Accounting › Product Costing
Cost Elements
A GL account seen from the controlling side. A SECONDARY element exists only inside controlling — posting one to a real expense account would double the company’s costs, so the database refuses it.
Where to find it
- Module: Accounting
- Group: Planning & Control
- Section: Product Costing
- Screen: Cost Elements
Address in the console: /accounting/cost-elements
List · 7 columns · 9 fields on its form · 3 of them required
What the list shows
These are the columns of the list, in the order they are drawn. Any of them can be sorted on, filtered on, hidden, or exported.
| Column | Kind | Field name |
|---|---|---|
| Element | Code | code |
| Name | Text | name |
| Type | Status | element_type |
| Category | Status | category |
| GL account | Code | account_no |
| Component | Code | component_code |
| Active | Yes or no | is_active |
The form
What is asked for when a record is created here. Required fields are marked; a choice drawn from a configuration list is one an administrator can extend without a release.
| Field | Type | Choices | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Code required | Text | ||
| Name required | Text | ||
| Type required | Choice | primary, secondary | A secondary element must NOT name a GL account — that is what keeps controlling cost out of the ledger. |
| Category | Choice | material, labor, machine, setup, overhead, service, depreciation, energy, subcontract, assessment, activity, settlement, revenue, other | |
| GL account (primary elements only) | Choice | Looked up from existing records | |
| Cost component | Choice | Configuration list | |
| Fixed cost | Yes or no | ||
| Active | Yes or no | ||
| Description | Long text |
The rules that apply here
Everything on this screen obeys the platform rules rather than rules of its own. The ones worth knowing before you use it:
- Narrowing a list — search, conditions, sort, totals, export and saved views.
- What may be changed — the five grounds a record may not be edited on.
- Companies and business units — what the switcher above this list is doing to it.
- Creating a record — required fields, where choices come from, and how the number is allocated.
- Importing a spreadsheet — this screen accepts one, and it runs through the same rules as typing.