Setting Up Employee Replication

Objective

After completing this lesson, you will be able to set up Employee Replication.

Employee Replication

Overview

If Employee Replication is intended to be used, it should be configured and implemented after Cost Object Replication is successfully configured and all applicable Cost Objects have been exported to SAP Concur. This will help to ensure the successful completion of the Employee Replication process.

Going forward, customers should be instructed to make sure that their Cost Object Replication schedule takes place prior to their Employee Replication schedule. This will ensure that any employee impacting changes to the Cost Object list occur prior to the Employee Replication updates.

For example, if Cost Object Replication is set to run every day at 7 p.m. local time, Employee Replication should be set to run every day after 7 p.m. local time, perhaps at 7:30 or 8 p.m.

Many customers opt not to implement Employee Replication. There are a variety of reasons for this, but the main ones are:

  1. Some customers may not use SAP as their HR system, therefore, SAP is not the best system of record to be used to maintain user data in SAP Concur.
  2. Employee Replication does not support any of the supplemental data imports available in the CSV import, such as credit card assignment imports (650 record) and setting Authorized Approver limits (700, 720, and 750 records). Furthermore, combining Employee Replication with the CSV import is not supported.

API Documentation

Employee Replication uses the User API provided by SAP Concur to create user profiles. The Get User Response Schema table lists the fields available for Employee Replication.

Select the LEARN MORE button to review the documentation.

The User Administration screen in Concur Expense.

Running Employee Replication will populate and maintain the customer's list of users in SAP Concur. As with all methods for automating user profile maintenance, customers are encouraged to choose only one method and stick to just that method going forward.

Note

Employee Replication is not supported in SAP S/4HANA Cloud.

Some Things to Remember

  • Employee Replication creates and maintains user profiles within the SAP Concur system on a set schedule. All updates to employee data is done in the SAP system and those changes are pushed to SAP Concur.
  • Be sure the customer knows that Employee Replication uses the combination of Employee ID and Login ID to determine if it should create a new user or update an existing user. Changing a user's Employee ID or Login ID in SAP can have a negative impact on the data in SAP Concur.
  • Like all forms of automated user maintenance, customers should be informed that when using Employee Replication, manually creating and updating user profiles in SAP Concur is not recommended and should only be done with extreme caution.

Process

Now, let's take a moment to review the process of setting up and running Employee Replication. You will help the customer set up and run the integration, but they are responsible for the ongoing use of the tools.

Configuring Employee Replication

In this demo, you will see how to import employees from SAP into SAP Concur for one company code.

Please note that this demo starts with the user already logged in to the SAP site and on the cte_setup page.

Steps

  1. Set Up the Export

    Selecting the Setup Export tool for Employee Replication.
    1. Select the appropriate connection.
    2. Select Set Up Export from the Employee dropdown.

  2. Review the Instructions

    Reviewing the instructions and navigation to the first step.

    The left side of the Setting Up the Employee Export window displays a high-level overview of the steps that will be completed.

    The right side displays any instructions and other information necessary to complete this screen.

    Select the Continue button.

  3. Define the Employee ID

    Completing the first step and navigating to the second step of the process.

    The first step of the process is to determine how the Employee ID in SAP Concur will be generated. There are three options: Central Person ID, Person ID (Infotype 709), and Personnel Number. The Central Person ID will be used here, but the Vendor ID or Personnel Number is the most commonly used in real-world scenarios.

    1. Select Central Person ID.
    2. Select the Continue button.

  4. Define the Basic Financials

    Completing the second step and navigating to the third step of the process.
    1. Type the appropriate Ledger Code from SAP Concur in the Default Ledgerfield.
    2. Type the appropriate Cash Advance Account Code from SAP Concur in the Cash Advance Account Code field.
    3. Select the Continue button.

  5. Skip Field Mapping

    Completing the third step and navigating to the fourth step of the process.

    This screen can be used to define field mappings between SAP and SAP Concur. This mapping can be done later in the process.

    Select the Continue button.

  6. Skip Export Options

    Completing the fourth step and navigating to the fifth step of the process.

    Much like the same screen in Cost Object Replication, this screen can be used to filter the list of employees to be exported to SAP Concur. This filtering can be done later in the process.

    Select the Continue button.

  7. Skip Scheduling Options

    Completing the fifth step and navigating to the sixth step of the process.

    Much like the same screen in Cost Object Replication, this screen is used to define the export schedule.

    Select the Continue button.

  8. Save the Export Definition

    Reviewing the selected options and completing the process.

    Select the Complete button.

  9. Access the Field Mapping

    Selecting the Specify Field Mapping page.

    Select Specify Field Mapping from the Employee dropdown.

  10. Review the Filed Mapping

    The Field Mapping.

    This screen is used to review and update the field mappings between SAP and SAP Concur.

    Select the Save button.

  11. Run the Export

    Selecting the Manual Export page for Employee Replication.

    Select Manual Export from the Employee dropdown.

  12. Filter by Company Code

    Selecting the Company Code field.

    This screen is used to filter the employees to be exported. You can filter by Person ID, Personnel Number, Employment Status, Company Code, Personnel area, and Employee group.

    The Test Mode and Delete Employees options are used to test the export prior to running it and to deactivate employees in SAP Concur.

    Select the Company Code field.

  13. Select a Company Code

    Selecting a Company Code.
    1. Select the appropriate Company Code.
    2. Select the Copy button.

  14. Run the Export

    Running the export.

    Select the Execute button.

  15. Review the Results in SAP

    Reviewing the results in SAP.
    1. Review the export results.
    2. Select the Backbutton.

Result

Employee Replication is configured. You can check the results using the User Administration tool in the SAP Concur system if needed.

Set Up the Employee Replication

Follow the simulation directions below to practice setting up Employee Replication.

ExerciseStart Exercise

We've seen that Employee Replication is used to create the user profiles in SAP Concur. Once those profiles are set up, the customer can start entering expense data.

Summary

Let's Summarize What You've Learned:

  • Employee Replication creates and maintains user profiles in SAP Concur based on scheduled exports from SAP.
  • Cost Object Replication must run before Employee Replication to ensure data consistency and successful integration.
  • Customers should use only one automated method for user profile maintenance to avoid data conflicts.
  • Manual updates in SAP Concur are discouraged when Employee Replication is active, except in exceptional cases.
  • Employee Replication is not supported in SAP S/4HANA Cloud.

Learning

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