How to create Accounting Key in SAP: OV34
Jessica Blake
⚡ Smart Summary
Account key in SAP links a pricing condition to the correct revenue account, so values post to the right GL account. This resource explains what an account key is, how it drives revenue account determination, and how to create one.
What is Accounting Key?
The account key enables the system to post amounts to certain types of revenue account. For example, the system can post freight charges, generated by the freight pricing condition, to the relevant freight revenue account instead of mixing them with ordinary sales revenue.
A condition type writes its value to a key that is established in configuration, outside the pricing procedure. That key is called the account key in SAP MM and SAP SD. It is a table entry that tells the pricing procedure where to copy the calculated condition values for revenue account determination in SAP. In other words, the account key is the bridge between a pricing condition and the general ledger, so that each type of value, such as revenue, discount, freight, or tax, reaches the correct account. Without account keys, all pricing values would post to the same account, which would make financial reporting and reconciliation far harder.
How Account Keys Drive Revenue Account Determination
On its own, an account key is just a label. Its power comes from revenue account determination, which is the integration point between Sales and Distribution (SD) and Financial Accounting (FI). When a billing document is created, SAP looks at each condition type in the pricing procedure, reads its account key, and uses that key to find the correct general ledger account.
This search is controlled by an access sequence, such as the standard KOFI00, which tries combinations of the chart of accounts, sales organization, and the account assignment groups of the customer and the material. The general ledger accounts themselves are assigned in transaction VKOA against the account key and these criteria. As a result, one account key can point to different accounts depending on the customer or material, which gives the business fine control over how sales values are posted. This flexibility is what lets one pricing procedure serve many customers and product lines while still posting each value to the right account.
How to create Accounting Key in SAP
Below is the process to create an account key in SAP SD.
Step 1) Creating the accounting key.
- Enter T-code OV34 in the command field.
- Click on the New Entries button.
Step 2) Enter the accounting key details.
- Enter the accounting key and name.
- Click on the Save button.
A message “Data was saved” is displayed.
Common Account Keys in SAP SD
SAP delivers several standard account keys, each meant for a different type of value in the pricing procedure, such as revenue, discounts, freight, and tax. Knowing the common keys makes it easier to read a pricing procedure and to set up account determination. The most common ones are:
| Account key | Used for |
|---|---|
| ERL | Sales revenue |
| ERS | Sales deductions (discounts) |
| ERF | Freight revenue |
| ERB | Rebate sales deductions |
| ERU | Rebate accruals |
| MWS | Sales tax (output tax) |
In the pricing procedure, each condition type is linked to one of these keys, for example a discount condition to ERS and a freight condition to ERF. This is how a single invoice can split its value cleanly across revenue, discount, freight, and tax accounts. Rebate keys such as ERU also work with an accrual key so that provisions and payouts are posted separately. Beyond the standard set, you can create your own account keys in OV34 when a specific posting requirement is not covered.
