SAP ERP Reporting tools

SAP ERP Reporting tools

Finance users often find the SAP standard reports insufficient. The processes are integrated, but reporting is not. The reports are module specific and don’t support merging data from different sources into one report.  This explains the enormous popularity of Excel sheets.

Over the years SAP has added ALV (ABAP List Viewer) functionality to several  reports. ALV enables interactive layout functions for such as sorting, filtering, summation, moving or hiding columns, etc. Yet many FI reports offer very little flexibility.

Of course there are BW, Business Objects, BPC plus non-sap reporting environments for custom reporting.  But their use requires a professionals, report definitions, interfaces, mappings, blueprints, projects… What if you only want an answer to a simple question or need an urgent ad-hoc report for your boss. Or your Company has not invested in these tools.

SAP does provide also reporting tools that enable users without programming skills to build their own reports. Data Browser (SE16/SE16N), SAP QuickViewer, SAP Query, and Report Painter are examples of these. They are great tools for ad hoc reporting, problem solving and error hunting in the daily work of the financial and controlling departments. Also SAP has used  these tools in standard reports. Most CO reports are Report Painter reports. Drill Down reports are common in financials, profit center accounting and COPA. HR and asset accounting reports are SAP Queries.

If you are a programmer, you are probably laughing.  Why not quickly make an ABAP-program? Well, first of all I am not a programmer, secondly I never had a budget. The tools I had access to were SAP Query and Report Painter. Luckily in the early SAP era, I had the luxury of SAP ALL authorization. Very seldom I had to admit that it is impossible to get the information my organization wanted out of SAP.

CO Reporting in SAP ERP

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folders

Sap Archiving

A SAP system creates lots of data. Every output, every transaction executed, even the smallest material movement generates a document. After the initial implementation the database starts rapidly to grow.  Archiving comes to mind first, when the database bloats or the growth rate is very high. Usually also the users complain about long response times.

The word ‘archiving’ raises resistance and fear for loss of data. SAP has taught the users to think that all data since the beginning of history is available. A prerequisite for a successful archiving project is to convince the users that archiving does not mean deleting data.

SAP Data archiving removes data from the data base. Data Archiving deletes old accounting documents, sales orders, deliveries, invoices and writes them to archives. Document archiving means storing inbound and outbound documents (invoices, delivery notes etc.) in archive.  Print List Archiving writes SAP reports (e.g. financial statements) to archive.

Document Archiving and Print List Archiving do no remove anything from the database.

1. Data Archiving

The data removed from the database is first written to archive files in the SAP system and then stored to archive system. The system knows,  where the data is and can still Access it. How and in which form – that is something the users need to learn  during the archiving project.

Archiving Process

2. Document Archiving

Document archiving stores original documents and links them to SAP transaction data. Examples of such documents are scanned invoices, delivery notes, purchase orders etc.). It is also possible to create and store the documents directly from SAP transaction (billing, delivery, purchasing).  Different SAP methods are used for this (Archive Link, Generic Object services, DMS, Records Management). These documents are linked to SAP documents and be opened from the attachements.

document attachment

3. Print List Archiving

Print lists are the result of report runs in the SAP System, for example, accounting reports. These can be stored in the archive system. The reports are printed normally to spool. When “Archive” is selected in the print parameters, the reports are autotically transferred from spool to storage.

Print_list_RFBILA00

 

SAP Archiving Presentations

SAP Archiving Objects

The following table shows common archiving objects with links to documentation.

SAP Archiving Objects (click to open the table)

SAP Archiving Objects Table

 


LINK TO SAP HELP: Archiving Documentation

SAP_HELP_DATA_ARCHIVING

 

SAP Archiving Presentation from real life

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Data Management Guide for SAP Business Suite (7.0)

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