SAP Service Entry Sheets Overview
I get mixed reactions in SAP circles when I talk about TOP Software and its ability to make the process of SAP Service Entry Sheets (SES) less painful.
The reactions can be separated into 4 groups. Which one does your business fall into?
A. Never heard of Service Entry Sheets
B. Tried them and it was horrible experience so we stopped
C. Use them, but not correctly and it is painful
D. Use them and find benefit
Service Entry Sheets are part of SAP External Services Management (MM-SRV) functionality.
Service Entry Sheets are required when you use Service Purchase Orders to record the performance of the services. You must have an approved SES in place before the Invoice can be processed. They are similar to Goods Receipt Documents used for Material Purchase Orders.
A Service Purchase Order uses Item Category D and can have Planned or Unplanned Services.
Two Golden Rules
- Create the SES as soon as the service task is complete.
- DON’T wait for the invoice to come in.
- SIMILAR to a Goods Receipt that is completed as soon as the Material hits the dock.
- Assign the SES creation (or at least approval) to someone that actually knows about the service.
- DON’T assign the SES creation or approval to someone that isn’t involved
- SIMILAR to a Goods Receipt that is completed by warehouse personnel as they receive the Material
We find that Business with processes that follow the 2 Golden Rules most likely fall into Group D. Sometime it takes implementing a solution like TOP to get to Group D and see the benefit of this Standard SAP Functionality.
Others struggle with the “meaning” of Service POs and SES since in most cases they are waiting for the invoice and then having an administrator create the SES directly from the Invoice without input from the Vendor or Business Owner of the Service. This can lead to frustration between departments and providers, late payments, and payment errors.
No matter what Group you are in, we can all learn from each other and make the Service Entry Sheet less painful. More screenshots and information on External Services Management and TOP Software are included in my ASUG Case Study Presentation, which can be downloaded here.
