Permissions for cost accounting

Who may see and do what in cost accounting is controlled on the user group in the “Cost accounting” accordion. It is structured like the invoicing rights: one checkbox per right, with an options field next to it. Use the options to define which object types a right applies to and whether it applies to all objects or only to those whose project the user has rights to.

Where to find the rights

Open the user group → Permissions tab → Permissions accordion → Cost accounting

At the top of the section, the Permissions toggle with None or All sets all rights in the section at once.

User group Management, Permissions tab, "Cost accounting" accordion: Permissions toggle (None/All), below it the checkboxes Cost accounting clerk, View cost accounting elements (ticked), Edit cost accounting elements (master data and plan data) (ticked), Create and run repostings and allocations, Show full details, Set cost accounting elements (ticked) and Hide cost accounting element input; to the right of each an options field, e.g. "All document types visible" or "Hide nowhere". — User group → Permissions → "Cost accounting" with the seven rights and their options fields

The rights

Right	What it allows
Cost accounting clerk	access to all cost accounting elements and the configuration. The right for controlling.
View cost accounting elements	detail manager, tiles and cost accounting analysis for the selected object types
Edit cost accounting elements (master data and plan data)	change master data and plan values of cost categories, cost centres and cost objects
Create and run repostings and allocations	create repostings, define and run allocation rules
Show full details	amounts in the preview card (account balance, revenue, costs, CM) and in the amount columns of the lists, e.g. CM1, CM2 or Balance. Without this right, the preview only shows number and name, and the amount columns stay empty.
Set cost accounting elements	set cost category, cost centre and cost object in the recording dialogs of the four primary elements (time booking, cost element, line item, general posting) or override the rule value. Without this right, you see the values from the rule but cannot change them.
Hide cost accounting element input	hides the `Cost accounting` section in the recording dialogs entirely. In the options field, you select for which of the four primary elements; the default is `Hide nowhere`.

See, set or hide

The last two rights control how much of cost accounting a user sees when recording. In all three cases, the rules pre-fill cost category, cost centre and cost object:

Goal	Setting	Example
See and change values	grant `Set cost accounting elements`	controlling, project management
See values but not change them	do not grant `Set cost accounting elements`	employees whose assignment should always come from the rule
Not see values at all	`Hide cost accounting element input` for the primary elements concerned	The intern gets a very simple time-tracking dialog without a cost accounting section.

The options per right

Use the plus in the options field on the right to choose what the right applies to. For multiple selection, hold down the Shift key; the right then only applies to the selected options. If nothing is selected, the field shows “All document types visible”: the right applies to all object types.

Option	Applies to
Cost category	all cost categories
Cost object	all cost objects
Cost centre	all cost centres
Cost object with right	only cost objects on whose target project the user has the Finance/cost accounting right. Cost objects without a target project can only be reached via the “Cost object” option.

Cost categories have no owner and no project, so there is only the option for all of them. For cost centres, too, there is only “Cost centre”, i.e. all cost centres.

For the right Hide cost accounting element input, the options field offers the four primary elements instead.

"Cost accounting" accordion of a user group with all rights ticked except "Hide cost accounting element input"; for the right "Create and run repostings and allocations" the options field is open with the entries Cost category, Cost object, Cost centre and Cost object with right and the hint "Hold down the Shift key for multiple selection"; the other options fields show "All document types visible". — Options field of a right: cost category, cost object, cost centre and cost object with right – with no selection, the right applies to all

Reposting and allocating with ”… with right”: the user must have rights to the source and all targets.

What authorised users see

Everything in the detail manager: anyone who may open a cost accounting object sees all its postings and movements there, including documents, times or salaries they would otherwise not be allowed to see. Otherwise the figures would make no sense.
Only authorised items in the analysis: the cost accounting analysis and the cost categories only show rows and totals for the objects the user may see. Counterparts of other objects appear with name and amount but cannot be opened.
Cost accounting fields in the recording dialogs: whether a user may change them is controlled by Set cost accounting elements; whether they see them at all is controlled by Hide cost accounting element input (see “See, set or hide”).
Amounts in preview and lists: only with Show full details.

Sample roles

Role	Rights
Controlling	`Cost accounting clerk`
Management	`View cost accounting elements` and `Show full details` without restriction (all object types)
Project management	`View cost accounting elements`, `Edit cost accounting elements` and `Show full details` with “Cost object with right”, plus `Set cost accounting elements`
Area management	`View cost accounting elements` with cost centre and cost object; note: this lets them see all cost centres, including the salaries on them
Employees	no cost accounting rights: they see the rule values when recording but do not change them. `Set cost accounting elements` only if they are to assign values themselves.
Interns, temporary staff	`Hide cost accounting element input` for the time booking: a simple time-tracking dialog without a cost accounting section

Migration from the previous rights

Previously, the accordion only had two checkboxes. They were migrated as follows:

Previously	Now
`View elements of cost accounting`	`View cost accounting elements` with the options cost category, cost centre, cost object
`Edit elements of cost accounting`	`Edit cost accounting elements (master data and plan data)` with the options cost category, cost centre, cost object

Existing users therefore keep their access. All other rights are new and off by default.

Configuration rights

There are separate rights for the admin lists in the system configuration:

User group → Permissions → Configuration rights → Finance → Cost centres / Cost objects / Cost category

Notes

Protect salaries: because all postings are visible in the detail manager, anyone with the view right on a cost centre also sees the salaries on it. Grant the right on cost centres narrowly, or post salaries as a total per department (see Allocate personnel costs via a salary cost centre).
Rights work via groups. How group rights, roles and inheritance interact is described in How permissions combine.

Common problems

A project manager cannot see her cost object. She has “Cost object with right”, but she lacks the Finance/cost accounting right on the target project, or the cost object has no target project. Maintain the target project or her project role.

The preview card or the CM1 and CM2 columns in the list show no amounts. Show full details is missing for this object type.

An employee sees the cost accounting fields but cannot change them. That is intended if they do not have Set cost accounting elements: the values then always come from the rule. If they are to assign values themselves, grant the right for the object types concerned.

A user cannot repost even though they have the right. With ”… with right”, they must be allowed to see the source and all targets. If one is missing, the reposting is not possible.

The cost accounting section is missing in time tracking. Either Hide cost accounting element input hides it, or the fields are not switched to visible in the configuration (see Set up cost accounting).

Common questions & needs

You want to …	How to
Allow controlling to do everything	`Cost accounting clerk`.
Show project managers only their own projects	`View cost accounting elements` with the option “Cost object with right”.
Let project managers maintain plan values	Additionally `Edit cost accounting elements (master data and plan data)` with “Cost object with right”.
Allow only controlling to repost	`Create and run repostings and allocations` only in the controlling group.
Hide amounts in the preview	Do not grant `Show full details`.
Spare employees the cost accounting fields	Set `Hide cost accounting element input` for the inputs concerned.
Allow rule values to be overridden	`Set cost accounting elements`.

Create and manage user groups Permissions Configuration
How permissions combine: the six levels Permissions Concept
Cost centres, cost objects and cost categories in the detail manager Cost accounting How-to
Set up cost accounting: create cost categories, cost centres and cost objects Cost accounting Configuration
Topic: Cost accounting Cost accounting