Project structures and networks
Work breakdown structures, activity networks, milestones and schedules are designed at a level detailed enough to manage and simple enough for teams to maintain.
SAP PS: trace project budgets and costs through to accounting.
PS (Project System) structures investment, construction and service projects: what is spent, on which activity and against which budget. We connect project management, controlling and finance through to settlement and project closure.
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01 · UNDERSTAND
Connect the project structure to financial control.
Use representative projects to agree the level of detail, ownership and accounting treatment. Budget, commitments, actual costs and settlement need to tell a consistent story.
- Keep project structures practical to maintain.
- Compare budgets, commitments and actual costs.
- Assign purchases and time to the right project element.
- Define settlement and project-closing controls.
02 · DESIGN & DELIVER
Expertise grounded in how you work.
Budgets and commitments
Initial budgets, supplements, transfers, purchase commitments and availability control are assessed together. The scope determines how teams monitor actual and expected expenditure.
Purchasing, time and cost assignments
MM purchasing, time and expenses are assigned to the appropriate project elements. Assignment rules and period-end controls connect operational activity to project reporting.
Settlement, assets and project billing
We scope settlement to assets under construction or other permitted receivers, together with relevant CO and billing integration. Accounting policy, SAP edition and release determine the appropriate treatment.
COPERNIC · PEOPLE & EXPERTISE
The expertise your scope requires.
Scoping identifies the functional and technical skills, responsibilities and profiles required. Business decisions are connected to SAP design and acceptance criteria, within the agreed landscape and scope.
Business understandingSystem expertise
Discuss the expertise your team needs03 · WORK TOGETHER
A clear approach, from scoping to handover.
- 01
Review real projects
Trace representative projects from structure to closure.
- 02
Agree structures and rules
Define project templates, account assignments and settlement requirements.
- 03
Test a representative project
Validate expenditure, budget control, settlement and accounting entries together.
04 · MAKE IT CONCRETE
Deliverables your teams can use.
We agree the scope and acceptance criteria at the start of the engagement, based on your landscape and priorities.
- Project-structure templates suited to your project types.
- Assignment, budget-control and settlement rules.
- Tests covering commitments, costs, settlement and accounting.
- A project-closing procedure.
USEFUL ANSWERS
Your questions.
How do PS and CO differ?
CO provides management accounting across cost centres, orders and other objects. PS adds project structures and controls. Their integration connects project costs to the relevant management-accounting receivers.
How can project costs become an asset?
Eligible costs may be settled to an asset under construction and then capitalised when appropriate. Finance validates eligibility, timing and accounting treatment under the applicable policies.
Is PS suitable for a services business?
That depends on the need for project budgets, time recording and billing. Scoping compares PS with simpler CO arrangements and other available solutions.
Does the approach apply to S/4HANA?
Capabilities and settlement options depend on the edition, release and deployment model. These are checked before confirming the target design.
A CONCRETE FIRST STEP
Map your project flows.
One process, the people involved and the evidence already available.
Proposed starting deliverables
Process map, prioritised actions and acceptance criteria.
Scope, access, schedule and fees are agreed together before starting. No fixed duration or outcome is implied.
Scope this first step →Explore an interactive example ↗