A business object is a term used to describe an artifact in an ERP system. A single business object can have one or more nodes (entities) that describe it in a hierarchical structure, one or more fields (attributes) that store data about the business object, and transactional operations that allow you to create, update, and delete business data for that object. A business object could be a document (customer invoice, employment contract), legal entities (customer, bank), or physical objects (material, inventory item).
Before creating a custom business object, make sure it doesn't already exist in the SAP S/4HANA Cloud system. The Graph Navigator (select the sap.s4 entity) can be a resource to see entities that already exist in SAP S/4HANA Cloud and their attributes. In the event a business object doesn't exist for what the customer requires, you can use the Custom Business Objects app to create a custom business object. Custom business objects can be used to generate database tables, services (APIs), UIs, and applications.
After creating the initial business object information, select the relevant features. For example, check the box, User Interface to generate an app UI from the object. You could also check the box, Can Be Associated to allow yourself to create a custom field that you add to an app UI to call the business object in the future. One node is automatically generated to match the object name, and you can add additional nodes below it, if necessary. Last, enter data for the fields that will hold information that describes the object or is related to it. If we generate an app UI from the object, these fields will be visible on the screen when you open the app.
Assign the business object to a business catalog and view the app UI
After publishing the business object, you can add business logic. In addition, you'll see a link titled Maintain Catalogs on the General Information tab. Select this link to jump into the Custom Catalog Extensions app where you need to assign the business object to an existing business catalog.
After assigning the app to a catalog, assign the role that includes this catalog to your user and refresh your browser. Once you have permission to access the app UI, you'll see the link Go to Generated UI become available in the business object. Click this link to explore the new app. Remember, the app will not display on the launchpad unless you add it to a launchpad page connected to a launchpad space that is mapped to the same business role as the business catalog.
Last, consider how the business object will be used. Do you need to link to the business object from another application? If so, does that application support custom fields? In the Custom Fields app, you can create a custom field with an association to a standard business object that already exists in the system, or a custom business object you've created.
Learn more about creating custom business objects in the SAP Help Portal and in this tutorial.