This agenda belongs to the S/4HANA transition guide, which explains why the exception layer is the part a transition tends to leave behind. Use this page to run the meeting itself.
Who to invite, and who chairs
Keep the room small. Each person is there to answer one or two blocks, not to attend all of them.
| Seat | Why they are there | Blocks |
|---|---|---|
| CFO or CIO (the transition sponsor) | Knows the approach, the dates and who decides about the legacy system | 1, 4 and 5 |
| Accounts payable lead | Handles blocked invoices and the approvals behind their release | 2 and 3 |
| Credit or order-to-cash lead | Releases credit holds and knows where the reason is written | 2 and 3 |
| Quality manager | Decides dispositions on inspection lots and records deviations | 2 and 3 |
| Data migration lead (integrator side) | Knows what the load scope covers and what stays behind | 1 and 4 |
You chair. Ask the data migration lead to keep time. Put one line in the invite: "Twenty-five minutes on where exception approvals are recorded before the legacy system is retired. Description only; nothing is exported." That sentence tells process owners they will not be asked for files, which makes them more candid.
Book it after the transition approach is chosen and before scope is frozen for closed documents. Earlier, nobody knows what moves; later, the decision has been made by default.
The five blocks, minute by minute
Illustrative. A 480-person food packaging producer running an older SAP release has chosen a new implementation. The partner runs this agenda two weeks before the scope freeze.
SAP| Minutes | The block's question | Who answers | A good answer sounds like |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-4: approach and dates | Which transition approach did you choose, and when is the legacy system expected to be retired? | Sponsor and migration lead | "New implementation; the old system stays read-only for a period after go-live, then the sponsor decides." |
| 4-10: exception processes | Which exception decisions live in attachments and related workflows? | AP, credit and quality leads | "Price mismatches on supplier bills, released credit holds and quality-hold outcomes, all handled in SAP since 2012." |
| 10-16: how decisions are recorded | When an exception is approved, where is the reason written: a file on the document, an approval step, email or a spreadsheet? | Process owners | "Price approvals are scanned onto the supplier bill; credit releases carry a note in the approval step." |
| 16-21: closed documents in scope | Does the transition scope include closed documents and their attachments, or only open items? | Migration lead and sponsor | "Open items only. Closed bills and their files stay in the old system and its content repository." |
| 21-25: decision | Would the company like to hear how licensing of approved business data works, and who would lead it? | Sponsor | "Yes, the CEO can authorize it and the CFO leads; copy the AP lead." |
Keep each block to its one question. When a block runs over, the timekeeper calls it, you write the open point with a name beside it, and the meeting moves on. If two blocks overrun, shorten block three rather than block five.
Listening notes for the exception blocks
Blocks two and three carry the substance. Listen for three things: a named process, a named place where the decision is written, and a document number that ties the two together.
Blocked invoices. In SAP invoice verification, a variance above the upper tolerance limit posts the invoice but blocks it for payment, and releasing it is a separate step; the block covers all items on the invoice. That release step is an exception decision. Ask who releases, and whether the reason is captured anywhere, rather than asking to see one.
Attachments. SAP's Generic Object Services let users attach PC documents to business objects and display them later, where the application supports it. When the AP lead says "the approval is attached to the invoice," that is usually what they mean. A good note reads: "Variance approvals: GOS attachment on the invoice, since about 2014."
Workflow and email. Workflow comments keyed to a document are strong records. Emails and loose spreadsheets are weaker, because nothing ties them to the document number. Record the proportion the owners estimate; do not ask for examples.
Write answers into a four-column sheet: process, where the decision is recorded, years, owner. No vendor names, amounts or document numbers go in it.
Signals that redirect the meeting
Some answers change what the next block should ask. Adjust in the room rather than following the script.
| What you hear | What it usually means | Adjust by |
|---|---|---|
| "We are converting, so everything moves." | A system conversion may carry history, but attachments depend on the content repository | Ask in block four where attachments are stored, not only whether documents move |
| "Selective data transition." | SAP positions it as an alternative to conversion and new implementation; scope is chosen item by item | Ask which years and company codes were selected |
| "Approvals are in email." | Decisions exist but are not tied to documents | Record "partial" and ask in block four who owns the mailboxes |
| "We archived old invoices years ago." | Closed documents may sit in an archive, not the live system | Ask who controls the archive and whether attachments went with it |
| "Extended maintenance buys us time." | SAP offers optional extended maintenance from 2028 to 2030 after mainstream maintenance ends in 2027 | Note the company's own retirement plan; the SAP timeline is not a licensing deadline |
Closing on one of three outcomes
Spend the last four minutes on the decision, and write it down with a name beside it.
Before asking, say three things in plain words. What SourceX does: it licenses approved business data directly from companies for AI training and evaluation, and manages agreement, rights review, data preparation, delivery and payout. Your interest: you are a SourceX referral partner, and if a qualifying license completes and every payment condition is met, SourceX may pay you a reward that is funded separately and never deducted from the company's payout. Fit: 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded), a documented operating history, rights to license the records, and an authorized contact. 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.
| Outcome | When it fits | Recorded by | Then |
|---|---|---|---|
| Introduce now | Exception processes are named, ownership is clear, the sponsor opted in | Chair | Send the annotated S/4HANA introduction email |
| Revisit after a date | Scope for closed documents is not yet decided | Migration lead | Tie the follow-up to the scope freeze or the legacy retirement decision |
| Stop | The sponsor declines, or supplier or customer terms rule out reuse | Chair | Note the reason; the transition continues unchanged |
What stays unknown until SourceX reviews it: SourceX's current data needs for exception records, the rights review result for attached third-party documents, any offer and any reward. Sign the Channel Partner Agreement before submitting. Attribution goes to the first valid introduction within the 90-day window, credited when the company submits a verified application, with one partner per company. 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.](/rewards) for each condition. The archive context checklist carries open items through to retirement. For SAP partners with clients abroad, see SAP partner referrals; the portfolio review agenda and annual client advisory agenda show the timed format in other settings.
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 block five closed on "introduce now," register as a partner, check the company on who qualifies and read the program terms before you send the introduction.