S/4HANA Simplification Item Worksheet
Every ECC to S/4HANA project has a list of simplification items: places where SAP changed the data model, the functional scope or the technology, and where your processes or code must change too. This worksheet turns that list into a managed register with decisions, owners and cost.
| Simplification item | Area | Business impact | Decision | Owner | Effort (days) | Day rate | Estimated cost | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
$54,000 | ||||||||
$22,500 | ||||||||
$66,500 | ||||||||
$25,500 | ||||||||
$31,500 | ||||||||
$18,000 | ||||||||
$12,000 |
Replace the sample rows with items from your own SAP Readiness Check output and the Simplification Item Catalog. Effort and rates are placeholders. Item names are summarised and should be checked against the catalog for your target release.
Automate triage of Readiness Check output
We can discuss how to turn a Readiness Check export into a prioritised register automatically. Optional follow-up.
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How to use the worksheet
Start from the simplification items that SAP Readiness Check reports as relevant to your system, then add the ones your process owners raise in workshops. For every item, assign an area, rate the business impact, choose a decision, and give a named owner. Enter an effort estimate in days and a day rate; the cost column calculates itself. Use the Open decision for items you have not yet triaged, and review them weekly so the open list shrinks. Export the table to Excel for steering committee reporting.
- One row per simplification item
- Never leave the owner column blank
- Review Open decisions every week
- Filter by impact for the steering committee view
What simplification items are
SAP publishes the Simplification Item Catalog for each S/4HANA release. It lists functional changes such as the Business Partner replacing separate customer and vendor masters, the Universal Journal consolidating financial documents into ACDOCA, MATDOC replacing the older material document tables, and MRP Live. Some items require only awareness, others need data changes or code remediation. The relevant ones depend on which modules you use, so a catalog entry is only a work item once the Readiness Check confirms it applies to your system.
Reading the totals
The total effort and cost give you a first-pass bottom-up estimate for functional and technical adaptation, not for the whole program. Add separate lines for data migration, testing, training and cutover. A concentration of high-impact items in Finance or Master data suggests the work will sit on the critical path. If the average effort per item is under a couple of days, check that you are not rating complex items too lightly.
Common mistakes
Teams frequently copy the full catalog into the plan instead of filtering to relevant items, which inflates effort and hides the real risks. Others do the opposite and skip items because the module is rarely used, only to hit a blocking pre-check during the conversion. Another trap is estimating technical effort while ignoring business change: a new Business Partner process changes how users create customers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do I get the list of simplification items?
From SAP Readiness Check for your system, which lists the items relevant to your usage, and from the Simplification Item Catalog published by SAP for each S/4HANA release. The pre-checks in the conversion tooling also flag blocking items during the technical conversion.
Do all simplification items need action?
No. Many are informational or apply only to modules you do not use. The decision column lets you record Not relevant with a reason, which is useful audit evidence. Items that block conversion or change data you rely on need an owner and an estimate.
How accurate is the effort estimate?
It is only as good as the inputs. Use it as an order-of-magnitude figure at the start, then refine each line after a proof of concept or a sandbox conversion. Expect to revise numbers as you learn more about your own customisations.
Can I share the worksheet with my integrator?
Yes. Export to Excel and share it. Many teams ask the integrator to estimate the same rows independently and then compare the figures, which quickly shows where assumptions differ.
If you would like help triaging a long list of findings or automating the estimate from your Readiness Check export, we can discuss that. The worksheet itself is free and complete as it is.
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