The Go Live strategy comprises of the following:-

1) Cut off procedure

2) Pre-Go live checks.

What is meant by cut off date?

SAP system is configured as per the requirement of the client. The system is ready for the client to use. The client now needs to migrate from the Old system (Legacy system) to the new SAP system.

The migration from the old system to the new system is known as cut off date.

The old system is switched off and the new SAP system is switched on.

The data will be migrated from the old system to SAP. The data will henceforth be entered in the new SAP system.

To have a smooth switch over from the Legacy system to the new SAP systems are devised the cut off procedure.

What is meant by Pre Go live check?

It is ensuring that SAP Production system is ready to go live smoothly.

Let proceed then.

Scenario

A Ltd. is a company implementing SAP system.

The company follows a January - December period for preparing financial accounts.

Therefore the go live data decided for A Ltd is 2nd January 2096.

The Trial balance will be uploaded with date as on 31st December 2095.

The Trial balance will consist only of balance sheet items since all the expense items are already transferred to the retained earnings account in the old system.

The activities are divided as follows:-

1) Pre Go live activities

A Ltd will upload the GL codes, cost elements in the production system on 1st December 2095.

A Ltd will complete upload of all the material masters with all the views in the production system by 2nd December 2095.

All Bill of Material, Routings will be uploaded in the production system by 4th December 2095.

The material masters for raw and packing material will be uploaded with the moving average prices on 4th December 2095.

The cost center Plan will be uploaded, allocation cycles and activity price calculation will be done by 6th December 2095.

Product cost calculation will be conducted from 7th Dec 2095 to 20th December 2095 to get the correct cost calculation from system.

All other masters will be uploaded into the production system from 5th December 2095 and completed by 18th December 2095.

2) Cut off activities

The company closes it sales on 26th December 2095.

The company stops all its stock movement on 26th December 2095 up to 1st January 2096.

All open purchase orders will be uploaded on 28th December 2095.

The provision for stock received and invoice not received will be accounted in a separate GL code (different than the GR/IR).

The stocks will be finalized by 29th December 2095.

The company closes it old (legacy) system on 30th December 2095.

The stocks will be uploaded on 31st December 2095 and 1st Jan 2096.

The standard cost estimate will be marked and released on 2nd January 2096.

The system is available for data entry and operation to the users from 2nd January 2096.

Accounts Receivable open items will be uploaded from 1st January 2096 to 3rd January 2096.

Thus Accounts Receivable is available from 4th January 2096 to account for customer incoming payment.

Accounts Payable open items will be uploaded from 3rd January 2096 to 4th January 2096.

Accounts Payable is available for payment from 5th January 2096.

Fixed assets are uploaded on 5th January 2096.

The Remaining GL Balances are uploaded on 7th January 2096.

Thus entire data take over activities are to be completed by 7th January 2096.

We will divide the activities as follows:-

A) Pre-Go Live activities

B) Pre-Go Live checks

C) Upload transaction data into the system

A) Pre-Go Live activities

1. Master data Load into Production system

Ensure all the master data is loaded into the production system.

We will broadly cover the master data which needs to be loaded and the module responsible.

Material Master (SAP Material Management)

Basic responsibility MM: All the respective views of the material masters the other modules responsible . Ensure that all the required views are uploaded.

GL codes - FI

Customer Master - FI (accounting view) and SD (sales view)

Vendor Master - FI (accounting view) and MM (purchasing view)

Cost elements - CO

Secondary cost elements - CO

Profit centers - CO

Cost center - CO

Activity type - CO

Bill of Material - PP

Work Center/ Resource - PP

Routing / Master Recipe - PP

Purchasing Info Record - MM

Service Master - MM

Bank Master - FI

Quality Info Record - QM

Quality Inspection plan

2. Upload Cost center plan

Cost center plan must be updated through transaction code KP06 or using excel upload.

3. Execute the allocation cycles within cost center accounting

The plan allocation cycles (distribution, assessment) must be executed within the cost center accounting module. This will allocate the costs from the service cost center to the receiver cost center.

4. Update planned activity

After executing of the plan allocation cycles, the production cost centers are now ready with the planned costs.

You can now calculate the activity prices through the system or manually update the planned prices by calculating it outside.

The planned activity must be updated through transaction code KP26.

5. Calculate Activity prices

Calculate the activity prices using transaction code KSPI.

6. Execute product costing run

The product costing run will be executed for all semi-finished and finished materials in the system using transaction code CK40N. This should be run after all the BOM and Master recipe are uploaded.

The product cost finalization takes a long time and should begin well in advance before the go live date. Normally the product costing run has to be executed again and again (3-4 times) since data needs to be corrected and costs have to be compared with the existing legacy cost.

The possible errors in the product costing run are:-

1) Moving average prices or planned prices are not correctly maintained in the material masters.

2) Incorrect quantities in the Bill of Materials, incorrect base unit quantity in the Bill of Material.

3) Incorrect quantities (hours, KWH etc.) for activities in the Routing or Master recipe.

4) Incorrect alternate unit of Measure

The product costing is calculated and made ready. The actual Mark and release will happen on after the stocks are uploaded into the system.

B) Pre-Go Live activities

1. Ensure all the customizing request are in the production system. Check that all the customizing request are gone in the system and no major requests are pending. Request relating to reports being developed can be transported as and when the reports are ready.

2. Ensure all the number ranges for all the modules have been maintained in the production system.

3. Ensure that Operating concern has been generated.

4. Ensure that all the Customer Master data is loaded.

5. Ensure all material masters (all material types) have been loaded.

6. Ensure that all the Vendor Master data is loaded.

C) Upload transaction data into system

1. Upload Open purchase orders

Open purchase orders can well be uploaded into the system in advance before the cut off date if no invoices are expected.

2. Stock upload

Stock upload happens in 2 steps:-

1) Finished goods: The standard prices are first uploaded through MR21 or through an ABAP program which also uses MR21. The stock quantities are uploaded using movement type 561 through an ABAP program which calls transaction MB1C.

2) Raw Material, packing Material, stores and spare parts: The quantities and values are uploaded at the same time using an ABAP program which calls transaction MB1C.

The stock upload will generate the following entry in the system:-

Finished goods stock a/c Debit

Semi-Finished goods stock a/c Debit

Raw Material stock a/c Debit

Packing Material stock a/c Debit

Stores and spares a/c Debit

Data take over Credit

3. Mark and Release the cost estimate

After the stock is uploaded into the system, the standard cost estimate will be marked and released into the material master using transaction code CK40N.

4. Upload Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable open items

The Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable open items are uploaded through LSMW which calls transaction code F-02 GL Account posting. The profit center is captured in the data take over account. Baseline date must be captured, which will determine aging based on number of days mentioned in the payment terms.

The accounting entry for Accounts Receivable open item upload is:-

Customer a/c (not GL) Debit

Data takeover a/c Credit

The accounting entry for Accounts Payable open item upload is:-

Data takeover a/c Debit

Vendor a/c (not GL) Credit

5. Asset Master and value upload

Asset Master is a special case of upload where in you upload not only the master data but also the values. The total cost and accumulated depreciation are also uploaded at the same time.

This is done through transaction code AS91.

We will explain how it is done.

5.1 The upload of asset master and values through AS91

This upload of asset masters along with the values will not update the FI General Ledger. The FI - GL entry balance update will be passed through another transaction.

5.2 Transfer Asset balance into profit center

Once the asset master along with the values is uploaded, the opening balance for the asset needs to be transferred to profit center.

The asset balances opening balances are transferred into profit center accounting through transaction code 1KEI.

5.3 Remove the GL codes for asset from 3KEH table

Remove the Asset reconciliation codes from the transaction code 3KEH. This is required because a manual FI entry will be passed in the next step, which will duplicate posting into PCA for the assets.

5.4 Update the FI entry for asset through transaction OASV.

We give an example of how a GL entry passed for Fixed asset upload:-

Let us take Plant and Machinery

Plant and Machinery a/c Dr 100,000

Accumulated depreciation a/c Cr 30,000

Data takeover a/c Cr 70,000

5.5 Reinstate the GL codes for asset in 3KEH

After passing the entry for asset upload update the asset reconciliation accounts in transaction code 3KEH.

6. Upload General Ledger account balances

Finally we upload the remaining General Ledger account balances other than Fixed Assets, Stock, Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable. This is again uploaded through an LSMW program which calls transaction code F-02 GL.

Posting.

Let us take an example for the accounting entry passed:-

Data takeover a/c Debit 550,000 (Balancing figure)

Cash a/c Debit 10,000

Bank a/c Debit 50,000

Advances Debit 90,000

Share capital a/c Credit 100,000

Short term Loan a/c Credit 200,000

Long term loan a/c Credit 400,000

The Data takeover will become zero on upload of this entry.

1.Overview.

Create or Identify a separate document type for initial balances upload and maintain a different number range for the same and use the same document type for uploads. This will be use full for identifying the transactions posted before go live and after go live.

Create two new GL accounts in Production for the Purpose of initial balances upload. One for Initial Stock Upload and another for the GL balances.

Open only the current period of posting or the legacy date period in which you are posting in OB52 and close all other periods. Similarly use OKP1 for CO period lock.

Do not open MM period after the legacy period at the time if initial stock upload and get the same be opened by the core team member responsible for opening after completion of your upload activities. This will prevent erroneous posting to the next period due to the wrong dates given in the upload file.

Create a New Filed Status group with most of organizations elements selected as optional. Make sure that if profit center is mandatory it needs to be mandatory only and do not change it to optional, as the LSMW screen doesnt popup the profit center filed if the same is optional.

FI G L master data will be uploaded via LSMW. (Recording for LSMW FS00 & also keep the changing master data recording handy.)

FI Vendor Master Data will be uploaded without purchasing organization Views (Recording for LSMW FK01 & also keep the changing master data recording handy. Keep in mind your filed status group settings configured for your client). If you are having EWT codes then your recording cannot take more than 6 line items. If you need to have more than 6 line items in tax type/tax code areas look for other alternatives.

If vendors are relevant to EWT then advised to create a separate group making the tax fields mandatory. At the time of uploading the vendor master data into production make sure you change the FSG to optional on tax items and do not give any tax codes.

FI Customer Master data will be uploaded without sales Views Recording for LSMW FD01 & also keep the changing the master data recording handy. Keep in mind your filed status group settings configured for your client.

All legacy asset master Data (AS91) along with the values will be uploaded with Cost Center/Location (Again keep in mind the master data screen filed settings before recording and your clients requirement). Write different recordings for SLM keys and WDV keys). For legacy asset data transfer record transaction types for the assets acquired during the financial year in a separate recording. For the assets acquired before the start of the fiscal year you need to ask the client accumulated depreciation as on start of the fiscal year and depreciation posted during the period or after the start of the fiscal year (Again depends on the configuration on how you are posting the depreciation to GL)

All the G L balances of account type S and are non-open item managed need to be uploaded G L wise-Profit center wise Via LSMW as on the cutover date. Make sure that no two profit centers were uploaded in the same document because, if you have activated document splitting the number of line items generated at the time of saving the document due to split may exceed 950 line items and the system will throw you out of uploading. Even if it is not the case advised to upload data related to a profit center per document.

All the G L balances of account type S and are open item managed need to be uploaded G L Wise- Item Wise -Profit center wise Via LSMW. Make sure that no two profit centers were uploaded in the same document because, if you have activated document splitting the number of line items generated at the time of saving the document may exceed 950 line items and the system will throw you out of uploading.

All the Customer open items need to be uploaded Profit center wise. Make sure that no two profit centers were uploaded in the same document because, if you have activated document splitting the number of line items generated at the time of saving the document may exceed 950 line items and the system will throw you out of uploading.

All the Vendor open items need to be uploaded Profit center wise. Make sure that no two profit centers were uploaded in the same document because, if you have activated document splitting the number of line items generated at the time of saving the document may exceed 950 line items and the system will throw you out of uploading.

You need to use direct input program in LSMW for transaction data upload and select financial documents as object.

All the Asset data need to be identified depreciation area wise with Asset class and Depreciation keys.

For tax balance sheet Asset class wise Gross block, accumulated depreciation and net block need to be uploaded (AS81).

For Customers/Vendors relevant to Sales/Purchasing views take care to give proper recon accounts keeping in view of the alternate recon accounts if any applicable.

Make sure you only extend customers/vendors to other company codes. Other wise creation of vendors/customers will create a duplicate data.

Educate the core user to tally the data before giving the same to you via Excel.

Make sure that the Basis guy is available to you at the time of upload to handle transports, which were created during the upload for the purpose of upload or for any error in configuration.

2. Time LInes

Depending on the amount of data, take sufficient time for upload activities.

In case the asset masters/data is not ready still you can go ahead with GL balance upload and assets can be done at a later date.

Go-live date will be (Give the Go live date).

All transactions starting after go live will be processed in SAP system only.

After Go live, no transaction should be performed in legacy system

3.Pre-requisite or Assumptions

Scenario and Integration Testing are completed.

Cleansed and Validated Master Data made available.

Authorization Matrix completed.

Processes have been freezed.

End user training and documentation is completed

G L MasterLSMWRegular RecordingFS00

FI Vendor Master DataLSMWRegular RecordingFK01

FI Customer Master DataLSMWRegular RecordingFD01

Asset master DataLSMWRegular RecordingAS91 together with valuesAS81

Group Asset Master DataLSMWRegular RecordingAS21

Cost ElementsLSMWRegular RecordingKA01You can also create by batch input session VIA SPRO

Cost CentersLSMWRegular RecordingKS01

Profit centersLSMWRegular RecordingKE51

Internal OrdersLSMWRegular RecordingKO01

CharacteristicsManual Creation

5.TRANSACTION DATA

Gl Balances of account type S which are non open Item basedLSMW/Direct Input0000RFBIBL00D- Direct Input

Vendor BalancesLSMW/Direct Input0000RFBIBL00D- Direct Input

Customer BalancesLSMW/Direct Input0000RFBIBL00D- Direct Input

Asset BalancesLSMWRegular RecordingAS91AS81

AUC BalancesLSMW/Direct Input0000RFBIBL00D- Direct Input

6.Prerequisites to Load Master Data

Client Setup and Number range maintenance.

At least test once the LSMW recordings before moving into production about the reliability and for errors.

Load handful of assets in a Quality or in Pre-production system depending on your landscape to ensure that the system is calculating the depreciation, as expected and planned depreciations to be posted are accurate.

7.Sequence Of Data Conversion

G L master Data

Vendor Master Data

Customer Master Data

Group Asset Data

GL balances without open Item managed

GL balances with open Item managed

Customer Balances

Vendor Balances

Customer Balances with Special GLs

Vendor Balances with Special GLs

Asset Masters with Values for the assets existing at the start of the fiscal year

Asset Masters with Values for the assets acquired during the fiscal year with transaction type.

It is advised to load asset data along with values instead of loading master first and giving values next.

*8.Procedure for Cut Over *

1)Check again if the document splitting is active and in case new GL accounts are added by the users, the assignments for document splitting characteristics is made or not. If not do and transport before you start.

2)Delete cost elements if created already in production, as the legacy data is not relevant for cost centers. Even of the client insists, you should convince the client saying where he wants to settle the cost center balances after go live? Exception to the above is AUC.

3)Assign the field status group to all the G L accounts created for the purpose of upload of initial balances, via LSMW or T-code MASS. You need to revert the settings of master data for accounts with Auto posting, Accounts with relevance to tax category and post with out tax allowed before upload.

4)Remove Withholding tax code assignments to vendors. This is necessary because if your upload items contain any balances and the tax codes are assigned the system will calculate EWT and tries to post the same, which is not the case.

5)For Non-open item managed accounts provide with the totals as on the cutover date profit center wise.

6)For open item managed accounts provide with the totals as on the cutover date profit center wise.

7)For reconciliation accounts, line items of customer/vendor should be profit center wise.

8)For assets reset the reconciliation accounts load assets, compare data and reset recon accounts.

9)Assets acquired before 01.04.2006 need to entered through AS91 and Assets acquired after 01.04.2006 and before 31.01.2007 need to be entered through AS91 via Transaction type 100 assuming your clients financial year is Apr-Mar and the cutover date is 31.01.2007.

10)Make sure you have created group assets via AS21 if you are using Group assets in tax depreciation area.

11)Again you need to keep in mind the configurations you made for the client with respect to account types, D & K. For Example Payment terms.

12)If the clients need is to have the old balances also on age wise for Payables & Receivables, you need to play with, document, Posting, and base line dates to achieve this via upload.

13)Make sure that the discount base column is given value for a smooth upload for Receivables and Payables.

14)You need to use separate Direct Input recordings with object 100 and method 0000 (RFBIBL00) for account types S, D&K. This is because if you have large amounts of data, then if you club all the account types into one recording, then the system will prompt you to press enter every time a GL account is encountered as the filed values payment terms is not relevant for account type S. In such case the system will take great amount of time for uploading.

15)Before start of uploading asset line items at GL level make sure is client is open for change and reset the recon accounts for assets. Other wise the system will throw an error, as the recon accounts are not directly posted to.

16)After uploading the same again reset the recon accounts. Use in both the cases T-code OAMK to reset the recon accounts.

17)For loading AUC values VIA Internal orders, after the above uploads are through, create cost elements, create Internal orders, upload values through the internal order to AUC expenses account and once upload is through, settle the orders to the AUC asset via KO88 before the go-live

9.Procedure After Cut Over data Upload

1)Reset the filed status groups; post auto settings, Tax settings to the original file given by the core user via MASS or LSMW.

2)Once the initial balance accounts balances are zero, take the signoff and block the accounts for posting in future.

3)Get the next relevant posting periods opened in OB52, OKP1 & MMPV by the core team member and close all the legacy periods.

4)Reset the Vendor FSG settings and other relevant settings changed for the initial balances upload.

5)Settle the AUC balances and make the Internal order values to zero. Make sure you use periodic settlement and not FULL.

6)Assign vendors with the relevant tax codes and post process the open items as per the warning given by system for making the tax lines consistent.

7)Revert all FSG changes for CUSTOMER/VENDOR/GL to the requirement.

8)Delete the number range assignments to the document type created for initial balance upload and transport so that to minimize the core user transactions in the legacy period.

9)If you are using the parallel ledgers as of ERP 2004 or ERP 2005 make sure you load the balances of non-leading ledgers first. Keep in mind that the non-leading ledgers are not relevant for account types.

10)Any new master records created between Cutover and Go live dates are to be tracked and checked for document splitting assignments.

11)If you are in Version 4.7EE or ERP 2004 without New GL getting activated, keep in mind you need to run F.5D, F.5E, 1KEK.

12)After all of the above precautions still you find that there is a mistake whether small or big dont be panic, go back to your domain experience, think what should have been went wrong, Reverse the document or just pass a rectification entry.

13)It is the same case with stock uploads. After your MM counter part loading the stocks and you verify and stocks are not getting matched, the reason could only be the Qty mismatch or the system has taken the MAP defined in the material master.

Please keep in mind that this document is for new implementations ON New GL only and not for upgrades.

The sequence of steps may change slightly depending on your customization and modules implemented and hence this can be taken as a guide line only and not as a comprehensive document.