Responsible Cost Center in WBS element and Project

[JAS3311]

Hello, when creating a project or a WBS Element, the responsible Cost Center is mandatory. 

I know that based on the entered Cost Center, the Company Code for the project is determined. 
I found that the purpose of maintaining the cost center is to automate settlement rule creation from settlement strategy - here 
But I use SAP S4H Public Cloud edition and in the details of the settlement rule, I can NOT choose any settlement strategy: 

Can this strategy be created in CBC or elsewhere? 

Thank you for clarifying the use of responsible cost center in WBS elements and projects and of the settlement strategy. 

[Stephen_Ward]

Hi Customer, I've removed the FIN tags as this query is more relevant to EPPM, this will help with engaging with the correct experts to assist with your query Best Regards, Stephen

[Jeremy_Deo]

Hello dear user,

And thank you for asking your question in the SAP Community blog.

this is a common point of confusion in SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition regarding the role of the Responsible Cost Center on WBS Elements/Projects and settlement strategy configuration.

1. Responsible Cost Center in Project/WBS

• The Responsible Cost Center is mandatory because it determines who “owns” or manages the project/WBS from a controlling perspective.
• This cost center controls where costs are posted and also drives the company code determination for the project, since cost centers are assigned to a controlling area and company code.
• It helps ensure proper cost assignment and internal controlling, for example in cost planning, budget monitoring, and settlements.

2. Company Code Determination from Cost Center

• The system derives the Company Code for the project based on the company code assigned to the responsible cost center.
• This is standard behavior, because cost centers belong to a controlling area, which belongs to a company code, and projects must be assigned to exactly one company code.

3. Settlement Strategy & Settlement Rule in S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition

• In SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition, you cannot manually create or change settlement strategies like in SAP ECC or Private Cloud versions.
• The settlement strategy is predefined by SAP standard for projects and WBS elements.
• You do not select settlement strategies manually; instead, the system automatically uses the default settlement rule created during WBS or project creation.

4. Where is the Settlement Strategy Managed in Public Cloud?

• The settlement rules and strategies are typically predefined and managed by SAP.
• The Responsible Cost Center in WBS drives automatic creation of a settlement receiver in the settlement rule, generally pointing to the cost center or the internal order assigned.
• You can review settlement rules in the project system, but modifications are limited or restricted in Public Cloud.
• In some cases, you can configure settlement profiles or parameters via SAP Best Practice Configuration in the Manage Your Solution app or via SAP Fiori apps, but direct creation of settlement strategies as in ECC is not possible.
• CBC (Central Business Configuration) manages broad scope items and business configuration but does not allow creating custom settlement strategies for projects.

I hope this will help you answer your question.

Best regards,

Jeremy