SAP Terms and Stuff

Controlling (CO)

The SAP module used to provide information for internal management decision-making.

Credit Control Area

An organizational unit that manages and monitors credit limits for customers.

Reconciliation Account

A G/L account that connects sub-ledger data (like A/R or A/P) to the General Ledger.

GR/IR

A clearing account used to bridge the timing gap between Goods Receipt and Invoice Receipt.

Cost Centers

Organizational units in CO where costs are incurred and managed (e.g., Marketing, HR).

Primary Cost Elements

The "bridge" used to transfer costs directly from Financial Accounting (FI) to Controlling (CO).

Secondary Cost Elements

Cost elements used only within Controlling (CO) for internal allocations and assessments.

Distribution (Allocation)

A method of moving costs where the original primary cost element is retained.

Assessment (Allocation)

A method of moving costs where multiple expenses are grouped under a new secondary cost element.

External Reporting Module

The Financial Accounting (FI) module.

Customer Data Link

The Business Partner (BP) number and the associated Reconciliation Account.

Transfer from FI to CO

Referred to as a Primary Cost Element.

Ideal GR/IR Balance

Should be zero; indicates that all goods received have been matched with a vendor invoice.

Sales Area

A combination of Sales Organization, Distribution Channel, and Division.

Plant

The central organizational unit in logistics where inventory is stored or produced.

Shipping Point

The organizational unit responsible for scheduling and processing deliveries to customers.

Distribution Channels

The methods by which products reach customers (e.g., Wholesale, Retail, Direct).

Customer Material Info Record

Master data that stores customer-specific info for a material, like their part number.

Sold-to / Ship-to / Bill-to

The three partner functions identifying who ordered, who receives, and who pays.

Customer Inquiry

A customer's request for information or a quote without a legal obligation to buy.

Item Proposal

A template for sales orders used for frequently ordered items or bundles.

Outbound Delivery

The document that initiates picking, packing, and shipping logistics.

Goods Issue (Sales)

The point where ownership transfers and the accounting entry for COGS is triggered.

Billing

The final step in Sales where the Sales Invoice is created and Revenue is recognized.

Factors impacting Selling Price

Condition records, including base price, discounts, surcharges, and taxes.

Field/Format Check

A control used to prevent text (e.g., "Twenty Five") from being entered into numeric fields.

Existence Assertion

The assertion enhanced by comparing sales order quantities to available inventory.

Document Flow Assertions

Enhances Occurrence (is it real?), Completeness (is it all there?), and Accuracy.

Credit Check Assertion

Enhances Valuation by ensuring the Accounts Receivable is likely to be collected.

PGI Journal Entry

Post Goods Issue: Dr. Cost of Goods Sold; Cr. Inventory.

Billing Journal Entry

Dr. Accounts Receivable; Cr. Sales Revenue.

Master Data

Long-term data that rarely changes (e.g., Material Master, Business Partner).

Transaction Data

Short-term data created by daily activities (e.g., Purchase Orders, Invoices).

Configuration Data

System settings that define how the business operates in SAP (e.g., tax codes, company codes).

MRP

Materials Requirement Planning; ensures materials are available for production and delivery.

Production Order Creation

Triggers the reservation of materials and the capacity check for work centers.

Bill of Material (BOM)

A complete, structured list of components that make up a finished product.

Routing

A description of the operations/steps required to produce a good.

Work Centers

Locations where production operations (routing steps) are carried out.

Safety Stock

A minimum amount of inventory kept on hand to prevent stockouts.

Settlement

The process of transferring actual costs from a production order to a cost object.

Production Goods Receipt

The recording of finished goods moving from production into inventory.

Safety Stock Control Type

A Preventive control designed to avoid operational disruption.

Routing Assertion

Accuracy; ensures the labor and overhead components of production are correctly recorded.

Planned to Production Order

Occurrence; ensures that production is only started for authorized requirements.

Settlement Assertion

Valuation; ensures that the final cost of inventory reflects actual production costs.

Purchasing Info Record

Master data that links a specific vendor to a specific material for pricing.

Material Master

The central source of all data related to a specific product or material.

Purchase Requisition

An internal request for a department to buy something.

Purchase Order

A formal, external contract with a vendor to buy goods or services.

GR/IR Reliability

Increases reliability by ensuring liabilities are recorded when goods arrive (Completeness).

GR/IR Efficiency

Increases efficiency by automating the 3-way match and flagging price/quantity errors.

Invoice Recording Assertion

The Obligations assertion; confirms that the company has a legal duty to pay the vendor.