Finance Integration on a Project Level

The process flow for internal order cost accounting integration is two-way in the ERP Connector Solution Starter for Microsoft Office Project Server 2003. That is, the mySAP™ ERP Financials CO subsystem exports order data to Project Server, and Project Server can also send timesheet actuals back to mySAP ERP. Figure 1 shows the following process flow.

1. Launch a program in mySAP ERP Financials that exports an XML file with all required project information from the CO subsystem to a network share defined in the ERP Connector administration page.
2. The Service for Enterprise Data Maintenance (EDM) detects the XML file and processes it using PDS methods and extensions of the Financial Projects module to create the new projects on Project Server.
3. Use the ERP Connector administration page to launch the process to export approved timesheet actuals data from Project Server in an XML file. Transform the XML data to a CSV text file.
4. Import the timesheet actuals in mySAP ERP Financials and update the order cost accounting in the CO subsystem.

Figure 1. Process flow for project integration in the ERP Connector

mySAP ERP Requirements

Following are the requirements for mySAP ERP Financials CO subsystem integration in the ERP Connector:

• mySAP ERP, release 4.0b or later
• Implementation of the Finance Projects module
• Definition and implementation of internal orders (transactions KO01 and KO02) in the mySAP ERP Financials CO subsystem

Exporting the XML File from mySAP ERP

You need to implement some code (in the proprietary ABAP™ language, or in the Java or Microsoft Visual J++ programming language) to export the XML file from mySAP ERP. The ERP Connector Solution Starter download provides sample ABAP code for exporting XML files. To install the ABAP code and create the export command, see Installing the Components for mySAP ERP.

You must create at least one controlling internal order in mySAP ERP Financials. A user starts the mySAP ERP function builder (transaction SE37), opens the appropriate ABAP function, enters the ID of the CO subsystem order, and executes the function. The function exports the internal order data in an XML file.

The export service in mySAP ERP saves an XML file that includes the following information:

• Project ID (valid mySAP ERP Financials CO subsystem accounting ID)
• Project name (short text of mySAP ERP Financials CO subsystem accounting ID)
• Project start date (USR date field for work start date)
• Project manager
• Plant (can be used in a project text field)

For a complete definition of the XML file structure and fields, see ProjectCreateSAP Method.

Importing Financial Data into Project Server

The Service for EDM periodically checks for new files in the file drop location. When a file is present, the Service for EDM processes it and executes the appropriate PDS methods and extensions to update Project Server data.

When the XML file contains CO project data, the Finance Projects module of the ERP Connector performs the following operations using PDS methods:

• Project existence    Determines if the project already exists in the Project Server.
• Create project    If the project does not exist, creates it.

Table 1. Actions and PDS methods for importing project data into Project Server

Note  Importing the data from mySAP ERP Financial CO subsystem into Project Server does not use any of the PDS extensions.

Exporting Actuals from Project Server

A Project Server administrator initiates export with the ERP Connector administration page. The Service for EDM uses PDS methods and PDS extensions to export the timesheet actuals to an XML file.

Table 2. Actions and PDS methods and extensions for exporting actuals from Project Server

ERP Connector exports the following information:

• mySAP ERP accounting ID (controlling internal order ID)
• Day
• Actual work
• Time unit for actuals (hours or days)

The level of detail in the exported data is based on the task (CO subsystem internal order ID) and the resource (mySAP ERP Financials resource ID). The ERP Connector exports only approved timephased data. For more information, see GetActualsSAP and GetEnterpriseTaskFieldValue Methods.

Importing Actuals into mySAP ERP

The ERP Connector uses RFC and BAPI® methods to send the XML file with the timesheet actuals to mySAP ERP. A Project Server administrator must initiate creating the XML file and processing it for mySAP ERP, using the ERP Connector administration page. The Service for EDM uses RFC and BAPI methods to update the controlling orders in mySAP ERP. The ERP Connector logs all results as well as booking IDs.

The ERP Connector ensures that the XML file is valid for correctly booking work actuals in mySAP ERP Financials and transforms the file into a CSV value file for uploading to mySAP ERP.

Table 3. Input data (sent to mySAP ERP) and output data (received from mySAP ERP)

Administrative Settings

The administration page provides the following settings for actuals export that are specific to the Finance WBS module:

• Start and end dates.
• Unit of work (hours or days).
• The enterprise text field that corresponds to the task ID in mySAP ERP.
• Stylesheet input and output file names, for transforming XML data to CSV text for mySAP ERP.
• Log name for events.
• Button to launch the actuals export process.

For more information, see Finance WBS Module in the topic Using the Administration Page.