Primary configuration considerations:

Client, company and company code

Once a business has decided to use the SAP FI(Financial Accounting) Module, there are several  Configurations prerequisite steps that must be completed.Determining the organizational structure is one of the  first steps in setting up the business functions in SAP as well as your reporting requirements. 

The Organizational structure is created by defining the organizational units consisting of the following: 

• Client
• Company
• Company Code
• Business Area

A Client is the highest unit within an SAP system and contains Master records and Tables. Data entered at this level are valid for all company code data and organizational structures  allowing for data consistency. User access and authorizations are assigned to each client created. Users must specify which client they are working in at the point of logon to the SAP system.

A Company is the unit to which your financial statements are created and can have one to many company codes assigned to it.   A company is equivalent to your legal business organization. Consolidated financial statements are based on the company’s financial statements. Companies are defined in configuration and assigned to company codes. Each company code must use the same COA( Chart of Accounts) and Fiscal Year. Also note that local currency for the company can be different.

Company Codes are the smallest unit within your organizational structure and is used for internal and external reporting purposes. Company Codes are not optional within SAP and are required to be defined. Financial transactions are viewed at the company code level. Company Codes can be created for any business organization whether national or international. It is recommended that once a Company Code has been defined in Configuration with all the required settings then other company codes later created should be copied from the existing company code. You can then make changes as needed. This reduces repetitive input of information that does not change from company code to company code as well as eliminate the possibility of missed data input.

When defining company codes, the following key areas must be updated: 

• Company Code Key- identifies the company code and consists of four alpha-numeric characters. Master data and business transactions are created by this key.

• Company Code Name- identifies the name of the business organization within your organizational structure.

• Address- identifies the street address, city, state, zip code for the company code created. This information is also used on correspondence and reports.
• Country- identifies the country to which your business is based. Country codes within SAP are based on ISO Standards.
• Country currency- identifies the local currency for the company code that you have defined.
• Language- identifies the language to be used for you company code and is also used for text in your documents. SAP unlike other applications, offers over thirty languages including EN( English) , ES (Spanish), FR (French), DE (German), EL (Greek), IT(Italian), AR( Arabic), ZH (Chinese) , SV (Swedish) , and JA (Japanese) to name a few.