Post to charge account accounting principle
The post to charge account accounting principle lets you account for and more easily reconcile any differences that occur in the unit price between a physical posting and financial posting, indirect costs on purchased items, or charges on a purchase order.
Two configurations for Accounts payable charges codes on the Charges code page (Accounts payable > Charges setup > Charges code) can cause a purchase order to affect the valuation of inventory assets:
- For charges codes where the Debit type field is set to Item and the Credit type field is set to Ledger account, the ledger account that is selected as the absorption account acts as a stock variation account.
- For charges codes where the Debit type field is set to Item and the Credit type field is set to Customer/Vendor, the charge will be accounted as material cost, and the stock variation account of the item will be used.
European special accounting rule
In Europe, the post to charge account accounting principle is often used to incorporate a special accounting rule. For example, one of the following methods is typically used to account for inventory changes:
Cost of sales method – The standard inventory posting profile configuration supports this method. The post to charge account accounting principle isn't required.
Nature of expense method – Smaller organizations often use this method. It typically involves the following steps:
- Goods or services are fully expensed at the time of receipt.
- At the end of the period, a cycle count is performed.
- A manual adjustment for the quantity and value is posted into inventory. (The offset account is a stock variation account that offsets the expense that was posted in step 1. Therefore, you see the variation in the stock value only on this account.)
The post to charge account principle lets you fully automate the two postings. In this way, you can eliminate a manual period-end closing adjustment posting.
Enable the post to charge account accounting principle
To enable the post to charge account accounting principle, follow these steps.
- Go to Accounts payable > Setup > Accounts payable parameters.
- On the Invoice tab, on the Invoice FastTab, set the Post to charge account in ledger option to Yes.
- Close the page.
Prerequisites and recommended parameters for the post to charge account accounting principle
If you plan to account for purchase charges and stock variations, the following prerequisites must be in place:
On the Invoice tab of the Accounts payable parameters page (Accounts payable > Setup > Accounts payable parameters), the Post to charge account in ledger option must be set to Yes.
On the Item model groups page (Cost management > Inventory accounting policies setup > Item model groups), all the following options must be set to Yes for every relevant model group that contains items that are included on a purchase order:
- Post physical inventory
- Post financial inventory
- Accrue liability on product receipt
On the Delivery tab of the Procurement and sourcing parameters page (Procurement and sourcing > Setup > Procurement and sourcing parameters), the Generate charges on product receipt option must be set to Yes.
On the Inventory accounting tab of the Inventory and warehouse management parameters page (Inventory management > Setup > Inventory and warehouse management parameters), the Post packing slip in ledger option must be set to Yes.
On the Purchase order tab of the Posting page (Inventory management > Setup > Posting > Posting), main accounts that apply to every relevant item must be specified for each of the following posting types:
- Purchase expenditure, un-invoiced
- Purchase expenditure for product
- Stock variation
Example scenario 1: Change in unit cost price
This example scenario has the following prerequisites:
- First in, first out (FIFO) costing model
The following procedure provides an example that shows what happens when you change the unit cost price on a purchase order.
Create a purchase order for a quantity of 1 of an item that has a unit price of 100.00.
Confirm the purchase order.
Post the product receipt for the purchase order.
Validate the voucher on the product receipt. The following table shows a sample voucher.
Posting type Main account Main account name Account type Debit/Credit? Clearing account Physical/Financial? Amount Purchase, stock variation 600170 Stock variation materials Expense Credit No Physical -100.00 Cost of purchased materials received 140100 Materials Inventory Asset Debit Yes Physical 100.00 Purchase expenditure, un-invoiced 600180 Material Receipts Expense Debit Yes Physical 100.00 Purchase, accrual 200140 Accrued Purchases Liability Credit Yes Physical -100.00 Post the invoice for the purchase order that has an updated unit price of 110.00.
Validate the voucher on the invoice. The following table shows a sample voucher.
Posting type Main account Main account name Account type Debit/Credit? Clearing account Physical/Financial? Amount Purchase, stock variation 600170 Stock variation materials Expense Credit No Financial -10.00 Cost of purchased materials received 140100 Materials Inventory Asset Debit Yes Financial -100.00 Purchase expenditure, un-invoiced 600180 Material Receipts Expense Debit Yes Financial -100.00 Purchase, accrual 200140 Accrued Purchases Liability Credit Yes Financial 100.00 Cost of purchased materials invoiced 140100 Materials Inventory Asset Debit No Financial 110.00 Purchase expenditure for product 600180 Materials Receipt Expense Credit No Financial 110.00 Vendor balance 211000 Accounts Payable Trade Liability Credit No Financial -110.00
Example 2: Charges and indirect costs on the purchase order
This example scenario has the following prerequisites:
- FIFO costing model
- Charges code 1: Debit item and credit ledger account for 10%
- Charges code 2: Debit item and credit customer/vendor for 10.00 proportional
- Indirect cost: 2.00% added to the purchase price
The following procedure provides an example that shows what happens when you include charges and indirect costs on a purchase order.
Create a purchase order for a quantity of 1 of an item that has a unit price of 100.00.
Add one charges code for 10 percent that debits the item and credits the ledger.
Add one charges code for 10.00 that debits the item and credits the customer/vendor.
Allocate the charges to the purchase order lines.
Confirm the purchase order.
Post the product receipt for the purchase order.
Validate the voucher on the product receipt. The following table shows a sample voucher.
Posting type Main account Main account name Account type Debit/ Credit? Clearing account Physical or Financial Amount Purchase, stock variation 600170 Stock variation materials Expense Credit No Physical -110.00 Estimated indirect cost absorbed 600520 Absorbed Indirect Costs Expense Credit Yes Physical -2.40 Purchase freight 600120 Freight/ Transportation Costs Expense Credit No Physical -10.00 Cost of purchased materials received 140100 Materials Inventory Asset Debit Yes Physical 122.40 Purchase expenditure, un-invoiced 600180 Material Receipts Expense Debit Yes Physical 110.00 Purchase, accrual 200140 Accrued Purchases Liability Credit Yes Physical -110.00 Post the invoice for the purchase order.
Validate the voucher on the invoice. The following table shows a sample voucher.
Posting type Main account Main account name Account type Debit/Credit? Clearing account Physical/Financial? Amount Purchase, stock variation 600170 Stock variation materials Expense Credit No Financial 0.00 Estimated indirect cost absorbed 600520 Absorbed Indirect Costs Expense Debit Yes Financial 2.40 Indirect cost absorbed 600520 Absorbed Indirect Costs Expense Debit No Financial -2.40 Cost of purchased materials received 140100 Materials Inventory Asset Credit Yes Financial -110.00 Purchase expenditure, un-invoiced 600180 Material Receipts Expense Credit Yes Financial -110.00 Purchase, accrual 200140 Accrued Purchases Liability Debit Yes Financial 110.00 Cost of purchased materials invoiced 140100 Materials Inventory Asset Debit No Financial 110.00 Purchase expenditure for product 600180 Materials Receipt Expense Credit No Financial 110.00 Vendor balance 211000 Accounts Payable Trade Liability Credit No Financial -110.00