1. General Cost Center Planning
SAP Best Practices

2. Purpose, Benefits, and Key Process Steps
During the annual budgeting process, the managers of non-operational cost centers such as sales, marketing, administrative, research and development etc. plan the costs for various cost types/elements on their respective cost centers.
Benefits
Possibility to compare planned and actual costs, monitoring of costs on cost centers.
Key Process Steps
Check cost center masters
Check version validity for current budget period
Copy previous year’s actuals or budget as a basis for planning
Transfer planned depreciation from assets
Set planner profile
Download cost elements to spreadsheet for income/expense budget
Update budget values for income and expense excluding operations
Upload cost elements for income and expense excluding operations
Plan accrual costs, statistical key figures, assessments
Confirm non-operating cost center budget
Copy AOP version to actual version 0 and lock both versions for planning

3. Required SAP Applications and Company Roles
Enhancement package 5 for SAP ERP 6.0
Company Roles
Enterprise Controller

4. Detailed Process Description
General Cost Center Planning
After checking cost center master data and versions, you can copy the previous year’s actual expenses for the cost centers into an AOP (annual operative planning) budget version in cost center accounting. As an alternative the previous year’s budget data can also be used as a basis for planning.
The planned fixed or variable depreciation per cost center is transferred to the AOP version separately.
The data in this version is downloaded into spreadsheets by each cost element and cost center. The respective cost center managers review and update the budget values according to their requirements and plans. The revised figures are uploaded back into SAP.
The cost center planning in SAP is reviewed and finalized (accrued costs, statistical key figures, assessments).
The planned data of the AOP version is copied into active version 0. Planning is locked in both versions.

5. General Cost Center Planning
Process Flow Diagram
General Cost Center Planning
Event
Cost Center Manager: Update Budget Value in ExcelSpreadsheet and Send Back to the Enterprise Controller.
Confirming Non-Operating Cost Center Budget
Annual “General” Operating Plan
Final Planning Steps
Enterprise Controller
Copy Previous Year Actuals or Budget for the AOP
Upload Cost Elements for Income and Expense
Manufacturing Cost Center Planning (176)
Copy AOP to Active Version
Transfer Planned Depreciation from Assets
Plan Statistical Key Figures
Lock AOP and Active Version for Planning
Download Cost Center Budget and Generate Excel File
Plan and Execute Plan Assessments (Overhead Costs)
Send Excel to Cost Center Managers
Plan Accrual Costs
Report Cost Centers: Actual/Plan/ Variance
AOP= Annual Operating Planning
SOP= Sales and Operations Planning

6. Legend Symbol Description Usage Comments Symbol Description
Band: Identifies a user role, such as Accounts Payable Clerk or Sales Representative. This band can also identify an organization unit or group, rather than a specific role.
The other process flow symbols in this table go into these rows. You have as many rows as required to cover all of the roles in the scenario.
Role band contains tasks common to that role.
External Events: Contains events that start or end the scenario, or influence the course of events in the scenario.
Flow line (solid): Line indicates the normal sequence of steps and direction of flow in the scenario. Flow line (dashed): Line indicates flow to infrequently-used or conditional tasks in a scenario. Line can also lead to documents involved in the process flow.
Connects two tasks in a scenario process or a non-step event
Business Activity / Event: Identifies an action that either leads into or out of the scenario, or an outside Process that happens during the scenario
Does not correspond to a task step in the document
Unit Process: Identifies a task that is covered in a step-by-step manner in the scenario
Corresponds to a task step in the document
Process Reference: If the scenario references another scenario in total, put the scenario number and name here.
Sub-Process Reference: If the scenario references another scenario in part, put the scenario number, name, and the step numbers from that scenario here
Process Decision: Identifies a decision / branching point, signifying a choice to be made by the end user. Lines represent different choices emerging from different parts of the diamond.
Does not usually correspond to a task step in the document; Reflects a choice to be made after step execution
Symbol
Description
Usage Comments
To next / From last Diagram: Leads to the next / previous page of the Diagram
Flow chart continues on the next / previous page
Hardcopy / Document: Identifies a printed document, report, or form
Does not correspond to a task step in a document; instead, it is used to reflect a document generated by a task step; this shape does not have any outgoing flow lines
Financial Actuals: Indicates a financial posting document
Budget Planning: Indicates a budget planning document
Manual Process: Covers a task that is manually done
Does not generally correspond to a task step in a document; instead, it is used to reflect a task that is manually performed, such as unloading a truck in the warehouse, which affects the process flow.
Existing Version / Data: This block covers data that feeds in from an external process
Does not generally correspond to a task step in a document; instead, this shape reflects data coming from an external source; this step does not have any incoming flow lines
System Pass / Fail Decision: This block covers an automatic decision made by the software
Does not generally correspond to a task step in the document; instead it is used to reflect an automatic decision by the system that is made after a step has been executed.
Diagram Connection
<Function>
External to SAP
Hardcopy / Document
Financial Actuals
Business Activity / Event
Budget Planning
Unit Process
Manual Process
Process Reference
Sub-Process Reference
Existing Version / Data
Process Decision
System Pass/Fail Decision