More and more companies are relying on SAP SuccessFactors to modernize and harmonize HR processes worldwide. Payroll is a central element of this HR landscape. Only payroll accounting provides a complete picture of the actual personnel costs, including all remuneration components, bonuses and employer contributions. With SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central Payroll (ECP), SAP has a powerful cloud solution that makes this information reliable, standardized and globally available.
While many companies initially introduce SuccessFactors as a platform for master data and organizational structures, it quickly becomes apparent that payroll data in particular is of strategic importance for personnel cost planning. It not only provides the basis for reporting and forecasting, but also enables planning that is closer to reality than any estimate. This is exactly where PeoplePLAN comes in: The platform combines payroll information from ECP with a flexible, intuitive planning environment, creating a holistic view of headcount, FTE and costs.
Why payroll data is indispensable for planning
Employee Central provides relevant master data such as job, position, cost center or working time model. But only ECP supplements this picture with the monetary information required for reliable personnel cost planning. The actual payroll results form the basis for a realistic cost model. They reflect collective wage structures, individual remuneration components, variable payments or even complex time models.
This reference to reality significantly changes the quality of planning. Instead of working with flat rates and average values, planning can be based on real salary and wage types. This means, for example, that employer contributions to social insurance, regional differences, collectively agreed step models or bonuses are automatically taken into account in the model. The quality of the forecast increases because the image of the employees in the planning model corresponds precisely to what is also relevant in payroll accounting.
Internationally active companies in particular benefit from this approach. ECP brings global consistency to payroll accounting, while PeoplePLAN offers the possibility of evaluating and planning data uniformly across countries. The result is a common language between HR, Payroll and Controlling – regardless of how many markets or pay scale logics need to be taken into account.
How PeoplePLAN transfers payroll data into a plannable structure
PeoplePLAN was developed precisely to bring together the technical logic of HR work and the financial planning requirements. While ECP reliably delivers which remuneration components are actually incurred, PeoplePLAN translates these structures into a model that is suitable for planning, forecasting and scenarios.
The platform takes relevant payroll data and converts it into comprehensible cost models. It does not simply transfer a figure, but takes into account the technical significance of the payroll components. A monthly basic salary is processed differently to a one-off special payment; variable remuneration components flow into corresponding planning logic, while social costs can be automatically derived or projected on the basis of actual values.
Companies can then run their scenarios on this basis: Salary rounds, market-related adjustments, structural changes or recruitment and fluctuation forecasts. It is crucial that planning is always based on actual data instead of relying on estimates or Excel-based auxiliary constructions. Those responsible for planning can immediately see how organizational units, working time models or function groups would develop financially – based on the same remuneration logic that applies in payroll accounting.
More transparency and quality in HR and finance processes
The combination of Employee Central Payroll and PeoplePLAN not only creates better planning quality, but also a new form of transparency. Payroll data provides insights into the actual cost structures: Which wage types drive the costs? What differences are there between regions or locations? In which areas is the deviation between planned and actual costs particularly large?
At the same time, this approach promotes closer collaboration between HR, Payroll and Controlling. Because everyone works on the same database, there is no need to discuss sources, versions or interpretations. Planning becomes a joint process that combines both operational reality and strategic objectives.
For companies that regularly carry out forecasts or planning rounds during the year, there is a particular advantage: PeoplePLAN can automatically update the planning by regularly integrating the latest payroll data. Changes in headcount, collective bargaining developments or shifts in working time models are incorporated without any additional manual effort.
A practical example: From actual payroll values to realistic scenarios
Many PeoplePLAN customers start with a traditional setup in which personnel costs are planned on the basis of average salary bands. As soon as ECP is integrated as a data source, the picture changes significantly. Planning starts with real payroll values, and even the first analysis shows how much the actual cost structures can deviate from assumed average values.
In practice, this leads to much more realistic scenarios. One example is the planning of a collective bargaining round. Many companies work with blanket percentage values for this. In PeoplePLAN, on the other hand, payroll data can be used to simulate how a percentage increase will actually affect different employee groups – depending on pay scale levels, bonuses or working time models, for example. This differentiation ensures that decisions can be made on a much more sound basis.
Structural changes, such as the creation of new teams or the shifting of roles between countries, can also be depicted much more precisely. Payroll data not only provides the monetary starting point, but also helps to estimate which cost type groups are particularly affected or how social security differences affect overall planning.
Conclusion
SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central Payroll is a central pillar of a modern HR landscape – not only operationally, but also strategically. The link with PeoplePLAN creates a planning environment that is closer to reality than almost any other solution.
The combination of reliable payroll actuals and a flexible, intuitive planning platform enables companies to plan personnel costs more accurately, transparently and agilely.
If you want to make well-founded decisions today, there is no way around the integrated use of payroll data. With Employee Central Payroll as a database and PeoplePLAN as a planning tool, personnel cost planning becomes a real control instrument – and not just an annual compulsory exercise.
Find out more now and request a live demo – experience how easy workforce planning can be with Payroll actual values.
Further information on SAP SuccessFactors Payroll:
- SAP SE: SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central Payroll – more information:
SAP Successfactors Employee Central Payroll
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