Time Recording Using the Cross-Application Time Sheet 

Use

You use this function to record the work you carried out for a cProjects project in the Cross-Application Time Sheet or CATS.

Once you have activated CATS confirmation, manual confirmation is no longer possible.

Integration

The system creates a worklist in CATS to enable you to record your time for a role or task. The system selects all objects (tasks, project roles, or project definitions) to which you are assigned in the confirmation time period:

●      If you set up confirmation via project roles, the worklist displays all roles for confirmation to which your user is assigned for the confirmation time period.

●      If you set up confirmation via tasks, the worklist displays all tasks for confirmation to which your user is assigned by means of a role for the confirmation time period and which have been released.

You cannot confirm for summary tasks.

If you have not assigned any roles to the tasks, the system cannot determine the tasks for which you are responsible. In this case, the system response is as follows:

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                                                  i.       If you have allowed confirmation for the project, the system displays the project definition for time recording

                                                ii.       If you have not allowed confirmation for the project, the system cannot create a worklist and you cannot record your time

●      Note that the planned times cannot be transferred from cProjects to CATS.

The worklist also contains information about the project’s account assignment object.

Prerequisites

●      Your system administrator activated the time recording function in Customizing for Collaboration Projects underDefine Project Types.

●      Your system administrator set up accounting integration (see the activities under Accounting Integration in Customizing for Collaboration Projects)

●      Your system administrator set up communication via Application Link Enabling (ALE) (see the activities under Application Link Enabling (ALE) in Customizing for the SAP Web Application Server). For more information about setting up ALE for cProjects integration with CATS, see SAP Note 954860.

This setting is not required if ERP and cProjects are installed on the same system.

●      The cProjects system is available at the time of confirmation

Features

When the times you recorded in CATS have been released and approved, the system automatically transfers them to cProjects and SAP Controlling:

●      In SAP Controlling, the system generates actual costs from the records that were transferred based on plan prices from cost center accounting and posts them to the account assignment object.

When determining costs and updating the actual costs, the system does not support the assignment of personnel costs to the recipient object (not updating CO directly from CATS but via HR) because in this scenario the origin of the costs is unclear.

In cProjects, the transferred records are saved in a table (DPR_CONF_LI). You use the DPR_CATS_CPR_TRANS program to transfer the total time recorded to the cProjects UI. SAP recommends that you schedule the program in a batch run.

The actual start date is also transferred for tasks and project roles. The system always displays the earliest date. If, for example, you record time for a task for the first time on 07.01. the system makes 07.01. the actual start date. If you record times later on for 06.30. the system changes the actual start date to 06.30.

●      Transferring the recorded times to cProjects does not change the status of the confirmation object. Even if the percentage complete is 100%, the confirmation object is not automatically closed.

●      However, times that have already been recorded for an object that is closed are still totaled up and displayed.

On 12.10. you record time for a task. The data is transferred to cProjects the same day but the DPR_CATS_CPR_TRANS program is scheduled for 12.15. On 12.12. the project lead changes the status of the task to Closed. However, the times recorded are still totaled up and displayed on 12.15.

Activities

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       1.      Create a worklist in CATS from a particular date and with the cProjects profile. This profile also specifies the length of the confirmation time period.

You can only confirm for the objects that appear in the worklist. You cannot add any more objects automatically.

       2.      Copy the line in which you want to confirm from the upper area to the lower confirmation area.

       3.      Record your time and save your entries.

For more information about working with the Cross-Application Time Sheet, see SAP Library under Logistics → Customer Service (CS) → Cross-Application Time Sheet (CATS).