By Danielle Larocca | 25 February 2025
Imagine managing payroll for a global company with thousands of employees across different countries, each with unique tax laws, currency requirements, and employment regulations. This is the complex challenge that enterprise payroll systems like SAP Payroll have been solving for decades. Our sister company EPI-USE is the world’s largest and most experienced independent SAP HR/Payroll specialist who has emerged as a leader in designing, building, and implementing cloud-based, hybrid and on-premises HR/Payroll systems for large, complex multinational corporations and public sector agencies. It’s no secret that we love payroll and supporting our payroll clients around the world.
Imagine managing payroll for a global company with thousands of employees across different countries, each with unique tax laws, currency requirements, and employment regulations. This is the complex challenge that enterprise payroll systems like SAP Payroll have been solving for decades.
Our sister company EPI-USE is the world’s largest and most experienced independent SAP HR/Payroll specialist. EPI-USE has emerged as a leader in designing, building, and implementing cloud-based, hybrid and on-premises HR/Payroll systems for large, complex multinational corporations and public sector agencies. It’s no secret that we love payroll and supporting our payroll clients around the world, whether it’s on-premise ECC SAP Payroll or SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central Payroll.
Since the 1980s, SAP Payroll has been more than just a software solution; it's been a technological pioneer in solving one of the most critical business challenges: paying employees accurately and efficiently. To understand its significance, let's break down what makes enterprise payroll so complicated:
EPI-USE Labs is well known for offering innovate technology to support our payroll clients, including solutions like Variance Monitor which highlight SAP HCM data variances, Reporting and Analytics solutions powered by Query Manager, and transformation technology and accelerators that assist clients with moving from on-premise ECC Payroll to SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central Payroll via PRISM for HR and Payroll.
Think of SAP Payroll's evolution like the transformation of transportation. Just as we moved from horse-drawn carriages to automobiles to electric vehicles, payroll systems have progressed from manual calculations to on-premise software to cloud-based solutions.
We have been keeping in step with this evolution and adopting our strategies and solutions for our clients accordingly, as detailed in our Ultimate Guide: Journey from on-premise SAP HCM & Payroll to SAP SuccessFactors.
This cloud solution represents a significant leap forward. Let's explore its key characteristics:
The end of SAP Business Suite 7 support as best explained in this blog: SAP Business Suite 7 Extension: What This Means for SAP ERP Human Capital Management clients creates a natural migration point. This isn't just a technical upgrade – it's a strategic business transformation.
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, as detailed in the blog: An Update to the HCM Payroll Bridge options for SAP SuccessFactors clients: Part 3.
To help you understand your options, consider these steps:
The best way to decide on your path forward is to understand two critical things:
(1) what you have today and
(2) where you intend to go tomorrow.
I have visited our clients and their leadership teams when they get together to start the process, and usually it begins with the discussion point of just how complex their current system is. Our free assessment tool provides you with the intel to start making the right decisions moving forward.
Having a definitive analysis of your system’s complexity is the first step in determining your next step in your HXM digital transformation.
Imagine architects designing an entirely new city from scratch, instead of renovating existing buildings. This is exactly what SAP is doing with SFPAY: building a cloud-native payroll solution from the ground up.
If you’re currently running an SAP-based payroll system, should you hold off and wait for SFPAY to become available? Absolutely not. SAP SuccessFactors Payroll is not an immediate replacement for existing SAP Payroll systems. Just as great things take time to build, SAP Payroll – like any enterprise payroll system – wasn’t created overnight. The payroll solution trusted by businesses today has been refined over decades, with ongoing enhancements and investment from SAP to keep it evolving.
Payroll systems, like all technologies, are living ecosystems. They don't simply exist; they grow, adapt, and transform. SAP's approach demonstrates a commitment to continuous innovation while maintaining stability for their clients.
With over 25 years in SAP Human Capital Management, Danielle is a recognized leader in HR technology. She holds the distinguished roles of SAP Mentor and SuccessFactors Confidant, and serves as HXM Chairperson for ASUG (America's SAP User Group). Danielle is a sought-after speaker at international conferences, sharing insights on HR tech trends. She has authored four best-selling books on SAP and holds certifications in both SAP and SuccessFactors technologies.