SAP Knowledge Base Article - Public

3232945 - Why it was Possible to Change the Account Type of a G/L Account Even With Supplier Invoices Posted

Symptom

You have created a G/L Account with type OASSET - Other assets and posted a supplier invoice with this G/L Account. You later changed the G/L Account type to AP - Payables and posted further transactions to this G/L Account.

Then, you decide to change the G/L Account type back to OASSET - Other Assets, but the system raises an error message that transaction data exists.

You wonder why this error message is raised, since you managed to change the G/L Account type before even with posted supplier invoices.

Environment

SAP Business ByDesign.

Reproducing the Issue

  1. Go to Business Configuration work center.
  2. Go to Implementation Projects view.
  3. Select the project and open activity list.
  4. Open activity Charts of Accounts, Financial Reporting Structures, Account Determination.
  5. Click link Edit chart of accounts.
  6. Select a G/L Account in question and go to the view G/L Account Type and change the required G/L Account Type.
  7. Choose Save button and below error occurs:

Acct XYZ in CoA ABC Cannot be Deleted/Changed; Transaction Data Exists

You wonder why the error message is being raised this time.

Cause

When the G/L Account had account type as OASSET - Other assets, you created and posted an invoice with account assignment to General Ledger Account Only.

In the e.g. supplier invoice, this can be checked as follows:

  1. Open the respective supplier invoice.
  2. Go to View All mode.
  3. Go to Items tab.
  4. Go to Cost Distribution.

You see that in the account assignment type, there is an account determination group that is mapped to the G/L Account. Since the G/L Account was of type OASSET, the account determination most likely happened directly to General Ledger (Miscellaneous ledger).

If you open the corresponding journal entry, you see the posting to Miscellaneous Account.

Therefore, since the posting was done to the Miscellaneous Account, the system still allowed you to change the Account Type, since there is no subledger posting.

Once you changed the account type to AP - Payable and posted further transactions to this account, the account determination was done to AP - Payable subledger. Once there are postings to a subledger, it is no longer possible to change the account type without reversing the postings.

Resolution

If you wish to change the account type, the posting made to a subledger needs to be reversed.

For more details, please refer KBA 2433095 - Acct XYZ in CoA ABC Cannot be Deleted/Changed; Transaction Data Exists and help document Account Type.

Keywords

General Ledger. Chart of Account. Account Determination. Other Assets. , KBA , AP-ACC , Business ByDesign: Financial Accounting , How To

Product

SAP Business ByDesign all versions