2909752 - Automated Periodic Time Account Update FAQ

With b2005 release, you can now schedule Automated Periodic Updates on time accounts.

Example 1: To cap balance to a certain limit, for example 20 days. You can set this up so that it runs automatically at the end of every month. (Example rule is shown in Resolution section)

Example 2:  You want to specify that your employees can only carry forward a maximum of 40 hours working time into their time account balance for the next month, you can control this with an automated periodic update that runs at the end of every month.

Example detailed scenario described in our Guide Implementing Employee Central Time Management Scenarios.

Configuration is done using the object "Periodic Time Account Update Profile" which is assigned to the Time Account Type. Here you specify frequency in which it will run (for example end of every week / month etc) and the Periodic Update Rule.

There is also a new UI for managers / admins “Review Periodic Time Account Updates” - which is used to review results/ balances after the calendar run.

Configuration: Permission is required under Manage Time > Access Periodic Time Account Updates

Image/data in this KBA is from SAP internal systems, sample data, or demo systems. Any resemblance to real data is purely coincidental.

SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central

FAQ:

Q) What is the difference between an Interim account update rule and Periodic update rule?

A) Interim update rules cannot be scheduled / automated - running this rule involves manually creating an interim update calendar run.
With Periodic updates you can define a frequency of when and how often you want the calendar to run, and enable automation of these calendar runs.

 

Q)Where do I find the results of the Periodic Calendar run?

A) Unlike other time account change calendars, you will not see a consolidated results/excel file in the Execution Manager Dashboard. You must navigate to the new "Review Periodic Time Account Updates" UI to see the results. Here you can check results of the calendar run, and it shows the balance before and after for each user.

You can also navigate directly to the users Workbench / Time Sheet UI from here.

 

Q) Why do users who do not meet the conditions in the Periodic update rule get a "zero" Periodic update posting on their time account?

A) This is expected behaviour, so that it is easy to identify if the Periodic update calendar was ran for this user/ time account.

 

Q) Can you use a periodic rule to close time accounts for terminated users?

A) No, it is currently not possible using Periodic rule, only an interim rule can do this.

 

Q) Why can I not see the "Time Off Rule Variable" options in Periodic rule scenario, that I could see with interim rules?

A) This is not yet available for Periodic scenario. You must use custom Variables instead. Please see below rule example to Cap Accrual Balance, where we use custom variables to store calculate balance rule function results.

 

Q) Is it possible to use Periodic updates for Recurring time accounts?

A) Currently this is only possible for permanent time accounts. It is on the roadmap to develop this for recurring time accounts, however no target date has been set.

 

Q) Is there automated recalculation for Periodic postings (for example if you update the periodic rule assigned to the time account type):

A) No - The periodic update will never be recalculated automatically, this means it is independent from the recalculation enabled switch on the Time management Configuration object.
You would need to manually rerun the Periodic Update Calendar with the recalculation flag selected.

Note: If there is a periodic correction posting on the time account for the selected period, the user / time account will be skipped. This is to prevent the manual periodic correction done by the admin / manager from being removed.

Q) Where can I view the errors from the Periodic Update Calendar?

A) In the Admin Alerts 2.0 UI.

 

Q) Are there any validations for the posting date on the rule?

A) Yes, you must use the Periodic end date here. This is because the requirement for the Periodic update rule scenario was to check the balance / situation at the end of the period.

If there is a requirement to have the posting date set to the Periodic start date, please log an enhancement on the community portal so we can make Product Management aware of the same.

 

Example Periodic rule used to cap balance at 20 days:

Here we use Variable "calculatebalance" to calculate the balance today.

Then we use a variable "difference" to calculate the difference between the current balance, and the balance cap (20 days)

So for example, if the user had 25 days balance when we run this rule, the difference calculated will be "5".

Then we check if the difference is greater than 0, Then deduct this amount using Opposite sign function:

TIM-6604, cap balance, Periodic update, Periodic update rule, Periodic update faq , KBA , LOD-SF-EC-TIM , Time Off , LOD-SF-EC-TMS , Time Sheet , Product Enhancement

SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central 2005 ; SAP SuccessFactors HCM Suite all versions