Why move to SAP SuccessFactors Time Management?

While SAP HCM has long remained the most comprehensive solution for time management, the cloud alternative has matured significantly over the past few years. So, is it ready for you?

Watch the recording of our Time Webinar

Native integration with SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central (EC) and EC Payroll: no middleware, no workarounds, and no dual maintenance required.
All the benefits of the cloud, including continuous innovation via bi-annual updates.
Modern UX and mobile: a clean, intuitive interface for both employees and managers, including a user-friendly mobile version to make time recording accessible in the field.
Mature leave management: Time Off offers solid self-service functionality, including work schedule changes.
Calculation capabilities are growing with every release.
User-friendly time tracking features via employee self-service
More insights: People analytics options allows comprehensive time reporting, and People Intelligence provides valuable visibility into patterns and trends,much more than on-prem could ever give.

What's still on the roadmap voor SuccessFactors Time Management?

SAP keeps working hard to add and update features. Recent releases have already delivered improvements in the areas of logging, notifications, auto-recalculation and collision handling between absences and attendances.

And the roadmap is accelerating quickly:

SAP is, for example steadily adding manager functionality.
Business rules in the time valuation engine will facilitate access to employee master data by the end of 2026
A comprehensive Time Manager Workbench is planned for 2027
The suite is expanding into the relatively new territory of Workforce Scheduling, with an ambitious multi-year roadmap for shift planning across manufacturing and other industries.

What to keep in mind when considering the move from SAP HCM Time to SuccessFactors Time?

While the SuccessFactors Time solution is mature, there are still some attention points to consider when comparing it to on‑prem SAP HCM:

Certain time valuation features are still evolving, such as dynamic shift assignment or complex absence counting
The Time Sheet is always an integral part of the set-up, as it is both the calculation engine and the central entry point for time data.
The solution remains strongly self service‑oriented, while decentral time management is still growing
After the decentral time management functionality, the team calendar functionalities are on the roadmap for a significant upgrade.
Time management regulations and agreements are local, industry- and/or customer-specific and require careful functional and technical analysis before implementation.

These gaps don’t necessarily block a move, but they do require careful evaluation based on your specific needs.

How to approach the move

When considering your options, remember that SAP SuccessFactors Time Tracking is not a cloud copy of your on-premise environment. So the move will not be a lift-and-shift, but a new implementation.

As your on-prem time management solution has probably been running for many years, some reverse engineering will be needed. That means defining clear requirements upfront, keeping in mind to stay close to the SAP SuccessFactors standard wherever you can. Moreover, to fully enjoy the suite’s benefits, it pays to think holistically: your payroll strategy, your integration landscape and your change management approach all play a role.

Watch the recording of our 'Time' webinar

Watch the recording of our webinar From on‑prem to cloud: it’s Time. Jens and Raf walk you through the SuccessFactors Time module, show clear demos of complex Time Tracking processes, compare it with on‑prem SAP HCM Time, and share practical tips for your transition.

Moving from on-prem Time to SAP SuccessFactors Time

How Flexso can help

Our experts know both on-prem SAP HCM and SuccessFactors Time Tracking inside out and have introduced both platforms across industries and countries. We can help you:

Understand your current setup and uncover hidden complexity
Define a clear roadmap aligned with your future HR strategy
Implement a solution that fits your organization, across countries and contexts
Integrate time management with payroll, analytics and external systems

Because time management doesn’t live in isolation, we bring a dedicated team for payroll, integrations, analytics and change management. Everything under one roof – and always with a heart for (your) people.