Key takeaways
- The S/4HANA migration puts master data, approval workflows and account assignment logic under scrutiny, while invoices still have to be paid on time.
- Suppliers are maintained via the central business partner object, so existing vendor master data must be transferred and cleansed.
- Before go-live, master data should be cleansed, open items cleared and test cases created from real day-to-day business.
- Around go-live: avoid an invoice backlog, check the first payment run with particular care and document workarounds.
Contents
For accounts payable, the move to SAP S/4HANA is more than a technical update. Master data, approval workflows and account assignment logic all come under scrutiny – while invoices still have to be paid on time. If you use the migration as an opportunity to improve processes, you benefit twice over.
01What changes in accounts payable
In S/4HANA, suppliers are maintained via the central business partner object. Existing vendor master data has to be migrated and cleansed for this.
General ledger and subledger are brought together in a single table. This simplifies reconciliations but requires clean account assignment.
Many tasks are carried out in Fiori apps. The team needs time and training to work with confidence.
Solutions such as SAP VIM (Vendor Invoice Management) make it possible to digitise capture, checking and approval.
02Preparation: what should be done before go-live
- Cleanse supplier master data: duplicates, outdated bank details, missing tax information.
- Clear open items and reduce legacy issues before the migration.
- Define approval workflows and approval limits.
- Review and standardise the account assignment logic.
- Create test cases from real day-to-day business: down payments, project billing, credit notes, instalment payments.
- Appoint key users who understand both the process and the system.
03Around go-live: safeguarding day-to-day business
- Avoid an invoice backlog before the cut-over date – process incoming invoices by priority.
- Check the first payment run in the new system with particular care.
- Name fixed contacts for queries from the team, procurement and suppliers.
- Document errors and workarounds instead of quietly working around them.
Practical tip
Check the first payment run in the new system with particular care, and document errors and workarounds instead of quietly working around them.
04After go-live: stabilise and improve
The first few weeks after go-live show whether processes and data hold up. Now is the time to clear backlogs systematically, tighten approval workflows and complete the documentation – as a foundation for the team and for further automation.
05In practice
At KHD Humboldt Wedag, Loretta Schneiders took over accounts payable with a nine-figure annual volume without any induction period, worked on the S/4HANA implementation as a key user and test user, and digitised invoice approval with SAP VIM.
Loretta Schneiders
Senior interim finance leadership with an international outlook. Clarity in numbers. Structure in processes. Leadership with impact.