- SAP Managed Tags:
Background
SAP Employee Central Payroll (ECP) is a critical payroll solution used by more than 2,000 customers globally within SuccessFactors. Given the sensitive nature of payroll, any change to a stable system often raises concerns.
So, what’s happening? SAP is modernizing the ECP system, transitioning it from older infrastructure to a more advanced, scalable environment. Current SAP's SuccessFactors Employee Central Payroll solution is based on a 20-year-old HCM system running on SAP ECC 6.0. Customers using EC Payroll have long benefited from:
➡️ A powerful payroll and time engine
➡️ Advanced tools such as the Payroll Control Centre
➡️ Seamless integrations with SuccessFactors and SAP S/4HANA
At the same time, SAP consultants and partners have shifted from legacy on-premise payroll solutions to cloud-based Employee Central Payroll.
However, 2027 is end of mainstream maintenance for ECC 6.0. That means Employee Central Payroll will have to move from current ECC 6.0 to S4 HANA. The main motivation for ECP modernization is the potential for innovation and a future ready technology. [Inputs from SAP ECP Product team]
Modernization
This shift is termed as Modernization of EC Payroll and it goes beyond migrating from ECC 6.0 to S4 HANA, laying the foundation for innovations like
- Position Budgeting Control (PBC) for industries like public sector, healthcare, and education
- AI-powered HR capabilities, such as "Explain My Pay Statement"
- A new HORIZON UI, providing a unified and modern user experience
- Enhanced Payroll Control Centre for improved payroll management
@RajivNema has written about this transition in his blog. My writeup focuses on what modernization means for customers and SAP partners supporting ECP.
What's Changing?
Traditionally SAP ECC system has been used for Finance, Material Management, Plant Maintenance, Sales & Distribution along with HR & Payroll. ECC System utilized for EC Payroll had all the fundamentals of other modules available but was restricted to Payroll only with addition of integration with SuccessFactors.
S4 HANA either the cloud or On-premise is the successor to ECC. With the modernization, SAP will convert existing ECP systems from SAP ECC 6.0 to SAP S/4HANA using a structured conversion approach.
Who is Responsible for the Conversion? SAP’s Cloud Management Team will manage technical conversion and infrastructure changes, while the customer and their partner support teams are responsible for verification, code adjustment, testing, and validation. Below are the key phases and activities.
1. Analysis Phase
SAP’s Role: Runs a Readiness Check tool to analyze
- Used functionalities
- Table volumes
- Custom codes and modifications
- Any additional third-party add-ons
- Customer and Partner Support Team’s Role:
- Review and analyze the Readiness Report generated by SAP
- Assesses custom codes and potential modifications
- Identify areas for testing and validation
For reference see to this blog post on SAP ECC to SuccessFactors conversion.
2. Initial Conversion (Sandbox Conversion)
- SAP’s Role:
- Creates a sandbox system from production system
- Performs the technical conversion to S/4HANA (estimated time: 2–5 business days)
- Ensures Sandbox system has the security like production; with access to limited users. SAP have confirmed that anonymizing of of employee data is not in scope. [Inputs from SAP ECP Product team]
- Customer and Partner Support Team’s Role:
- Resolves issues identified in the Readiness Check
- Addresses custom code corrections and adjustment
Please note, this sandbox system will not be linked to Employee Central, so replication issues may arise later. For more details, refer to SAP’s Custom Code Migration Guide.
3. Development System Conversion
- SAP’s Role:
- After sandbox testing, SAP converts development system to the new infrastructure
- Development access will be restricted during the conversion; the test system will be used for urgent BAU issues. Customers should plan their activities accordingly
- Customer and Partner Support Team’s Role:
- Corrects custom codes (similar to sandbox testing) and stores them in transports for later deployment.
- Conducts unit testing, including various replication scenarios from EC to ECP
4. QA/Test System Conversion
- SAP’s Role:
- Convert the QA/test system after development system approval
- Applies remediations identified in the development system
- Customer and Partner Support Team’s Role:
- Refreshes EC and ECP systems before conversion for realistic accurate testing results
- Deploy correction transports and other fixes from the development system
- Redeploy integration where neccessary
- Conducts following testing:
- Integration testing
- Payroll result comparisons (before and after migration)
- User Acceptance Testing (UAT)
5. Production Deployment - A Two-week soft freeze is enforced, during which no major development should occur
- SAP’s Role:
- Convert the production system after successful QA testing; approximately 2 days, likely over the weekend. During this period:
- Admin access will be restricted
- Employee replication will be paused
- Payroll self-service (pay statements) will be temporarily unavailable
- Convert the production system after successful QA testing; approximately 2 days, likely over the weekend. During this period:
- Customer and Partner Support Team’s Role:
- Conducts validation post-conversion, including:
- System connectivity checks
- User access verification
- Basic payroll transactions
- Ensure the system is stable for regular use
- Post-migration Hyper-care Support
Conversion Experience & Key Takeways
I participated in a test migration from ECC 6.0 to S/4HANA, including HR/Payroll, in a non-production environment. This provided valuable insights into SAP’s modernization efforts. The new H4S4 functionality (SAP HCM for S/4HANA) introduces Fiori-based apps, replacing legacy solutions, with some features potentially coming to SuccessFactors soon. For more details on these enhancements, check this link.
Conclusion
The ECP modernization is not just a technical upgrade—it’s a transformation toward a more advanced, scalable, and future-ready payroll solution. While SAP handles most of the technical conversion, customers and partners play an active role in testing and validation.
This transition will not only future-proof payroll operations but also unlocks new innovations and efficiencies to organizations leveraging SAP Employee Central Payroll. 🚀
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