Lookup a Client (stupid question)

[Former Member]

Hi all,

I have quite a stupid question.

How do I lookup a client that has just been loaded on SAP? - in other words it is a brand new client and has no billing yet.

The ONLY info I have is the Operational Account Number. I do not have the Customer number which is what you need for Transaction XD03.

Is there any way you can search for a customer using only the Operational Account Number?

I have tried the Query Tool where you have the option to enter the Operational Account Number but it does not return anything if there has been no activity on the account/customer.

All new accounts we open are done by our head office in Malaysia. Initially we are only supplied the Operational Account Number. I want to see the "Display Customer: General Data" screen to check if the customer details were loaded correctly.

Surely this must somehow be possible?

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

My censure apology

Veselina - as you know I am terribly new to SAP with no training.

See screen shots as below;

We have this option to "Query" clients info - but this only every brings up information if there is already billing on an account.

This is where you have the option to search on "OPERATIONAL ACCOUNT NUMBER"

That is all I have "The Operational Account Number"

If it does have billing the following screen is displayed;

I know about XD03 to lookup a customer; however since I do not have the "SAP Legal Entity A/C" number which is the same as the "Customer" number in XD03 I am unable to find and view the "Customer General Data" screen.

Thus my question being - is there a way to search on "Operational A/C" number?

I suppose these fields have been specifically created for our business.

Jelena, the issue with asking my colleagues is that they will take some time to get back to me.

Veselina knows of the previous problem I had with Credit Limits / Sales Report where it took too long for our company SAP Specialist to come back to me.

I needed to view the "Customer General Data" screen to check if info was loaded into the correct fields. Especially in the "Control Data" tab as our head office has historically loading information incorrectly here.

Now I will have to wait for billing to have occured before I can view it.

[VeselinaPeykova · Accepted solution]

Your employer is probably aware of the fact that you have no previous SAP experience and that you need access to training documentation and the help of your colleagues to do your job in the beginning.

SCN forum members have no access to your system and cannot check how this custom query is built. Please go and ask the person who created it how the data is determined and if this operational account number is stored in the master data at all and if yes - where. As an alternative, you can speak to the FI consultant, he should know what is this field and how it is populated in the accounting document.

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Thanks.

I will wait for assistance from our global SAP expert.

[former_member182378 · Accepted solution]

Carl,

Why this "Operational account number" is visible only after billing documents are created? What is the business explanation for this?

Did your business have incidents in the past, that the customer number was not created, even though Operational acc no. was created?

TW

[former_member182378 · Accepted solution]

Carl,

One way to find this field in Customer number is to take few already existing customers (say from 6 months ago) and search this Operational no. in these. And then find the field name of this field-table name of this field and search in the table, putting the value in the field in SE16N for the customer no.

TW

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Hi,

The “Operational Account” is created as soon as the customer’s account is opened.

Our department in Malaysia (I am in South Africa) opens accounts for us when we request them.

They then email us back the “Operational Account Number” only once it is opened. This is the account number our customer use.

Since I do not have any other number such as the normal SAP Customer Number I cannot browse the customer data in SAP.

I have noticed that the Query Tool only displays information if the customer has already billed.

I guess SAP has been greatly customized for our business so it would be hard for you to assist along with me having just about zero SAP experience.

Thank you very much for trying to help though.

[Jelena]

At minimum, you can place the cursor in the Operational Account Number field in that query tool (white rectangle inside the red rectangle in your screenshot) and hit F1 key. This will open Performance Assistant pop-up where you can click Technical Information button and this will show the technical field name. In this way one at least can tell whether it's a standard SAP field that was renamed or a custom field. In the last case SCN can't be of any assistance.

But Veselina's response is still correct, of course. Getting training and getting complete information is something your management needs to address.

[Former Member]

Hi there,

The below is what pops up for that field “Operational Account Number”

Does this make any sense?

[Jelena]

Yes, it's the field KNB1-ALTKN, just like others suspected. The standard field name is "Previous Master Record Number". In XD03 if you hit the search help dropdown on the Customer (F4 key) you should get a standard search help with several tabs available.

Click the button in the top right corner and navigate to the "Customers (by legacy customer number)". Here Previous account no. would be the same as what you guys are calling "operational account" for some reason. Put in the number there and you shall see the SAP customer account number, if it exists:

From what I see, here lack of training was further complicated by not using standard SAP terminology. You could've found many SCN posts or even maybe YouTube videos if only you had the standard field name.

[Former Member]

I see…

Thanks so much. Yes, that is the issue I face – SAP was customized for our company so terms are indeed very different making it hard to get assistance here.

I appreciate your help a lot.

Let me try this.

[Former Member]

It seems I do not have that option ("Customers (by legacy customer number)") or we have renamed it again as something else.

[VeselinaPeykova]

I don't have it as well - checked in my sandbox on EhP4 and at a client on EhP6. I wonder if this was a custom one .

[Former Member]

Carl,

Unfortunately, the Search Help mentioned by expert Jelena does not exist in the standard Search Helps that are delivered by SAP with their software.

Actually, I believe you should be approaching this problem in a different way.

Someone in your organization has assigned "Operational Account Number" to specific Customers (this datum is assigned at the company code level).

You evidently need to have the Customer number in order to do your day-to-day work.  I assume this is a legitimate business requirement.

"Someone/Somehow" is furnishing the "Operational Account Number" to you, and this number is not as useful to you as the Customer Number.

IMHO, since this is a legitimate business requirement, your company should make the Customer Number available to you.  Since you cannot currently obtain it on your own, you should go to the entitiy that creates the Customer Number-Operational Account number relationship, and tell them you need the Customer number.  You should at a minimum be able to telephone or email this entity and get the info you need.

Again, it is your company's responsibility to make this information available to you, since you need the data for your day-to-day activities.

Best Regards,

DB59

[Former Member]

Thanks for your response.

I know this may make no sense – as in the way our company does things but it is sadly not that simple – at the moment.

I hope to get help eventually on this but was just hoping there was an easy way to look up in SAP using that field, which now it seems it is nearly impossible.

Like I mentioned before, I am trying to figure out as much as I can on my own while waiting for our SAP expert to become available to help me or come to my country to train me properly.

I like playing around with an application to kinda teach myself how it works.

I trained myself from beginner to expert on Excel but SAP is a whole other beast. A lot of the ways in which it works makes no sense to me – not very user friendly out of the box.

[VeselinaPeykova]

It is not completely impossible to get this information.

You already know that this number is stored in KNB1 table in field ALTKN and in the same table you have the customer number in KUNNR.

What you need is a really simple query/quick view to see this information.

It is possible that it already exists in your system, maybe you can ask master data team if they have it and then request authorization.

I doubt that they will allow you to create queries/quick views in your production system, but if such query does not exist, it makes sense to request it.

Message was edited by: Veselina Peykova

[Former Member]

Carl,

In my career, I have worn many hats before I moved into IT.  At one point, I was a manager of a team of planners.  At another point, I was a manager of a Warehouse.

I will tell you from experience that phrases like "....I like playing around with an application to kinda teach myself how it works....." are a nightmare for managers. 

I hope your "playing around" is being conducted in a non-production system.  I gently suggest that you keep your hands off of the productive system(s) until you actually know what you are doing.  Your manager will come to appreciate it.

Best Regards,

DB49

[Jelena]

Was going to reply on Friday but SCN went down.

Yes, it turns out to be a custom extension of the search help. I saw the same one at other clients, so it didn't even occur to me it's not standard. Sorry about that.

In addition to what's already mentioned, check if you have SE17 transaction (it's essentially a limited version of SE16). Quick view SQVI could also be an option if you have access. Also check what queries do you have in SQ01 transaction. Our users frequently overlook this and don't use the queries already available.

As DB49 correctly noted, in SAP it's not wise to "play" in the productive system. From what I see - if it's something you need to do your job then you simply have not been given the proper tools. It's like giving a developer a PC without a keyboard. Sure, we can probably find some way around it, but it'd be easier and more productive to just get a keyboard.

In such situations it's best to let the management know what functionality you need to be productive. Obviously we don't know the SAP support structure in your organization, but I work in IT and you'd be surprised how many times a request gets escalated to senior management yet our team could've resolved it in a few hours if only someone let us know it was needed.

[Former Member]

Hi,

Yes of course.

When I say “play around” I don’t mean entering or changing data. I may seem it right now, but I can assure you I am not that stupid.

Just checking the options – menus, what they do and such. Thus why I ask questions if I am unsure.

I would not be able to write VBA today had I not taken it upon myself to learn how.

[Former Member]

Hi,

I found what I needed - finally!

There is a view; “Previous Account” which does have the “Previous Master Record Number” field where I can enter the number I have. See image below.

This then brings up all the data I needed.

Thanks all for trying so hard to help me!

[Former Member]

I must say this is a very friendly and helpful community!

I can’t imagine how frustrating my questions must be since I don’t even know how to give you proper information about what I am talking about!

Thanks so much for even trying to help!

[Former Member]

As another note;

I do not have permission for transaction SE16N.

I will look into that option.

I am in the process of getting approval for our Global SAP trainers to come to South Africa to properly train me.

It has just been a bit of a nightmare trying to get things up and running with almost no support.

[Former Member]

Carl,

I will assume that your manager became familiar with your qualifications during your hiring interview(s).  He/she therefore is fully aware of which tasks you are and are not capable of actually performing.

It is up to your manager to provide you with direction concerning how you will obtain all of the tools you need to do your job.  In the meantime, do what you can do, and those things that you cannot do, make sure you keep your manager informed.  As long as you do this, you should not concern yourself with something that in reality is your manager's problem.

Best Regards & Good luck,

DB49

[Former Member]

Hi,

Yes indeed. It is a brand new department that did not exist before.

I am just trying to do as much as I can. My manager understands the situation.

I guess I am quite impatient and not willing to wait for people to get back to me.

I’m the kind of person who wants to get things done ASAP.

[former_member182378]

Carl,
do you like to get things done ASAP or get an A+ in SAP?

Always better to march on with enthusiasm and a learning spirit as opposed to giving reasons (excuses) for sitting and waiting.

TW

[Former Member]

LOL!

Yip, I hate not doing anything – I feel I must at least try to figure it out on my own.

Most of the applications I use I trained myself, but SAP is just so very different from what I am used to that I am having a hard time.  I come from an operations background doing Analytics so I have no finance experience at all.

I was brought in only because of my Analytical skills.

My managers understand the issues and they are patient but I am curious and try to figure stuff out on my own.

Our global SAP expert is currently in Australia and will probably only come here in a month’s time. I can’t want that long!

[former_member182378]

Carl,

What information have your received in addition to the new operational account number? Did you get the name of the customer? Or the address?

As Kivanc suggested, go to SE16N, enter KNA1, in field NAME1 give *part of name* and execute, maybe you get something.

This is no way a stupid question, I would say it is difficult question to answer because we are fishing in the dark . If you can, as members have suggested, ask the concerned person for the SAP customer number.

added: I too am hesitant to ask questions. And when I do muster the courage, the time to ask that question is gone But in an online forum, you can ask....

TW

[Jelena]

I thought you were looking for the SAP client (MANDT). Oh dear... Please use the SAP terminology when posting questions on SCN. Or at least add the technical name (hit F1, then technical data button) or post a screenshot.

Out of curiosity I searched in SE11 for any data elements that may look like "operational account number" and there is none. So I'm guessing it's something custom / internal term / industry specific / who knows. It might not even be directly related to the customer master.

In XD03 you can also search by the name, address, etc. But since you've mentioned you only have this odd number I'm quite confused why are you looking for this information then? What are you trying to achieve? Confirm that folks in HQ did their job? Why?

Fully agree with Veselina - this is just not a question that you need to take to SCN. I really don't understand why people are afraid to ask their own colleagues. If someone sent me information that I can't work with or unable to understand - I'll let them know. No reason to feel stupid when asking for a clarification.

[VeselinaPeykova]

Probably it will be easier for the forum members to help you if you show where this operational account number is stored in the master data.

You mentioned a custom query, which should provide you with this information, but does not work as expected. Contact the person who created it or the support team to investigate.

Normally, when master data creation is centralized, but is done based on your request, you should receive some confirmation that the data was loaded successfully. Maybe you can ask the person who uploads it to help you find what reports you can use for verification.

Most of your issues could be solved by communicating with your colleagues, don't try to do everything by yourself, this is what teams are for.

[sez41]

Hi Carl,

What is OPERATIONAL ACCOUNT NUMBER? As far as I know there is no such field in customer master standard. Where do you keep tracking this info? There are some fields where you can map this information such as Old account nr, or maybe you might have extended customer master with a z-field. We need to know in which field you track this data (tehcnical table and field names would do wonders).

Additionally you can try a select from table kna1 in se16n to search for customers who've been created in the last few days. Maybe you can catch from there.