COPA account-based only!

Question

Hi
I intend to implement COPA for my customer, but only COPA account-based.
As my knowledge about COPA, costing based uses value fields instead of account as in account based.
But when i demo in client 800 (IDES), I realized that many diffirences between costing based and account based. It seem to be not only relevant to the value fields and account based.
For example:
when i post an invoice (fb50) in FI, then click  profit segment field. I can not find characteristics that i want to post to such as material group. And there is nowhere for choosing all characteristics in client.
How can i find the way to post to characteristics that i want to post to directly from FI to PA?
Another example:
when I create report in PA account-based, there are limited characteristics in compare with PA costing based, so I can not choose profit segments i want?
What's the problem here?
Is it possible? Which problems can I meet if i do not use costing-based?
I am apreciated any help of you!
Thanks

Answer 1

Couple of things:
In Account based CO-PA:
1. You can't get Cost component break down.
2. No break down of variance categories.
3. Create a Characteristic in KEA5 and add to operating conern in KEA0. KEQ3 is to define segment level characteristics. To improve system performance, you can also restrict the characteristics that make up the profitability segment.
4. When you add a characteristic to operating concern, then by default that characteristic is available at the time of document entry. We use characteristic groups to determine what characteristics appear in which order on the screens for assigning profitability segments in different business transactions. If no characteristic groups are defined, the user can enter values for any characteristic in the operating concern.
5. Account based CO-PA uses the same tables (COEP, COEJ, COSP, COSS etc.,) as used by overhead cost management, whereas costing based COPA has it's own tables. The definitions of profitability segments for both CO-PA sub-modules are stored in the same table, the CE4XXXX table (where XXXX = operating concern).
6. Period account approach, unlike costing based which is cost of sales accounting approach.
7. Account-based CO-PA stores all transaction in three currencies: the transaction currency, the local currency, and the controlling area currency.
Also, check SAP note 69384 on account based COPA.
What kind of business is your client in? What reporting is he expecting out of CO-PA?
Edited by: Pradeep kumar Athmakur on Dec 31, 2009 6:32 PM