Understanding Cross-Application Time Sheet (CATS)

Objective

After completing this lesson, you will be able to understand the Cross-Application Time Sheet (CATS).

The Cross-Application Time Sheet

What Is CATS?

Diagram showing CATS interfaces feeding data to storage and validation logic, leading to target applications: HCM for time quotas/payroll, FI/CO for costs/invoices, PLM for costs/progress, and SCM for external employees.

The cross-application time sheet (CATS) is a cross-application tool for recording working times and tasks. It enables you to control all business processes concerning your employees’ tasks – from paying the employees, through monitoring the progress of a project, to creating invoices.

The strength of the time sheet is that your employees usually record their time data themselves and can use it for both HCM and other applications. This means that invoices can be created for internal and external departments and project work can be monitored over time.

There are essentially three types of time recording using CATS:

  1. CATS classic

    CATS classic is the original user interface of the CATS in the SAP system. It is particularly suited to users that also use the SAP system to complete other tasks. CATS classic is the most suitable user interface. For example, administrative assistants can enter working times for multiple personnel numbers.

  2. CATS regular

    CATS regular offers a similar data entry screen and comparable functions to CATS classic. However, this user interface has been optimized for use as an employee self-service application in a web browser.

  3. CATS notebook

    The data entry screen for the CATS notebook is similar to that of CATS classic and CATS regular. CATS notebook also runs in the web browser. The CATS notebook is designed for use with notebooks, and is particularly suited to employees who have to travel a lot and cannot always have a connection to the SAP system to record their working times.

Overview CATS Process

Workflow diagram showing employees or clerks recording working time, managers approving working term, and a clerk transferring the information to applications, then checking entries in backend systems for validation.

The process in the CATS consists of the following steps:

  1. Record working time

    To do this, the employee or project employee informs the clerk of the hours worked. This can be done verbally, in writing, by e-mail or in another way. It is easier if the employee enters the data themselves via a web interface, for example, via an employee self-service. This also has the advantage that the employee can release the times themselves for approval. The steps release of time data is optional and a customizing setting.

  2. Approve working time

    Most time sheet records contain confidential data relating to the employees’ payment or to the progress of a project, for example. You can therefore have line managers, project leads, or others in your enterprise check and approve recorded working times. The step approval of time data is optional and a customizing setting.

  3. Transfer to application

    You use the time sheet to record data that can be relevant for several SAP components. Some employees, for example, record data confirming a project system network. Others use the time sheet to enter time data for personnel time management. Sometimes, employees record data that is relevant for several target components at once.

  4. Check recorded entries in the backend systems

    Of course, you check the successful transfer of data in the back-end systems from time to time.

Here are the prerequisites for working with CATS:

PrerequisitePurpose
Data Entry Profile
  • Defines which fields are available for data entry
  • Defines the target applications to which data is to be transferred
HR Mini-Master Data
  • Includes personnel number and personal data of the employees for whom data is to be entered
  • You can store various employee-specific default values for CATS in the Time Sheet Defaults infotype (0315).
Authorizations
  • Applicable authorizations are required to permit employees to work with the time sheet
  • Authorizations control what the employee is able to do (for example: enter time, change time, delete time)

CATS - Record Working Time Example

Diagram shows an employee recording working time in SAP's Time Sheet Data Entry View using two types: FI/CO for financials (Area/Order Type) and HCM for HR (Attendance/Absence Type).

CATS - Record Working Time Example

CATS Classic is the original user interface of the CATS in the SAP system, which can be called with the transaction CAT2. It is particularly suited to users who also use the SAP system to perform other tasks. CATS Classic is the most suitable user interface for entering working times for multiple personnel numbers, for example, by secretaries.

If you consider the process of recording working times on an abstract level, you can identify the following scenarios. Both scenarios can be depicted using any of the independent user interfaces of the time sheet.

However, different user interfaces are not equally suited to the different scenarios:

Scenario 1: Distribution of Working Time for One Day

Within one data entry period, you record some working hours that you want to distribute between different working time attributes (for example, internal orders or statistical key figures) for each day. In other words, you record your working times primarily for fractions of days.

Scenario 2: Recording for Whole Days

Within one data entry period, you record working times for different receiver objects, for example, customer orders for which you also enter additional information (for example, overtime or kilometers driven). Whereas the additional information varies, the basic data (the task type and receiver) is normally valid for more than one day. In other words, you record your working times primarily for whole days.

Learning

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