# Cost Center in SAP MM: Purchase Orders and Goods Issues > Source: https://netray.co/erp-help/cost-center-in-sap-mm-account-assignment-purchase-order > Publisher: Netray (netray.co), AI and integration engineering for ERP and manufacturing systems. > Section: ERP Help ## Short answer In SAP MM a cost center is charged in two ways: on a purchase order with account assignment category K, and on a goods issue to cost center with movement type 201. Both post to a consumption expense account and a CO line item on the cost center. ## Kind how-to ## System sap ## Erp SAP ERP / S/4HANA ## Module MM Purchasing / Account Assignment ## Query cost center in sap mm ## Alternate Queries - cost centre in sap mm - sap account assignment category K - post goods issue to cost center sap movement type 201 - sap po account assignment cost center ## Applies To SAP ECC 6.0 and S/4HANA, MM integrated with FI and CO ## Steps ### How to charge a cost center from MM **Items:** - In ME21N, enter the item and set the Account Assignment Category column to K (cost center). - Open the Account Assignment tab of the item. Enter the cost center and the G/L account, or let the system propose the account from the material group. - For a stock material, you can also leave the PO without account assignment and issue later: MIGO, action Goods Issue, movement type 201, enter the cost center. - Post. The goods issue creates an accounting document debiting the consumption account and a controlling document on the cost center. - Reverse a mistaken issue with movement type 202, referencing the original material document. - Check the result in KSB1 (cost center line items) or MB51 (material document list). ## Sections ### Account assignment on the purchase order **Body:** Account assignment category K means the cost is charged directly to a cost center. The category controls which account assignment fields appear: for K, the cost center and G/L account. Other categories include A (asset), P (project), F (internal order) and Q (project stock). For a PO line without a stock material, goods receipt can post straight to the cost center as an expense. The account assignment is stored in table EKKN, linked to the PO item in EKPO. Whether the default G/L account and cost center are proposed depends on configuration. Default account assignment by material group is maintained in the IMG (OKB9 is the common transaction for default account assignment). ### Goods issue and account determination **Body:** A goods issue to a cost center (movement type 201) debits a consumption account and credits the inventory account. The accounts come from automatic account determination in OBYC. For movement 201 the consumption posting uses transaction key GBB with account modifier VBR. The inventory side uses transaction key BSX, per valuation class. Different material types and valuation classes can therefore post to different inventory accounts, while the expense account is set by the combination of GBB, VBR and valuation class. If the posting stops with a message about missing account determination, the valuation class or the GBB/VBR entry for that chart of accounts is almost always the cause. The related error is covered in the KI 235 page below. ### Reporting on cost center postings **Body:** KSB1 shows every posting on a cost center by cost element, including MM goods issues and purchase postings. MB51 shows the material documents, filtered by movement type 201 and 202 and by cost center. For reconciliation between stock and G/L, compare MB51 totals for the period with the GBB/VBR account in FBL3N. In S/4HANA all line items also live in the universal journal table ACDOCA, which is the base for modern reporting. ## Pitfalls - The cost center must be valid for the posting date and in the controlling area of the company code. - The cost element or G/L account must exist as a primary cost element for CO to accept the posting. - A goods issue without a reversal reference creates a new document when you wanted to cancel. Use 202 with the original document. - Mixing a K-assigned PO with a stock material changes the posting logic. Check whether you meant a consumable or a stock item. - Cost center blocks for posting (set in KS02) stop the goods issue with a message from controlling. ## Ai Angle An assistant grounded in your SAP data can answer 'what was posted to cost center X from MM last quarter and which POs caused it' by combining EKKN, MSEG and the controlling line items, and can point to which account determination entry applies. Read-only access with the generated query visible keeps finance comfortable with the output. ## Faq ### What is account assignment category K? **Answer:** It tells SAP that a PO item is charged to a cost center. The item then needs a cost center and a G/L account, stored in EKKN. ### Which movement type issues stock to a cost center? **Answer:** Movement type 201 posts a goods issue to a cost center, and 202 reverses it. Both are posted in MIGO or MB1A. ### Where does the expense account come from? **Answer:** For goods issues it comes from OBYC transaction key GBB with modifier VBR. For K-assigned POs it is the G/L account entered or defaulted on the account assignment. ### Is the cost centre spelling different in SAP? **Answer:** No. SAP uses the same object, cost center, whatever spelling you search for. The master data is maintained in KS01, KS02 and KS03. ## Search terms cost center in sap mm, cost centre in sap mm, sap account assignment category k, sap movement type 201, sap goods issue to cost center, sap OBYC GBB VBR, sap EKKN table, sap po cost center --- Talk to an engineer: https://netray.co/contact?intent=erp_ai | Machine catalog: https://netray.co/agent/catalog.json