Activating document splitting can lead to inconsistencies

What causes this issue?

In a <ZH>production system</>, activating document splitting
subsequently in the company code can cause <ZH>serious inconsistencies
</> in document processing. Note that the changes to the Customizing
settings do not make corresponding adjustments to any transaction data
already present prior to the activation of document splitting.


&DEPENDENCIES&
If you activate document splitting subsequently, document splitting is
only applied <ZH>as of the point in time when the change is made</>. If
there is transaction data for this company code either in the current
system or in the target system for the changes to the Customizing
settings, the following points must be considered:
Since there has not been an account assignment projection corresponding
to the defined document splitting characteristics for the documents
posted previously, account assignments cannot be made completely for the
documents already entered in the company code. The actual changes to the
Customizing settings do not make corresponding adjustments to any
transaction data already present prior to the activation of document
splitting. Consequently, the follow-on processes for documents that
already exist do not have complete account assignments either.
If the <ZH>check on the required entry fields</> is activated for one or
more of the document splitting characteristics, the subsequent
activation of document splitting in the company code can cause error
messages to be issued in follow-on processes involving documents that
have already been posted but contain insufficient account assignments.
The subsequent activation of document splitting in the company code with
a check on the required entry fields may only be occur for this company
code as part of migration.

The system issues an error message and will not allow you to continue with this transaction until the error is resolved.

<ZH>Example:</>
The payment run is terminated with an error message because of a failed
check on the required entry fields. The document posted before the
change to the Customizing settings cannot be processed further. The
payment run, the manual payment <ZH>with clearing</>, or the reversal of
such legacy documents cannot be performed.
Processes with incomplete account assignments affect not only FI but
also other applications that make postings. An order with incomplete
account assignments can cause an error message to be issued in a
follow-on process in Logistics that is triggered after the check on
required entry fields has been activated. The follow-on process in
Logistics cannot be performed.
If one or more of the document splitting characteristics is marked as
<ZH>balancing</>, it is important to note that, from a technical point
of view, the system previously could not ensure that individual postings
relating to such characteristics balance. By simply activating document
splitting with balancing characteristics in a company code, it is not
possible to achieve a balance sheet with a zero balance for this
characteristic in this company code. Here also, we recommend that the
subsequent activation of document splitting for additional company codes
is only conducted as part of a migration, so as to enable a
correspondingly assigned opening balance as well as the further
processing of existing documents with cause-related account assignment
projection to follow-on processes.
When document splitting is active, <ZH>cross-company-code postings
</>are only possible if document splitting is active in all of the
company codes involved in the posting.
If you subsequently <ZH>deactivate document splitting in a company code
</>, the corresponding account assignment projection or check on defined
characteristics are no longer performed only from this point in time.
Note that this change also does not make corresponding adjustments to
any transaction data already present.

System Response

The document splitting characteristics and the rules for document
splitting need to be configured completely before document splitting is
activated and before a company code is used productively. It is
difficult to correct incomplete settings after the productive start.
<ZH>If production data has already been entered in the company code, we
recommend not subsequently activating document splitting in the company
code if possible</>. However, if the change is required, you need to
perform a check on the data posted previously to ensure that subsequent
problems do not occur in production systems.

How to fix this error?

Check whether the desired changes to the Customizing settings are
<ZH>essential</>. Ensure that the changes you make to the Customizing
settings do not have any critical consequences. For detailed information
on this subject, see <ZH>SAP Note 891144</>.
Any transaction data present must also be converted accordingly. Note
that there are currently no standardized migration tools available for
converting transaction data that has already been posted. For detailed
and up-to-date information on this subject, see <ZH>SAP Note 812919</>.

Procedure for System Administrators

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