JinJin48

SAP Consultant | BTP · S/4HANA · US Global Rollout

June 21, 2026 · 13 min read

SAP FI Material Master

The Material Master is the single most critical integration point between Logistics and Financial Accounting in SAP. Every goods movement, every invoice, and every inventory valuation traces back to settings in this master. This article covers the Material Master’s structure, views, organizational levels, and the field-level detail FI consultants must own.

Part 1: Material Master — Core Concepts (All Modules)#

1.1 What Is the Material Master?#

The Material Master is the central repository that stores all information about every material (item/product) a company handles — raw materials, semi-finished goods, finished products, consumables, and everything else that flows through the enterprise.

1.2 Three Defining Axes: Material Type × Industry Sector × Views#

The structure of a Material Master record is determined by the combination of three axes:

Important: Once created, Material Type and Industry Sector cannot be changed as a general rule. Lock these in during design.

1.3 Key Material Types#

1.4 View Structure#

The Material Master is divided into department-specific Views. Only the views required by each department need to be extended. Approximately 30 standard views exist; the views to extend are selected based on Material Type and business requirements.

1.5 Organizational Levels and Data Hierarchy#

Each view stores its data at a different organizational level. This is the core design challenge of the Material Master.

Client (300)
   │
   ├── Basic Data, Classification ← Client-level (one record for entire enterprise)
   │
   ├── Plant (1000, 2000, ...)
   │      │
   │      ├── MRP, Purchasing, Work Scheduling ← Plant-level
   │      │
   │      ├── Storage Location (0001, 0002, ...)
   │      │      └── Storage Data ← Storage Location-level
   │      │
   │      └── Warehouse Number (WH1, ...)
   │             └── WM Data ← Warehouse-level
   │
   ├── Valuation Area = Plant ← Accounting is typically at Plant level
   │      └── Valuation class, Standard cost
   │
   └── Sales Org × Distribution Channel
          └── Sales Data ← Sales Org-level

Part 2: FI-Specific View Details (Financial Accounting)#

2.0 All Views × FI Involvement#

The Material Master has approximately 30 standard views. The table below clarifies the scope FI consultants need to own.

Legend: ◎ = Owner / Critical, ○ = Direct involvement, △ = Reference / Integration, × = Other module owns, — = Display-only view

2.1 Accounting 1 View#

The heart of MM→FI integration. Every goods movement posts to G/L accounts determined by settings in this view.

2.2 Accounting 2 View#

Supplemental valuation for statutory reporting and write-down programs.

2.3 Costing 1 View (FI perspective)#

While CO owns the Costing views, FI consultants must understand how they feed inventory valuation.

2.4 Costing 2 View (FI perspective)#

2.5 FI-Relevant Fields in Other Views#

Basic Data 1 — FI-relevant#

Sales: General/Plant — FI-relevant#

Purchasing View — FI-relevant#

2.6 Automatic Account Determination (OBYC) — FI Design Reference#

The Valuation Class in Accounting 1 is the master key for automatic account determination. Every stock movement posts via OBYC using the following logic:

Design principle: For each Material Type used in the project, define the Valuation Class and map it to the G/L account set via OBYC. This matrix is the most important FI configuration deliverable in an SAP implementation.

What to Read Next#

L1) Big Picture

L2-A) Master Data

L2-B) Transaction