Is SAP building a new SuccessFactors Next-Gen Payroll?

As explained in my recent blog, Do I have to move off my on-premise SAP Payroll?, SAP and SAP SuccessFactors clients have several options for world-class payroll. Whenever I find myself talking about clients’ options (on-premise, Employee Central Payroll, and Private Cloud Edition), I am often asked if there isn’t a next-generation payroll being built by SAP.

The quick answer: meet SFPAY

Yes, there is a new payroll in development. It even has an official name: SAP SuccessFactors Payroll, which you may hear shortened to SFPAY. It’s been in the works for several years, and as SAP would say, they continue to innovate in every area including payroll.

The full answer: an exciting future option

SAP Payroll is the leading global payroll. It has been the consistent standard for organizations since the 1980s, and it is the only one that can handle complex payroll and time, especially globally. There are thousands of clients around the world using on-premise SAP Payroll or SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central Payroll to process over 100 million of employees' pay statements each month. The recommended solution for clients is SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central Payroll, which is where all the innovation exists (such as their AI Joule), and will be the gold standard for many years to come.

What is SFPAY?

SAP SuccessFactors Payroll (SFPAY) is an exciting option that will be coming to market in the next few years. However, it is an early adopter innovation available to smaller and simpler clients, starting in the UK. The launch target market does not overlap with the type of clients using, or who would consider, an SAP-based payroll system today; and it will give clients who could not previously consider an SAP-based payroll system an amazing option.

US Payroll is also being developed and is currently in beta testing. A few early adopters in the US and UK are participating in the design evolution and early testing to provide feedback to SAP on what a modern cloud-native payroll should do (such as a real-time payroll, interactive pay statements, simpler set-up, modern integrations with other systems, and much more).

Should you wait for it?

So, should you wait for it if you use an SAP based payroll system today? That's an easy no. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither was SAP Payroll (or any enterprise payroll system for that matter). The beloved payroll that is in use today has been in use and evolving for over thirty years; and it continues to evolve and get investment from SAP.

SAP SuccessFactors is consciously building a new payroll from scratch that runs in the cloud. It will allow them to expand their market share, and do some very innovative things in payroll, and we are all really excited about it. But it is not going to be readily available anytime soon for existing clients using SAP payroll, and clients should not wait for it to be built before making a change.

What about moving my SAP HCM to the cloud?

There is a legitimate urgency for existing SAP HCM clients to transform or move to the cloud because of the dates associated with the end of support for SAP Business Suite 7, as explained here: SAP Business Suite 7 Extension: What This Means for SAP ERP Human Capital Management clients. SAP SuccessFactors has been supportive of their existing client base in terms of extending the date, and options to ensure clients continue to have the opportunity to get a return on their investment: Bridge options for SAP SuccessFactors clients: Part 2 What is SAP HCM for S/4HANA On-Premise?

It’s been my experience that clients know that they must ‘do something’, but they are unclear of their options and the urgency associated with each. Our clients come to us for guidance to make and defend their business decisions and deploy them with confidence while operating in a continually evolving climate.

With PRISM, we bring you powerful SAP-certified software and services to extend your SAP investment via S/4HANA, or upgrade to SAP SuccessFactors.

It’s easy to get started. There is no one-size-fits-all transformation path for all SAP SuccessFactors clients, but at EPI-USE Labs we can assist you in determining your best path forward to move to the cloud.

Based on your requirements and goals, you should start by reviewing the complexity and configuration of your current system, which will impact your decision-making process. Our free PRISM assessment will give you information about your SAP system to help you understand what your migration path might look like. This free assessment is simply a download which includes an SAP transport that will run on your SAP environment.