Converting the Currency 

Prior to the actual changeover in your live system, SAP recommends that you first carry out a test changeover in a test system. If possible, copy the database of your live system. This will provide you with a realistic simulation of the actual conversion. Any errors and data inconsistencies can be analyzed and resolved in this test environment, without making changes in the live system.

To ensure that the conversion is correct, any errors must be analyzed and removed.

Legal Bases for the Conversion

Amounts are converted throughout the whole of SAP using central function modules that operate in accordance with the guidelines set by the European Commission (Preparation Regulation based on Article 235 of the Maastricht Treaty) with regard to rounding, and decimal places used in the conversion, for example.

For a detailed description of the conversion procedure, see the online help under European Monetary Union: Euro (CA-EUR) or see SAPNet ® Euro ® Description of Local Currency Conversion.

Independence of the Local Currency

The local currency used in Accounting is defined at the company code level and is not time-dependent. At the close of the fiscal year, the currency is changed over and all local currency amounts are converted into euro. The accounts appear as if they had always been kept in euro.

Within Human Resources, historical data is not converted; payroll results and master data that are valid before the conversion date are not converted. All contracts, for example, collective agreements, salaries, individual contracts, statutory constants, are delimited on the key date of the currency changeover. In some cases a new record is created with converted amounts in the new currency.

Different programs are available for this process. The procedure for changing over individual area s is described in the following sections. The changeover itself takes place using the Implementation Guide (IMG) for European Union: Euro.