Scenario 1 — Allocating amounts posted to Main Accounts with no dimensions
Root cause. Your cost object dimension is built from a financial dimension (e.g., Cost center/Department). When a GL transaction has no value for that dimension, the imported cost element entry is assigned to the blank / unassigned cost object. Your distribution and allocation policies source from specific cost objects, so entries sitting on the blank cost object are simply invisible to them — hence "cannot allocate."
Recommended approach (in order of preference):
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Fix it at the source — the real solution going forward. Make the dimension mandatory so cost objects are always populated:
- Use account structures with advanced rules to require the cost center/department dimension on your P&L (cost) main accounts, and/or
- Set default financial dimensions on the main accounts or on the source (e.g., project, vendor, fixed asset) so postings never come through "naked."
This is the only way to make the numbers structurally correct rather than repaired after the fact.
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For the data already imported without dimensions — reassign it inside Cost accounting first, then allocate. The clean in-module pattern is a two-step cost flow:
- Add the blank/unassigned cost object into a cost object dimension hierarchy node so it becomes addressable.
- Create a cost distribution policy that uses that unassigned cost object as the source and distributes its balance onto your real cost objects using a rational distribution base (a statistical driver like headcount, area, machine hours, or a defined percentage).
- Sequence this distribution before your allocation in the overhead calculation. Once the distribution moves the amounts onto real cost objects, your existing cost-object-sourced allocation policy will pick them up normally.
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For one-off or non-systematic amounts, a cost accounting journal (manual reclassification from the blank cost object to the correct cost objects) is a legitimate alternative when there's no systematic driver.
Bottom line: un-dimensioned GL postings aren't "unallocatable" — they're just parked on a blank cost object. Either prevent them at posting time (best) or run a distribution from the blank cost object before allocation.
Scenario 2 — Getting all GL values into the Cost Control Workspace
Two things determine what appears in Cost accounting: (a) which main accounts are mapped in the cost element dimension, and (b) whether those transactions carry a cost object. That's why you're only seeing overhead-calculation output today.
Why you currently see only allocation/overhead values. The most likely reasons:
- Only the accounts that participate in your policies are mapped as primary cost elements, so nothing else flows in; and/or
- The actual GL amounts have no cost object (Scenario 1's issue), so they fall outside the cost control unit's cost object hierarchy node — leaving only the policy-generated entries (which do land on real cost objects) visible in the workspace.
To bring in all Profit & Loss values (this is supported and correct):
- Extend the cost element dimension so the full range of P&L (cost and revenue) main accounts is mapped as primary cost elements — not just the ones used in overhead calc.
- Make sure the source data is processed/imported for the period across all those accounts.
- Ensure those postings carry cost objects (per Scenario 1) so they sit under your cost control unit's hierarchy node. Once that's true, you'll see the actual cost element entries, not just the distributed/allocated results.
On the Balance Sheet — an honest scoping note. Bringing the complete Balance Sheet into the Cost Control Workspace is against the design of the module, and I'd advise against it. Cost accounting is a managerial cost-and-revenue (P&L) engine — costs are analyzed by cost object. Balance sheet accounts (assets, liabilities, equity) generally have no cost object, so even if you mapped them as cost elements they'd all pile onto the blank cost object and render meaninglessly in a cost-object-centric workspace. The Cost Control Workspace is simply not built to present asset/liability balances.
For a genuine "complete Balance Sheet + P&L" view, use the tools designed for it instead:
- Financial reporting (Management Reporter) for statutory BS + P&L,
- the GL trial balance / account inquiries, or
- Power BI / financial analytics on the GL.
Keep the Cost Control Workspace for managerial cost control (actual vs. budget by cost object, cost flow through distribution/allocation) — that's where it adds value.
The unifying insight
Both symptoms trace back to missing cost objects on your GL postings. If you (1) enforce the driving dimension at posting time, (2) redistribute the historical blank-cost-object amounts before allocating, and (3) map your full P&L account range as primary cost elements, you'll resolve the allocation gap and populate the workspace with real actuals — while leaving the balance sheet to Financial reporting where it belongs.
