SKAT

Transparent table · textsG/L account textsText table for SKA1

The G/L account descriptions, the names behind every account number. SKAT is the text table for SKA1: one row per account, per language, holding the short and long text. Without it a trial balance is a column of numbers; SKAT supplies the labels every finance report needs.

Primary key: MANDT · SPRAS · KTOPL · SAKNR (client · language · chart of accounts · G/L account). It is the text table for SKA1, joined on KTOPL · SAKNR. Because cost elements merged into G/L accounts in S/4HANA, SKAT now names those accounts too.

◆Key fields (SKAT)

Field	Key	In reports	Description
SPRAS	PK	●	Language key, the language the text is in (e.g. E, D, F).
KTOPL	PK	●	Chart of accounts, the account plan the account belongs to.
SAKNR	PK	●	G/L account number (matches RACCT in ACDOCA, HKONT in BSEG).
TXT20		●	Short text, the 20-character account name.
TXT50		●	Long text, the 50-character account description.
MCOD1		○	Search term (matchcode), used for lookups.

◆How SKAT relates to the rest of the model

SKAT is the text; the account master, its company-code settings, and the postings sit in other objects and share the account number.

Object	Holds	Joined on
SKA1	G/L account master, chart-of-accounts level (account group, type)	KTOPL · SAKNR
SKB1	G/L account master, company-code level (currency, recon, tax)	BUKRS · SAKNR
ACDOCA	The postings, amounts by account	RACCT = SAKNR

The canonical join is SKA1 to SKAT on KTOPL · SAKNR, filtered to one language (SPRAS). In ACDOCA the account is field RACCT; it matches SAKNR here, so SKAT is the label source for the account dimension.

◆One row per language, pick the right SPRAS

Because the same account is described in every installed language, SKAT stores a separate row per language. Forget the filter and every account multiplies by the number of languages.

To get…	Filter
English account names	SPRAS = 'E'
The report user's language	SPRAS = :login_language
One row per account (simple lists)	one fixed SPRAS

The account number on its own, RACCT in ACDOCA, is meaningless to a reader. SKAT is what turns "0000400000" into "Cost of Goods Sold" on a trial balance or financial statement. Model it once as the account dimension and every report inherits consistent names.

◆S/4HANA status

SKAT is not replaced, it is a live transparent table and still the text table for SKA1. The upgrade-safe way to read the account with its name is a released G/L-account analytical view, which surfaces the master and its text over the same data.

In S/4HANA the cost element merged into the G/L account, so SKAT now also describes accounts that were secondary cost elements. The totals table GLT0 is gone, balances come from ACDOCA. Read the master and texts from SKA1 / SKAT or the released views, never via ODP-RFC.

◆Where this surfaces, how to read it

The account-name column on a trial balance or financial statement
The label of the account dimension behind every G/L, AP, and AR report
SKA1 joined to SKAT on SAKNR, the account master with its name, filtered to one language

◆Reports that use it

Trial Balance, account number plus its name, balance by account
Financial Statement, accounts rolled into balance sheet and P&L lines
Any report that shows a readable account name rather than a raw number

How the data gets out: a SAP-compliant extract of SKA1 / SKAT (or the released G/L-account view) via SLT or Table / Table-CDC, never ODP-RFC (SAP Note 3255746). See the extraction pattern →

Need account names in your reports?

We model the G/L account with its text as a conformed account dimension, name, type, FSV node, so every report labels accounts the same way, and you own the code.

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Terms on this page

SKAT: The G/L account text table, short and long descriptions, per language.
SKA1: The G/L account master at chart-of-accounts level, account group and type.
SKB1: The G/L account master at company-code level, currency, reconciliation, tax.
G/L account (SAKNR): The account a posting hits; in ACDOCA it is field RACCT.
Chart of accounts (KTOPL): The account plan a company code uses.
Language key (SPRAS): The language a text is in, filter SKAT by it or accounts multiply.
Short / long text: TXT20 (20 char) and TXT50 (50 char), the account name and description.
Cost element merge: In S/4HANA the cost element is a G/L account, so SKAT names those too.
Text table: A table that holds language-dependent descriptions for a master table.
ACDOCA: The Universal Journal, postings by account (RACCT = SAKNR).