Efficient timekeeping lies at the core of any successful business operation, and as organizations continue to navigate a dynamic and fast-paced work environment, accurately capturing and managing employee hours becomes essential…
Enter SAP CATS (Cross-Application Time Sheet) – a comprehensive and powerful cross-application component and timesheet tool designed to improve time tracking accuracy and efficiency across multiple applications.
With its robust capabilities, the CATS module in SAP enables companies to streamline their time recording processes, improve project management, enhance resource allocation, and gain valuable insights for better decision-making in the long run.
This article will take a more in-depth look at the SAP Cross-Application Time Sheet tool, its key components and integrations with other SAP HR functionality, and where our SAP consultant team can come in to help.
Read on to learn more!
What is CATS in SAP?
Cross-Application Time Sheet (CATS) is a cross-application component designed to help users record working times and tasks, enabling companies to control all business processes related to employee tasks, including employee payment, project progress, and invoice creation.
This way, companies can ensure core plant maintenance, data entry, and timesheet management functions are controlled, and statistical key figures controlling cross-application collaboration are managed to optimize their core SAP business workflow across teams.
With a well-defined SAP CATS process flow, companies across all industries are enabled to empower their employees to record and maintain their own data, easing the workload of time administration staff in the process. Sounds like a pretty sweet deal, right?
Integrations with Other SAP Modules
- Personnel Time Management (PT)
- Payroll (PY)
- Plant Maintenance (PM)
- Controlling (CO)
- Project System (PS)
- Customer Service (CS)
- External Services (MM-SRV)
Common User Interfaces for SAP CATS
CATS functionality is available for multiple different user interfaces (UIs), including the SAP Graphical User Interface (GUI), SAP Enterprise Portal, and other mobile devices.
Let’s take a closer look at a few of the most common interfaces for the CATS system in SAP…
- CATS Classic
CATS Classic is the original UI for the tool, and it is best suited for users who regularly work in the SAP ERP system. This interface makes it easier for companies leveraging multiple employee (multikey) time entries to track working times and improve the accuracy of employee payment through advanced features and CATS menus.
- CATS for Service Providers
This UI is accessed through the SAP GUI to reduce the time users need to enter time for activities that typically last longer than one day. It is designed to support time entry for employees who perform the same type of work for multiple days, including employees in the consulting and billable services industries.
- CATS Regular
CATS Regular is the UI designed to support time entry through a web browser, and it is also known as the CATS Regular Web Dynpro (WDA) for ESS implementations in EHP5 and higher. This UI best suits employee time entry via a portal like SAP Employee Self-Service.
- CATS Notebook
The CATS Notebook, also known as Mobile CATS, is an offline time-entry solution designed to make recording working times and keeping up with time data easier for employees on the go. Employees can leverage Mobile CATS to record their time and synchronize their data to the corporate system and comprehensive CATS database, whether in the field or at home.
Main Advantages of SAP CATS Configuration
- Enhanced Accuracy and Efficiency: CATS in SAP offers a centralized time-tracking platform, eliminating the need for manual or disparate systems. And by automating the process, it minimizes errors, reduces administrative burdens, and ensures accurate recording of employee hours, tasks, and projects.
- Seamless Integration: The SAP CATS tool provides seamless integrations with other SAP modules and applications, such as SAP ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) and SAP Project Systems. This cross-application functionality allows for smoother data exchange to eliminate duplication and enable real-time updates across business processes.
- Customizable Features: The CATS module can be customized to create a data entry profile that aligns with an organization’s specific time-tracking requirements. Users can define their own time entry fields, approval workflows, and validation rules to ensure adherence to internal policies and processes and improve adaptability to unique workflows.
- Improved Project Management: With the CATS solution, project managers can gain better visibility into resource allocation, task progress, and project timelines. This enables project teams to effectively monitor project performance, identify bottlenecks, and allocate resources efficiently across their entire enterprise.
- Reporting and Analytics: Essential SAP CATS enhancements offer advanced reporting and analytics capabilities, allowing organizations to extract actionable insights from time-tracking data. And, by generating comprehensive reports, companies can evaluate employee productivity and project system profitability, identify areas for improvement, and make better decisions over time.
How Can We Help?
Whether you need help implementing the SAP Cross-Application Time Sheet tool for the first time, an extra hand navigating the transfer of time data to target components like HR, Payroll, or Customer Service, or additional support managing operations across cost centers, Surety Systems is here to help ensure your team is ready to support SAP CATS. Your technology. Your priorities. Our expertise.
Getting Started with Our Team
Our senior-level, US-based SAP consultant team has the knowledge, skills, and experience needed to help you manage your SAP CATS implementation or integration projects, configure SAP CATS, and keep your Human Resources team in the loop, no matter what.
Contact us today to learn more about our SAP consulting services!
