Universal Journal in SAP S/4HANA is single line item table(ACDOCA) with full detail for all applications, including Ledger, Market Segment & Coding Block.
It servers as a single source of truth and common line item table. ACODCA is the new and major data model change in SAP S/4HANA compared to SAP ECC.
In this blog post you will get a holistic view of Universal Journal in SAP S/4HANA Finance.
Table of Contents
What is Universal Journal in SAP S/4HANA?
The Universal Journal in SAP S/4HANA is a revolutionary data model change in financial accounting and reporting. It is a central repository that consolidates financial and management accounting data into a single, harmonized table called ACDOCA (Universal Journal Entry Line Items).
In the past, SAP ECC stored financial data in separate ledgers, which requires complex reconciliation and data synchronization. The Universal Journal in SAP S/4HANA streamlines this complexity by integrating previously separate data like the general ledger, profitability, controlling, asset accounting, material ledger and more into one line item table with full details of all the applications.
The unified approach minimizes the data redundancy, resulted in reduction of memory footprint, ensures consistent reporting, and accelerates decision-making.
This was only possible with help of SAP’s in-memory database – SAP HANA.
ACDOCA Data Model
SAP S/4HANA Universal Journal Entry Line Items table; ACDOCA contains multiple fields of other tables and basis for reporting. It is the unified persistency of the line items of several applications for actuals (not plan data)
- It stores all details needed for Controlling (CO), Material Ledger (ML) and Asset Accounting (AA).
- It stores all Controlling (CO) internal postings which are not posted to BSEG.
- It stores carry forward and correction lines from S/4HANA migration, which are not stored in BSEG.
- It contains all relevant fields for document display, therefore BSEG/BSEG_ADD are no longer needed for GL view of document display.
Some key aspects of ACDOCA table
- The entries of tables COEP, COSS, COSP for value type 04 (WRTTP = 04) are now saved only in ACDOCA.
- Actual values from tables ANEP, ANEA, ANLP, ANLC are saved in ACDOCA.
- The values from table ANEK are saved in tables BKPF and ACDOCA.
Universal Journal Extensibility
ACDOCA can be extended with custom fields by using 3 different extensibility options explained below
- Classic Coding Block extension using OXK3 transaction and CI_COBL structure
- S/4HANA Key User Extensibility using the Custom Fields and Custom Logic (CFL) fiori app
- Coding Block business context
- Journal Entry Item business context
- Market Segment business context
- Classic CO-PA custom characteristics using KEA5 tcode
Check out the Universal Journal Extensibility guide for comprehensive directions and a thorough analysis of the advantages and disadvantages associated with each of these extensibility options.
Multi-currency Capabilities
In S/4HANA, the Universal Journal has a central currency configuration; using FINSC_LEDGER transaction code; that allows freely defined up to 8 additional currencies beyond the 3 parallel currencies in FI and CO.
Following are ACDOCA currency field names
| ACDOCA Fieldname | Description |
| WSL | Amount in Transaction Currency (Document Currency) |
| TSL | Amount in Balance Transaction Currency |
| HSL | Amount in Company Code Currency (Local Currency) |
| KSL | Amount in Global Currency |
| OSL | Amount in Freely Defined Currency 1 |
| VSL | Amount in Freely Defined Currency 2 |
| BSL | Amount in Freely Defined Currency 3 |
| CSL | Amount in Freely Defined Currency 4 |
| DSL | Amount in Freely Defined Currency 5 |
| ESL | Amount in Freely Defined Currency 6 |
| FSL | Amount in Freely Defined Currency 7 |
| GSL | Amount in Freely Defined Currency 8 |
| CO_OSL | Amount in Object currency of CO |
These additional currencies configurations are not limited by leading ledger (LL). All currencies are calculated real-time for every journal entry and correct current handling across supported process and reporting explained below
The supported processes for currency fields in S/4HANA are:
- Realtime Currency Conversion
- Balance zero per Journal Entry
- Open Item Management (FI-AP, FI-AR, FI-GL)
- Foreign Currency Valuation
- Regrouping
- GL Allocations (Assessment and Distribution)
- CO Allocations (Assessment and Distribution)
- CO-PA Allocations
- Fixed Asset Accounting
- Material Ledger
- CO Settlement
- CO Reposting
The supported reporting for currency fields in S/4HANA are:
- Display Document (FB03)
- Display Document in General Ledger View (FB03L)
- Display G/L Account Balances (FAGLB03)
- Display G/L Account Line Items(FAGLL03)
- G/L Line Item Browser (FAGLL03H)
- Display G/L Account Line Items (Fiori App)
- Journal Entry Analyzer (Fiori App)
- Audit Journal (Fiori App)
- Display Financial Statement (Fiori App)
When migrating from an existing SAP ECC system to S/4HANA, the old currency configuration is migrated to the universal journal without changes to the used currencies. However, it is not possible to introduce new currencies during the migration project.
Summary
We hope that we’ve given you an holistic view of Universal Journal in SAP S/4HANA. If this was your first time reading something about this topic, then take some time to process this information and gradually include it in your business.
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