Many times the correct posting period is open in MMPV and exact settings are done in OB52,system gives the posting period error message shown below.
Fig. 1.1
The reason is FISCAL YEAR VARIANT assigned to company code is year dependent that is different than the actual calendar year. Let us know what FISCAL YEAR VARIANT is and how it is configuredin SAP.
FISCAL YEAR VARIANT:
The fiscal year is a time period used to prepare the financial statements in organizations. Based on the business needs some organizations have fiscal years which start from Jan to Dec and some Apr to Mar etc. Fiscal year can be further divided into shorter time frames which can be months which are referred to as periods.
In SAP the fiscal year is assigned as a variant. Posting periods can further be defined in each fiscal year variant. SAP allows a maximum of 16 posting periods in each fiscal year. It consists of 12 regular posting periods and 4 special periods which can be used for audit or tax adjustments to already closed periods. One fiscal year variant can be assigned to multiple company codes.
However when posting periods are defined there can be different scenarios, based on which the periods need to be defined in SAP:
Fiscal Year of organization is same as Calendar Year
Non-Calendar Fiscal Year
Configurations:
The configurations for the fiscal year and corresponding period details can be done in SPRO settings as per details given below:
Fiscal Year of organization is same as Calendar Year:
If the fiscal year is same is the same as the calendar year, the following specifications apply:
The fiscal year begins on January 1.
Twelve posting periods are available.
The periods correspond to calendar months. You do not have to define the individual periods.The system automatically uses the calendar months.
Configuration for the fiscal year in SPRO:
Path: Financial Accounting à Financial Accounting Global settings à Fiscal Year à maintain Fiscal year variant (maintain shortened fiscal year)
T code: OB29
Fig. 1.2
Field Relevance:
FV: Nomenclature for Fiscal Year Variant with two digits alphanumeric identifier. This Field is mandatory.
Description: Short text for the fiscal year variant relationship with calendar year.This Field is mandatory.
Year Dependent: Checking this field will determine if the fiscal year is year dependent or not. This field allows a lot of flexibility in defining calendars separately for each year. This field is Optional.
Calendar Year: Checking this field will imply that the posting periods in the fiscal year Variant match the month of calendar year. This field is Optional.
No. of posting periods: This field determines the no. of periods are to be created. This Field is mandatory.
No. of special periods: Special period represents the extension of the last normal posting period. This Field is mandatory. As shown in Fig. 1.2 click on ‘New Entries’ and enter all the data like FV (Fiscal year Variant), description and check the second box if we want to select the fiscal year is same as calendar year. Here system takes all the no. of posting periods and start and end of posting period as that of the year. Finally save the changes.
Non calendar Fiscal year :
If the fiscal year differs from calendar year, you must specify,
How many posting periods you require.
How the system should determine the posting period and fiscal year from the posting date during posting period.
Posting Periods:
To enable system to determine the posting period, specify month and day limits for the end of each period.
e.g. Enter 29 as the day limit for February. This ensures that the system can also determine the posting period correctly in a leap year. If we enter 28 as the day limit for February, transaction figures posted on 29 February will be updated in the next period. If the next period is not open, the system issues an error message.
Fiscal Year:
Since the fiscal year is not the same as the calendar year, you have to specify the year displacement for each posting period. We can use the entries -1, 0 and +1 for this.
Configuration for the Non calendar fiscal year in SPRO:
Path: Financial Accounting à Financial Accounting Global settings à Fiscal Year à maintain Fiscal year variant (maintain shortened fiscal year)
T code : OB29
Fig 1.3
As shown in Fig. 1.3 we will have to enter the fiscal year variant, description, check the ‘year dependent’ box. In this case as the year is non-calendar fiscal year we will have to mention the no. of periods and no. of special periods in respective columns and save the entries. A new request will be generated.Then we need to go in same t code OB29, select the newly defined fiscal year variant and click twice on ‘periods’ field as shown below.
Fig 1.4
We will observe a new screen. Check the fiscal year variant and calendar are selected as required.
Fig 1.5
Press ENTER and go in ‘New Entries’ in the new screen as shown
Fig 1.6
We need to maintain the month, no. of days and the posting period (sequence in the fiscal year) and the year shift.
Fig 1.7
In above scenario if we observe for the 10th month (10th period) the no. of days are less than the actual calendar days. That means the 10th posting period will end on the 25th day i.e. 10/25/2013. If we want to post some document on date 10/26/2013 then system will not allow us to post the document and will give an error (refer Fig.1.1) which means we will have to open the next period to post the document.
In case you need assistance on SAP MM and SAP FICO,Please contact us. Please send us your questions, comments or assistance, and our team would be glad to assist you.
Need Help:
In case you need assistance on SAP Support Services, please contact us. Please send us your questions, comments or assistance request and our team would be glad to assist you.
By Manish Agarwal. (on behalf of SAP Consulting Team)
