define Rules by Sales Area - this is used if your organization is using Business Area extensibly in reporting.


• OVF6 - Assign Dunning Area


• OVAN - Assign Divisions to Sales Doc - This is used to assign a specific Division to Order Types is necessary.  Normally this is left blank.


• OVAM - Assign Distribution Channel to Sales Doc - Similar to Divisions if you have a requirement for Distribution Channels to be specific based on Sales Document Type here is where you would identify that default.


• OVAO - Assign specific Sales Organization - similar to OVAN/OVAM.


• VKOA - Assign GL Accounts - This is another one that could have it's own blog.  Here are standard type of setups:
  
  
  
  • Within each of the 5 tables you can assign GL Accounts.  It works hierarchically if an account is not found in Table 1 the search moves on to Table 2 and on down the line.
  
  
  • In addition to these generic standard tables you can also create a customized table using components that may be more suitable to your business environment.
  
  
  
  

I will now move on to Configuration in the Logistics area.

Logistics - General

• OB44 - Define Industries - THis is done to organize Customers and Vendors by specific business categories.


• OBD2 - Define Account Groups and Fields Selections for Customers. THis allows you to classify Customer accounts and regulates access to various fields in master data.


• OVSX - Define Loading Groups


• XDN1 - Define Customer Number Ranges.

The last section in this blog is the Materials Management(MM) module.

Materials Management

• OX10 - Edit Plant View - Revisited from Enterprise Structure section.


• OMB2 - Auto create Storage Location per Plant
  
  
  
  • Storage location data is only created automatically if this is:
    
    
    
    • Allowed in the relevant plant and
    
    
    
    
    
    
    • Provided for in the movement type
    
    
    
    If these prerequisites are not satisfied, you must maintain the storage location data of a material before you post the first goods receipt in the relevant storage location.
  
  
  
  


• SM30 - Tables VV_169G_PS and V_169G set variable tolerances for document entry.


• SM30 - Table V_159L Plant settings for Inventory Managment


• SM30 - V_169P_IRTAX set tax treatment in Invoice Reduction needs to be set in one of two ways:
  
  
  
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    • Tax reduction in complaint document specified that the taxes in the original document are passed on as they are in the vendor invoice. The tax amount for the invoice reduction is credited in the complaint document.
    
    
    
    
  
  
  
  


• OMR2 - Maintain default tax codes


• OMS2 - Maintain Material Types


• OMRX - Maintain any Vendor specific tolerances.


• OMRDC - Duplicate Invoice There are three checks that can be activated:
  
  
  
  • Check Co. Code
  
  
  • Check Reference
  
  
  • Check Inv Date
  
  
  
  


• OMSY - set the Fiscal Year and perod when MM is first available.


• OMWD - Account Determination for Valuation Areas


• OMWB - Automatic Account Determination. THis is another one that could have it's own blog.  All material movements are linked here to GL Accounts for FI postings.


• OKB9 - Automatic Cost Element/Cost Center Assignment
  
  
  
  • Cost Center is the primary assignment but Business Area/Valuation Area, Profit Center and Internal Orders are other components an auto post for Cost Element can be established.
  
  
  • This table is critical to have populated for automatic postings to work when using a Cost Element.
  
  
  
  

This completes the SD and MM module configuration section. Much of this requires more discussion by the business but when adding a new company code most settings from existing company codes are replicated in the new company code.

There is more configuration required for each of the above areas but what I tried to capture here were critical pieces that can have an impact on automatic posting in FI/CO modules.

AP & AR Configuration

• OB70 - Define Cash Discount Base for Incoming Invoices
  
  
  
  • Indicator with the effect that the sales tax is not contained in the base amount for discount calculation.
  
  
  
  


• OBA3 - Define Tolerances Vendor/Customer In this area you can set up different tolerance groups that can be assigned to specific Vendors or Customers.


• OBA4 - Define Tolerance Groups for Employees.
  
  
  
  • This transaction allows you to create specific groups that establishes different levels of journal entry tolerances and payment differences postings.
  
  
  
  


• FBZP - Set up payment programs.
  
  
  
  • Via this transaction one can begin by creating a House Bank and House Bank Accounts where payments flow.
  
  
  • Payment Methods are set up based on Country, Company Code and Bank Account which allows for automatic posting of payment runs.
  
  
  
  

Again these are some basic configurations items that when completed properly allow for basic standard operations within SAP for a new company code.  At this point I would like to discuss some key pieces of master data that need to be created for operation.

Various Master Data Components

Once you have the configuration complete and transported into QAS and PRD environments you then need to create master data for your new company code.  I have divided key master data components into two section, FI and then CO. These need to be done separately in the repsective QAS and PRD clients.

1. FI Master Data
   
   
   
   • OBH1 - When creating a new additional company code this task makes it very easy to copy FI Document Number ranges from an existing company code to the new company code.
   
   
   • FBN1 - This allows you to review the number ranges just created by OBH1 and validate they were all copied to the new company code.
   
   
   • FS15 - This is another easy tool for copying the COA from one existing company code to the new company code.
   
   
   • OB52 - Open/Close FI Posting Period
   
   
   • CKMSTAR - If you've decided to use the Material Ledger it is critical at start up that you activate Material Ledger with this transaction.
   
   
   
   


2. CO Master Data
   
   
   
   • KE51 - Create new Profit Centers that may be unique to the new Company Code.
   
   
   • KE56 - Assign and activate all relevant Profit Centers for the new Company Code
   
   
   • KCH2 - Create new Profit Center Groups that may be required.
   
   
   • KSH1/KSH2 - Create or change Cost Center Groups
   
   
   • KS01 - Create new Cost Centers for the new Company Code
   
   
   • KANK - Confirm that Controlling Area document number ranges are set up.  This becomse a critical step if you've created a new Controlling Area along with the new Company Code.
   
   
   
   

This concludes the set up of for a new company code.  After reading all four of these blogs you will now have a basic understanding of the steps and key transactions required to set up a new company code in SAP.