Posting via a Clearing Account – Excerpt from SAP Fixed Asset Accounting

Posting via a Clearing Account
This procedure is still available in integrated SAP Asset Accounting. Here too, you can park assumed asset acquisitions in clearing accounts in SAP Financial Accounting to post them to the assets at a later point in time. For this “traditional” procedure, SAP Asset Accounting offers special functions.

If the SAP Accounts Payable Accounting and Asset Accounting modules are separate, a posting method via clearing account can/must be used. In a first step, the vendor invoice is available; it is processed with transaction FB60 (Enter Incoming Invoices) and posting record Clearing account to Vendor (see Figure 4.2).

Figure 4.2: Posting record — Clearing account to Vendor

The accounts payable accountant does not need any specific knowledge about SAP Asset Accounting and can define the payable in the system and schedule it for payment. The SAP posting is usually noted on the paper document and this is passed on to the asset accountant. In a second, independent step, the asset accountant can create the asset master record in the correct asset class and complete the business transaction. Figure 4.3 shows transaction ABZON (Acquisition with Automatic Offsetting Entry) with an example in which an asset, “Computer,” is created in asset class 3200 and at the same time, there is a posting in the amount of USD 10,000.00 to the clearing account.

Figure 4.3: Posting record — Asset to Clearing account

Two main points are dependent on the knowledge of the asset accountant:

• Selection of the correct asset class ensures the correct useful life for the computer.
  Irrespective of the posting date and document date, it is important to know the point in time from which the asset was available to the company. This produces the reference date and thus the depreciation start.
• Using transaction AW01N (Asset Explorer), you can display all relevant and linked data in an overview (see Figure 4.4). Here, a disadvantage of this acquisition posting method becomes clear: only a few items of integrated information are available in the bottom left area, Objects related to asset. Due to the posting method, data from the purchase order or SAP Accounts Payable Accounting is missing.

Figure 4.4: Asset Explorer including linked objects

A further disadvantage of this acquisition posting method is that you have to clear the open items in the clearing account in an additional work step. Figure 4.5 shows a simple case with USD 10,000.00, document type KR, and an identical amount with document type AA. If open items cannot be cleared automatically, you have to process them manually. Depending on the volume of documents, the clearing account becomes unclear and incorrect postings are common in practice. This major disadvantage is reason enough to think about integrated acquisition postings.

Figure 4.5: Clearing open items

Keep reading in SAP Fixed Assets Accounting (FI-AA) by Jörg Siebert.

Drawing up a balance sheet means presenting the values of the assets and liabilities of a company. A considerable proportion of the assets are fixed assets. Here you will learn what fixed assets are, how the value of fixed assets has to be reported, and how SAP Asset Accounting can support you. This book focuses on

• Processes and Functions in SAP ERP Financials
• Posting Examples and Integration to General Ledger Accounting
• Validation and Reporting for IFRS
• Periodic Activities