Cost in SAP PM (S/4HANA) — The Only Explanation You Actually Need

In PM, everyone talks about cost…

but very few consultants truly understand how cost moves inside a maintenance order.

If you want to be taken seriously in S/4HANA projects, you need to know the three cost layers and how they behave.

Here’s the clean crisp clear version 👇

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1️⃣ Estimated Cost

This is the planner’s guess.
Typed manually in the order header.

Used for:
• approvals
• budgeting discussions
• rough idea before starting work

No SAP calculation.
Just experience.

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2️⃣ Planned Cost

This is SAP’s calculated cost based on what you add to the order:
• Components (material price)
• Operations (activity type × hours)
• Service lines (info record / SRV price)

Planned cost updates automatically when the order structure changes.

This is the first “realistic” number.

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3️⃣ Actual Cost

This is what actually happened in the plant:
• Material issue (GI) → cost hits the order
• Labor confirmation → hours × activity rate
• Vendor invoice (MIRO) → external service
• Overheads → costing sheet

Every actual cost posts directly into ACDOCA in S/4HANA.

This is the number Finance lives with.

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📌 Simple Example: Replace a Pump Seal

Estimated:

Planner enters ₹10,000.

Planned (SAP Calculation):

Seal: ₹6,000
Bolts: ₹500
Labor: 2 hrs × ₹800 = ₹1,600
Vendor: ₹2,500
Planned = ₹10,600

Actual:

Seal issued: ₹6,000
Extra bolts: ₹200
Labor: 3 hrs × ₹800 = ₹2,400
Vendor MIRO: ₹2,700
Actual = ₹11,300

Now you see the story:
Estimated → Planned → Actual
All three rarely match, and that’s exactly the point.

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🔄 Cost Movement Inside S/4HANA (In Plain Words)

1. Estimated — no posting

Just sits in the order.

2. Planned — no FI posting

SAP calculates but doesn’t hit the books.

3. Actual — FI/CO hits immediately
• GI → Order debited
• Time confirmation → Order debited
• MIRO → Order debited
• Cost center/vendor credited

4. Settlement (KO88)

Costs move from PM order → Asset / Cost Center / WBS.
Order becomes zero (unless statistical).

This is the life cycle of cost in PM.

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Final Thought

If you understand cost flow,
you don’t just close orders…
you run maintenance like a business.

That’s the difference between a consultant and an architect.