Mapping elements and reconciliation elements

Reconciliation elements are similar to, but not the same as, mapping elements. Mapping elements represent a more detailed level of the reconciliation elements.

A mapping element is a characteristic of a logistic transaction, in other words, a business object which you can map to a ledger account or dimension. A reconciliation element is a common characteristic of the integration transactions (integration documents) of a reconciliation group, which you can use to analyze and reconcile the data. In other words, a reconciliation element links the corresponding mapping elements of various business objects.

For example, the following mapping elements all correspond with the reconciliation element Item:

• Production Order/Item (internal code 666100000000)
• Inventory Transaction/Item (Transit) (internal code 312100000000)
• Sales Order/Item (internal code 112100000000)

The internal codes of the mapping elements differ but physically, the production order item, the inventory item, and the sales order item can all be the same item. For all these transactions, the corresponding reconciliation element is Item (internal code 014000000000).

If you only map elements that have the same corresponding reconciliation element to a specific ledger account, during reconciliation, the resulting balance of the account can be zero.

If you map elements that have different corresponding reconciliation elements to the same ledger account, the reconciliation is more complex. In most cases, the resulting balance of one account will not be zero, but the balance of a group of ledger accounts to which the transactions are mapped can be zero.