What was the starting point?
The port operator decided to set up its own payroll on SAP at a time when its parent group was consolidating employee data on a central digital HR platform. Payroll for staff working across multiple sites, entry and exit records, and employee movements on the group platform all needed to come together in a single structure.
How was the payroll structure set up?
The project began with a conceptual design. Personnel administration was configured, and wage types, valuation rules, cost centers and the cost center hierarchy were defined; master data templates were prepared, wages were checked and data was migrated. After payroll unit tests and parallel comparison checks with the users, the system went live and users received payroll training.
On the regulatory side, SGK (Social Security Institution) incentives, the minimum wage tax exemption, meal and private health insurance exemptions, the exemption rule and accounting entries for employer-contributed private pension (BES), and e-declaration and tax return requirements were built into payroll. Multi-period payroll and payroll summaries, payslips, employment certificates, bank payment files, and hiring and termination reports were tailored to the organization's needs.
What did the integrations cover?
The fields to be transferred between the group's digital HR platform and SAP were defined jointly, and web services were set up with the required access and security settings. Transfers and organizational changes flowed from the platform into the SAP organizational structure, while overtime and annual leave data was exchanged between the two systems. Integration of personnel data between the time and attendance control system and SAP was also in scope.
What happened after the project?
After go-live, IKSAP provided support for reconciling differences between payroll and finance postings, resolving integration errors, opening a new site, Fiori fixes in approval workflows, authorization reviews and annual regulatory updates. New fields were added to the group platform's payroll cost report.
Assessment
When a payroll implementation and a group-level digital HR integration run in parallel, clarifying at the outset which system is the master source for which data prevents most later errors. Having the team that built the integration also provide support makes it possible to quickly trace data discrepancies in the live environment back to their source.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which SAP HR areas were implemented in the project?
Personnel administration and payroll were implemented; organizational management and time data were connected to the structure through integrations.
Which systems was SAP integrated with?
With the group's central digital HR platform via web services, and with the time and attendance control system via personnel data transfer.
Which regulatory topics were addressed in payroll?
SGK incentives, the minimum wage tax exemption, meal and health insurance exemptions, employer-contributed private pension (BES), and e-declaration and tax return requirements.