Streamlining Business Trip Requests in SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central

[Mohamed_Ahmed_Elzeny]

This blog dives into how to create a custom solution within SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central to manage business trip requests, per diem calculations, and expense claims.
For Sure any Standard solution for business trips will be better, but this blog describes a workaround that may fit with customers who don’t have a standard solution from the SAP side like SAP Concur.

The Challenge: Streamlining the Business Trip Process
Many companies struggle with a disconnected business trip process, often lacking functionalities like:

• Automated per diem calculations based on location and duration.
• Integration with timesheets to prevent automatic absence deductions for business trips.
• A system for employees to claim per diem and other expenses at their convenience.
• Preventing duplicate claims for the same trip.
• Allowing attachments of invoices for additional expense claims.

SAP SuccessFactors: Standard vs. Custom Solution
While SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central doesn't offer a standard solution for this specific need, we can leverage its functionalities and create a custom solution using:

• Standard Features: Utilize existing features like leave requests and workflows.
• Custom Objects: Build custom objects to capture per diem rates, expense claims, and attachments.

Breaking Down the Requirements into Phases
To achieve our goal, let's break down the requirements into manageable phases:
Phase 1: Employee Requests a Business Trip (Time off Request)

1. Employee initiates request: Employees submit a business trip request through the Employee Self-Service (ESS) portal.
2. Timesheet reflection: The system automatically reflects the approved business trip dates on the employee's timesheet, preventing absence deductions.
3. Per diem calculation: A custom formula calculates the per diem amount based on location and duration (information captured during the request).

Phase 2: Employee Claims the Business Trip (Reimbursement in Benefit)

1. Claiming expenses: Employees can submit expense claims for per diem and any additional approved expenses through the ESS portal at any time.
2. Invoice attachment: Employees can attach invoices to support additional expense claims.

Phase 3: Employee Claims and Preventing Duplicate Claims

1.  Claim validation: The system validates claims against previously claimed trips, preventing duplicate claims for the same business trip.
2. Claim status update: Once a claim is submitted, the system marks the corresponding business trip as "Claimed" to prevent further claims.

Implementation Steps:
Phase 1: Employee Requests a Business Trip (Time Off Request):

1. Create a Time Type Called Business Trip as Absence:
   • Within SAP SuccessFactors, navigate to Manage Data > Time Types.
   • Create a new time type named "Business Trip" and categorize it as an absence type.
2. Consider Time Type Valuation:
   • Options include paid absence or working time (depending on company policy).
3. Custom Fields for Per Diem and Trip Details:
   • In Configure Object Definitions > Time Off Objects "Employee Time".
   • Create custom fields to capture information relevant to per diem calculations and business trip details. Examples include:
   o Destination City/Country
   o Per Diem Rate (linked to a reference table for different locations)
   o Trip Start Date (use the time off standard start date)
   o Trip End Date (use the time off standard end date)
   o Project Association (if applicable)
4. Conditional Fields:
   • Utilize SAP SuccessFactors' support for conditional fields. These fields ensure compatibility by only appearing when necessary (e.g., when "Business Trip" is selected as the time of type).
   Additional Considerations for Phase 1:
   • Workflow Integration: Define a workflow to route business trip requests for approval by managers or relevant departments.
   • Leave Request Form Customization: Modify the leave request form in ESS to include the new custom fields for capturing business trip details.

Phase 2: Employee Claims the Business Trip (Reimbursement in Benefit):
Phase 1 laid the groundwork for capturing business trip information during the leave request process. Let's delve into Phase 2: Employee Claims the Business Trip.
Challenge: Bridging the Gap Between Time Off and Benefits
Since SAP SuccessFactors doesn't offer native integration between Time Off requests and Benefit reimbursements, we'll create a custom bridge:
Solution: The "Business Trip Data Collection" Object

1. Object Creation: Develop a custom object named "Business Trip Data Collection."
2. Data Mapping: This object will mirror the relevant fields related to business trips from the "Employee Time" object (used for time off requests). This includes:
   • Destination City/Country
   • Per Diem Rate
   • Trip Start Date
   • Trip End Date
   • Project Association (if applicable)
   • External Code (mapped to the time of request's unique identifier)
3. Integration Center Magic: Utilize the Integration Center to map the external code between the "Employee Time" and "Business Trip Data Collection" objects. This ensures data consistency, plus all the business trip details and especially the total per diem amount that will be claimed by employees.
4. Claim Status Object: Create another custom object called "Claim Status" with a single value: "Claimed." This will be linked to the "Business Trip Data Collection" object in Phase 3, plus a field called claim date.

Configuration Considerations:

1. "Respects Target Criteria": In the "Business Trip Data Collection" object, ensure "Respects Target Criteria" is set to "Yes" and enabled in provisioning. This allows each employee to maintain their own requests.
2. Workflow: Not Required: No workflow is needed for this object as data transfer happens automatically.
3. Integration Scheduling: Configure the integration process to run multiple times per day to ensure near real-time data transfer between time off requests and the "Business Trip Data Collection" object.
4. Maintain searchable Fields: to make it easy for the employee to choose which business trip to claim on.
5. Permissions: Permission for this object must be for employees themselves.

Benefits of Phase 2:

• This custom bridge seamlessly transfers business trip data from time off requests to a dedicated object for further processing in Phase 3 (expense claims).
• By leveraging the Integration Center, data consistency is maintained between time off and claim objects.

Phase 3: Employee Claims and Preventing Duplicate Claims.
We've arrived at the magic phase - claim processing! Here's how to configure Phase 3 to empower employees with a seamless claim experience while preventing duplicate submissions.

Employee Claim Configuration:

1. Benefit Reimbursement: Within Benefits, configure a "Business Trip" reimbursement option with no spending limit.
2. Custom Fields in Benefits employee claim object:
   • Create a custom field linked to the "Business Trip Data Collection" object to display the employee’s business trip list.
   • Create a custom field to populate the per diem amount from the business trip data collection field.
   • Create another custom field for employees to enter any additional approved expense amounts.
3. Attachment Feature: Enable the attachment feature within the reimbursement form for employees to submit supporting invoices.

Preventing Duplicate Claims:

1. Association Magic: In the Benefit "Employee Claim" object, create a hidden field named "Claim Status" that associates with the "Business Trip Data Collection" object.
2. Default Status: By default, the "Claim Status" field in the "benefit Employee Claim" object should be null.
3. Leveraging Associations: When an employee submits a claim, the association will automatically filter out any "Business Trip" options already marked as "Claimed" in the "Business Trip Data Collection" object.

Additional Phase 3 Considerations:

1. Pay Component: Create a non-recurring pay component named "Business Trip Allowance" to handle per diem payments.
2. Business Rules:
   • Develop a business rule to populate the "Business Trip Data Collection" objects per diem amount into the "Total Claim Amount" field (non-editable) within the Benefit "Employee Claim" object, or to the per diem custom field, according to company policy.
   • Create another business rule to calculate the total claim amount by summing the per diem amount and any additional expenses entered by the employee.
3. Claim Workflow: Assign an appropriate workflow to the claim cycle for approval routing.
4. "Claim Status" Update: Implement a business rule to update the "Claim Status" field in the "Business Trip Data Collection" object to "Claimed" upon saving a claim if the claim date is not equal to null.
5. Integration Center Magic (Again): Configure the integration between the Benefit "Employee Claim" and "Business Trip Data Collection" objects to run multiple times per day. This ensures the "Claim Status" field updates promptly, preventing duplicate claims.

Benefits of Phase 3:

• This phase empowers employees with a user-friendly interface to claim per diem and other approved expenses.
• The association concept and "Claim Status" field effectively prevent duplicate claims for the same business trip.
• Business rules streamline calculations and ensure accurate claim amounts.

Conclusion
By implementing this custom solution across the three phases, you can significantly enhance your business trip process within SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central. Employees will experience a smoother experience for requesting, reflecting, and claiming business trips, while the organization benefits from streamlined workflows and reduced administrative burden.