SAP Financial Accounting Document Error Correction System

Traditional way of correcting errors in an accounting document posting has been processing the Batch Input Session (popularly known to BDC session) using SAP Transaction SM35. However it contains the risk of key fields modification (e.g. amount) and tracking of BDC sessions as per the respective error reason is also not possible.

Therefore SAP introduced Error Correction System(ECS) function in SAP enhancement package 5 for SAP ERP 6.0 (SAP_APPL_605). We can use this business function to correct errors in documents before posting them. If the errors cannot be resolved automatically, the system creates ECS items that we can correct manually.

Below given are the features of Error Correction functionality :-

• Automatic processing of ECS items 
• Manual processing of ECS items
• Document Balancing
• Document Splitting
• Archiving of ECS items

Followings are key configuration steps :-

• Define First Level Checks

      These are the checks defined to run before auto correction and before documents are processed so as to transfer incorrect items to Error Correction

      System(ECS). Standard SAP checks Company code, posting date, document type, posting key and amount before Custom defined first level checks.

• Define ECS Environments

       SAP uses ECS environment to post accounting document with auto correction or process ECS items. We may define ECS environment as per the

       business process or interface. First level checks need to be assigned to each ECS environment. Original and Default value indicators should be marked

       so that they are available during the correction of the ECS items. If an interface is based on BAPI_ACC_DOCUMENT_POST, ECS environment needs to

       be populated in header parameter “ECS_ENV” for creation of ECS items in erroneous transactions.

• Define Error Categories

        Error categories are groups of error messages that are raised in the error handling process and in the auto correction processor. We can assign fields

        from FI document line items to the error categories. These fields are used when ECS items are processed manually in Error Correction System. When

        an error occurs that is assigned to a particular error category, the system allows us to process only the field that we assigned to the error category.

• Assign Error Messages to Error Categories

        Here we need to map the message class, message number and error type (error category) created in step listed below.

• Define Compound Error Category

        Compound error categories classify ECS items. We can also use them when we process documents manually.

• User Interface Settings – Define More Fields

        We need to create additional fields that we want to  have on the interface. For each field we can specify whether the system is to display the original

        value, the posted value, or the correct value.

• User Interface Settings- Define Additional Fields for Corrections to Line Items

        In this Customizing activity we define which fields we want the system to open in the ECS workplace out of the “More fields” defined for an Interface.

• Create Number Ranges for Document Numbers in ECS categories

        Here we define the number range for the ECS items.

Business Transactions of Error Correction System

SAP Transaction Code        Description of SAP Transaction Code

ACC_ECS_MAINTAIN           SAP Edit ECS Items

ACC_ECS_LIST                    Display ECS Items

ACC_ECS_REVERSE          Reverse Single ECS Document

• ECS item will be updated with status “Deleted” after reversal.
• Once reversed, an ECS item may not be processed again i.e. it may not be corrected using transaction code ACC_ECS_MAINTAIN(SAP Edit ECS Items)
• Accounting document posted via ECS Module may not be reversed using SAP Transaction FB08 (Reverse Financial Accounting Document

Following Gaps have been identified in Error Correction System :-

• It was primarily introduced for simple General Ledger transactions of banking companies. It may not fix  missing COPA module characteristics issue in a Finance Accounting Document.
• Unlike the BDC session, Security/Authorisation parameter is missing in this functionality whereby we may not restrict the edit and display access of ECS items of a particular business process to a particular group of users.