Understanding Process Steps and Business Roles for Project Control - Finance

Every project is distinguished through a unique identifier. You are given the option for the next available ID. You can either choose this or use a unique ID of your own. You must provide the identifier, planned start and finish dates, and the project profile for every new project.

Under the General Information section, you must provide the responsible cost center and the profit center. For ease of use, you can choose to have these fields defaulted in the user settings.

Upon entering all header details for your project, you can save the project. However, if you do not save the project, all your changes are automatically available in a draft version. You can access the draft from the list of projects, and subsequently save the changes.

The initial processing status of a project is set to Created.

You can create a new project by copying basic project data including the project structure, work packages, milestones and project team from an existing project.

Before starting the actual copy process, you need to specify the name and ID as well as the planned start or finish date of the new project. Based on this data and the duration of the source project, the system determines the planned dates of the new project as well as the IDs and planned dates of its work packages. Actual and forecasted dates, costs, overall status, detailed statuses, related objects, and attachments are not copied to the new project.

The system first creates and opens an initial draft version of the new project. You can view system messages that were issued during the copy process and edit the project data before you save it.

The new project is saved with the initial processing status Created. Processing status, overall status and detailed statuses can only be maintained once an active version of the project has been saved.

You can view and maintain settlement rules for overhead projects, investment projects and project with direct revenue. You can edit these settlement rules through the corresponding object pages.

You can change the processing status of a project. The processing status denotes at what stage the project is in from a business point of view.

You can edit projects through the corresponding object pages. The editing fields displayed depend on the profile of the project you choose to edit.

When you choose to delete a project, the deletion applies for not just the project header but the overall project structure. Based on the processing status and other associated business conditions, the deletion of a project is restricted.

The processing status of a project indicates what part of the project lifecycle it is in. It controls which processing steps are allowed for projects during the individual lifecycle phases.

Based on where the project has reached from a business point of view, the project financial controller or project manager can decide when to change the processing status of the project. You can change the processing status of a project in the Project Control app and the Project Planning app. You can change the processing status of a work package in the Project Planning app. The processing status of a project or work package influences the status of the lower-level work packages and vice versa.

Projects and work packages also have a system status which is related to their processing status but documents their current processing stage in a more detailed way. The system status can be displayed in the status details for the processing status.

Note

Work packages are also referred to as work breakdown structure (WBS) elements in some apps, such as the Project Builder app.

• Created

  This is the initial status of a project. In this status, you can carry out project planning functions.

• Partially Released

  This status is set automatically when any of the lower-level project elements are set to Released. This status cannot be set manually.

• Released

  You can set this status to indicate that a project is now ready for execution. All the lower-level project elements that have the status Created are automatically released along with the project. You can now add costs to the project and record actual dates for project milestones.

• Completed

  You can set this status if a project is complete from a technical point of view. All the lower-level project elements that have the status Released are automatically set to Completed along with the project. You can no longer edit the project data such as structure, dates, status or team. However, you still have the option to post further costs to the project. You have the option to move the project back to the Released status.

• Closed

  You can set this status when the project is also complete from an accounting point of view. All the lower-level project elements that have the status Completed are automatically set to Closed along with the project. You have the option to move the project back to the Completed status.

Note

For any of the above status values, you can choose to lock the master data of the project by setting the status to Locked. By locking a project, you cannot carry out any editing functions on the project. You can subsequently unlock the project where it goes back to the previously set status.

By selecting a project structure element, you specify the position at which the new work package is to be created. The work package is inserted as follows:

• If you have selected the project, at the structure level below the project
• If you have selected a work package, at the structure level of the selected work package.

The system generates the work package ID based on the ID of the parent element and uses the same value for the work package name. It derives the following values from the project header: the organizational assignments of the work package, its Public Sector Management attributes and joint venture accounting attributes, its calendar, and control parameters, such as costing sheet, investment profile, or the default cost center for statistical postings.

The new work package is added to the draft version of the project with the initial status Created, and it is highlighted in the draft by a blue bar to its left. You can edit basic work package data in the Project Planning app, or detailed work package data in the Work Package app. If the parent element of the new work package has the processing status Released, the work package is released automatically when you next save the project.

By deleting a work package, you also delete all the work packages in its subtree.

Note

You cannot delete work packages if you have already planned costs

In projects with revenue, you cannot delete a work package if the work package itself or one of the work packages in its subtree is the only billing element in the project or if you have already planned revenue, maintained a settlement rule, or assigned a sales order item to it.

Billing Element is a project structure element against which a revenue can be planned and posted. It can either be a project or a work package. Billing element can be assigned to a sales order as an account assignment object. A billing element can be linked to a sales order with leading sales item and with a sales order with Free of Charge Item.

A project with revenue must contain at least one billing element. You can define multiple billing elements at different levels of the project structure. However, a billing element cannot have another billing element in its subtree, nor can it be part of the subtree of another billing element.

The image gives you a visual representation of project structure with multiple billing elements at different structure levels.

• Work Package WP2.2.1.1 cannot be a billing element as it is a part of subtree of billing element WP2.2.1.
• Work package WP2.0 cannot be a billing element, as its subtree contains billing elements WP 2.1 and WP2.2.1, WP2.2.2 and WP2.3.

To change the project or a work package from a billing element to a non-billing element in the project structure, all the below listed conditions must be satisfied:

• Settlement rule cannot exist on the project or work package
• Planned or actual revenue cannot exist on the project or work package
• There cannot be assignments made to any sales order item.

• Create project (Work Breakdown Structure)

• Capture planned project costs

• Review the project

• Release project or project parts

• Record time

• Perform requisitioning

• Post general journal entry

• Direct activity allocation

• Execute period-end closing for projects - Generate settlement rule, apply overheads, run settlement, monitor financials

• Check or update settlement rules

• Monitor project

• Complete project parts and project

• Close project parts and project

To run this business process you need the following roles:

• Project Financial Controller

• Business Process Configuration Expert

• General Ledger Accountant

• Cost Accountant – Overhead

• Analytics Specialist

1. Log into the SAP S/4HANA Cloud system.

2. Select the Manage Business Roles application from the Launchpad.

3. Select a Business Role.

4. Select the Assigned Business Catalogs tab to view the standard Business Catalogs assigned to the standard Business Role.

5. Select a Business Catalog.

6. Select the Catalog Description tab to view the Functional Description, Authorization Criteria, and Associated Catalogs information.

7. Select the Applications tab to view the Fiori apps mapped to the Business Catalog.

Note

To customize Business Roles, use the option Create From Template in the Maintain Business Roles application to create a copy of an SAP Standard Business Role for editing.

Caution

Do not edit SAP Standard Business Roles directly.