Whether you are planning your first year-end transition in SAP Payroll or one of many, it can be a stressful time. Tax changes and new legislative requirements add to the burden, and there is no room for error. Ask anyone who has had to reverse the first payroll of a new year.

As with any high-impact business activity, the best guarantee of success is careful preparation. Careful planning will enable you to anticipate most problems before they happen. If you have an issue, you will have the procedures in place to handle it.

We recommend three essential preparation activities to get you started on the right path.

1.    Gather Your Resources

SAP provides complete documentation for the current and prior year-end activities. You will find them at the Community Network. You will also want to collect prior year checklists and test scripts, BSI TUBs, Tax Factory updates, and documentation for support packs.

2.    Assemble the Team

The activities for IT and Payroll are well-defined in the annual SAP Year-End Checklist, but it's easy to overlook the other skills you need on your team. These include:

• Project management skills to schedule and coordinate activities and administration
• Communications ability to inform users of W-4 and W-5 form changes, tax and regulatory changes, and motivating them to meet deadlines
• End user training for 221 payroll adjustments

When you form your team, define roles and responsibilities, and name the owner of each task and activity. Agree on issue escalation and resolution procedures, and brainstorm with your team to anticipate potential problems.

If you find you need help, you can work with your SAP Partner. Use the best expertise available to you.

3. Build the Project Plan

The SAP Year-End Checklist will provide the framework for your project plan. Activities begin in November with refreshing your test client, setting up the calendar for the upcoming year, applying and testing updates. The project will run from the initial planning in October to the end of the tax reporting schedule.

Here are three things to think about as you are planning the schedule.

• If you provide training, plan it to end just before the activities begin so users will be fresh.
• Coordinate your last payroll of the year with accrual processing, and don’t forget to test the accruals.
• Finalize and record all details of the project to avoid miscommunication.

Careful planning and thorough testing will ensure you have a successful year-end. Take advantage of your planning tools and the expert help available, so you can look forward to a relaxed holiday season.

SAP Year-End Payroll - Eliminate the Stress

Whitaker-Taylor is a recognized SAP Specialty Partner supporting global clients with over 300,000 users. Our Extended Services Team™ has 15 years of hands-on experience in maximizing the value our clients realize from their SAP investment.