Which exception decisions live in attachments and related workflows?
Ask the owner exactly that, then note the processes they name. The usual answers are price and quantity variances on invoices, credit holds released by hand, quality-hold dispositions, blocked vendor payments and engineering deviations.
Exceptions are easy to overlook because transition planning is organized around clean data. Data migration teams cleanse customers, vendors, materials and balances, and measure success by how much of that loads. The record of why an invoice was paid despite a variance, or why a credit block was lifted, rarely lives in those fields. It sits in a scanned approval attached to the document, a workflow step with a comment, or a spreadsheet emailed to a controller.
SAP's Generic Object Services let users attach PC documents to business objects and display them later, so years of exception evidence can hang off purchase orders, invoices and deliveries without being part of any master data object. That is the layer worth asking about. A record that pairs the exception, the decision and the outcome shows how a company actually runs, which clean master data does not.
SAPThe timing is documented. SAP states mainstream maintenance for Business Suite 7 core applications through 2027, with optional extended maintenance from 2028 to 2030 at a premium. Many ECC customers are therefore choosing between a system conversion, a new implementation and a selective data transition, which SAP positions as an alternative to the other two. Each approach treats history differently, and the integrator usually knows which one the client chose before the owner has thought about closed documents at all.
Exception map for the owner conversation
Illustrative. A 650-person industrial parts manufacturer on SAP ECC.
| Process | What clean master data shows | Where the exception decision lives | Ask the migration lead |
|---|---|---|---|
| Invoice price variance | Vendor, material, contract price | Approval scan attached to the invoice, workflow comment | Do attachments on closed invoices move, stay or archive? |
| Credit hold release | Customer credit limit | Workflow log and an email to sales | Is closed workflow history in scope? |
| Quality hold disposition | Material, batch, inspection plan | Deviation form attached to the inspection lot | Where do inspection attachments go at cutover? |
| Blocked vendor payment | Vendor bank and payment terms | Spreadsheet of overrides kept by accounts payable | Is the spreadsheet tied to a document number? |
| Engineering deviation | Bill of materials | Change memo in a document management system | Which system holds memos, and who owns it? |
Four metadata questions after the opener
- Which processes generate the most exceptions, and for how many years has the company handled them in SAP? Two or three named processes with a start year are enough.
- Are decisions recorded as attachments, workflow steps, emails or spreadsheets, and in what proportion? Attachments and workflow logs keyed to a document number are the strongest form; loose spreadsheets are the weakest.
- Which transition approach did the company choose, and does its scope include closed documents and their attachments? A conversion may carry history; a new implementation often leaves it in the legacy system or an archive.
- Who decides what happens to the legacy system and its content repository after go-live? Usually the CFO or CIO, sometimes a program steering committee. The person who would authorize a licensing discussion is the CEO (in an owner-run company, usually the owner).
Does the company qualify, and what stays unknown?
An S/4HANA program says nothing certain about size, so check every item.
- 50+ full-time employees at peak, contractors excluded.
- A documented operating history and rights to license the records. Attachments can include supplier or customer documents, which the rights review has to consider.
- An authorized contact who can open a licensing discussion.
- Companies in the U.S., Canada and the EU qualify, as do companies in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore, South Africa, Latin America, the UAE and Saudi Arabia when at least 70% of the data is in English.
| Known at introduction | Unknown until SourceX reviews it |
|---|---|
| Processes, years and systems the owner describes | SourceX's current data needs for that record type |
| The transition approach and go-live date | The rights review result for attached third-party documents |
| Who sponsors the transition | Any offer to the company |
| That the reward was disclosed | Whether a reward becomes payable |
Partners stay at metadata level throughout. For SAP partners, see SAP partner referrals; for consulting firms themselves, see referring an IT consulting firm. The network opportunity finder and the partner hub list other moments.
Reward disclosure and owner permission
Sign the Channel Partner Agreement before submitting. The first valid introduction within the 90-day window is credited when the company submits a verified application; one partner per company. Tell the owner you may receive a referral reward that SourceX pays separately, so it never reduces the company's payout. The default reward on a company's first qualifying transaction is the greater of $50,000 plus 5% and 15% of Actual Supplier Payout, with no cap; the USD 50,000 floor applies once per referred company, and further qualifying transactions first agreed within 12 months of the first Closing pay 15%. Illustrative arithmetic only: if the company were paid $400,000 for a qualifying completed handoff, the reward would be USD 70,000 (USD 50,000 plus 5%, which exceeds 15%). A reward becomes payable after SourceX has paid the referred company under its signed agreement and the payout conditions in the program terms are met, including finance approval and your tax and payment details. See rewards for payment statuses. A short introduction then names the go-live date, the exception processes and years the owner described, and that SourceX licenses approved operating records directly from companies.
Go deeper on S/4HANA transitions
- S/4HANA transition introduction email: a template for introducing the company's decision-maker before the legacy system is retired, with the disclosure included.
- S/4HANA transition meeting agenda: a timed agenda for the first owner conversation about exception history.
- S/4HANA transition archive context checklist: a checklist of scope, archive and authority facts to confirm before go-live.
Next step
Refer a company. No cap on rewards. Default reward on a company's first qualifying transaction: the greater of $50,000 plus 5% and 15% of Actual Supplier Payout, with no cap; further qualifying transactions first agreed within 12 months of the first Closing pay 15%. Eligibility and payment conditions apply, including the USD 100,000 Minimum Transaction, and a signed Schedule A or addendum can differ. A lead, meeting or signature alone does not trigger payment.
If the owner names exception records that the transition will not carry forward and wants to talk, register as a partner, check the company against who qualifies, and read the program terms before you make the introduction.