If you have spent any time running fixed asset reports in SAP, either ECC or S/4HANA, you have probably learned to dread one specific moment: the moment a situation comes up where you have to download asset transactions. It’s not as simple as going to a single report. Using SE16N can also be difficult because the data isn’t all on a single table (in ECC that is!). A common request might be, “Can you download all of our asset retirements from last year?” It could be any other asset transaction or time period but getting line item activity on a fixed asset into Excel for further analysis isn’t easy.
Typically, you’ll run the Asset Transactions report (S_ALR_87012048), enter in your selection criteria and SAP greets you with a tidy hierarchical list. It looks lovely. It is also, regrettably, stuck there. SAP chose (a very long time ago) to present the data in a structured list. Each asset could have multiple transactions recorded against it so each one is presented that way. I would have thought (and expected) that if there were 4 transactions on an asset, I’d get a results screen with 4 rows of data. But that’s not how it looks in a structured list. There is also no Excel export icon. You can use the Export List button but it results in an even worse representation of the data. I could possible clean this up with an Excel macro but I’m too frustrated from looking at it to even attempt anything.
Where is my ALV Grid functionality! Going back to the selection screen, if you activate the below parameter…
Â
… you get this fun message!
Â
Thankfully, SAP Note 3588860 – ALV Grid enablement for Asset Transactions report (released August 8, 2025) is here to retire that ritual.
Â
What changes
The four reports below are getting a long-overdue upgrade when run with the [Use ALV grid] option:
- Asset Transactions (
RABEWG_ALV01) - Asset Acquisitions (
RAZUGA_ALV01) - Intracompany Asset Transfers (
RAUMBU_ALV01) - Asset Retirements (
RAABGA_ALV01)
Previously, activating the [Use ALV grid] parameter rendered the output as a hierarchical list — a format that, per SAP Note 2769330, is incompatible with Excel export. Here’s an example:
Â
With this correction applied, those same reports now produce a proper ALV Grid. Which means filtering, sorting, layouts, variants, and yes, that beautiful little Excel button you have been missing for years. Here it is… an ALV enabled transactional report in fixed assets (in the year 2025!)
Â
The small print (because there is always small print)
The ALV Grid does not carry a header line per asset, which is what made the old hierarchical view so handy for at-a-glance subtotals. Each transaction line is now listed individually. That is the correct behavior for a flat grid, but if you relied on those automatic per-asset sums, you have two clean ways to get them back:
- Use the standard ALV subtotal feature — group by asset and asset subnumber, and let the grid do the math.
- Define a custom Sort Variant with asset and asset subnumber at the lowest levels and save it as your default.
Five minutes of layout configuration, and you have a report that is both Excel-friendly and finance-friendly.
Â
Who can take advantage
The note applies to the following software components:
- S4CORE 106, 107, and 108
- SAP_FIN 617 and 618
You can either implement the attached correction instructions or pull in the relevant support packages (SAPK-10609INS4CORE, SAPK-10707INS4CORE, SAPK-10805INS4CORE, SAPK-61731INSAPFIN, or SAPK-61825INSAPFIN). A few prerequisite notes ride along — most notably 3392517 for the missing ‘Description’ header text on group totals, plus 1856261 and 1868621 for SAP_FIN 617 — so factor those into your transport plan.
Â
Why this matters
It is tempting to file this under “minor cosmetic improvement,” but anyone who has spent quarter-end exporting asset transaction data into Excel will recognize this for what it is: a meaningful quality-of-life win. The hierarchical list was a relic of a different era of SAP reporting, and removing the technical limitation that kept these four reports trapped inside it brings them in line with the rest of the modern Asset Accounting information system.
So go ahead. Apply the note, run your report, and click that [Use ALV grid] parameter like it owes you money. After all this time, it sort of does.
SAP Note: 3588860 – ALV Grid enablement for Asset Transactions report | Component: FI-AA-IS | Released: August 8, 2025
