Many organizations use Employee Central Payroll (ECP) in countries with large employee populations. In these scenarios, evaluated time results — calculated from timesheet information — are replicated using Data Replication Proxy objects, providing a reliable mechanism to transfer time data to payroll.
In countries with smaller employee populations or where SAP Payroll is not offered, companies often use non-SAP payroll solutions. However, the Data Replication Proxy functionality was previously only available when ECP was licensed, making it unavailable for third-party payroll integrations. This gap meant customers had to build custom integrations, which required significant effort and often led to unreliable data transfer. In some cases, this resulted in incorrect payroll calculations — a challenge we heard loud and clear from our customers.
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Opening the Data Replication Proxy framework is the foundational building block. To match the reliability customers know from ECP, the integration also needs a defined persistence and confirmation pattern on the integration side. We're working on end-to-end guidance — published as an Implementation Design Principle (IDP) — that covers the full pattern, not just the API surface.
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We're bringing the proven change-tracking foundation of Data Replication Proxies to third-party payroll systems, making hybrid payroll landscapes easier to manage.
Activation: A new switch in Manage Employee Central Settings called Time Data Replication to Third-party Payroll Systems enables this functionality. This requires a SuccessFactors Time Tracking license (not an ECP license).
Data Access: Once enabled, Data Replication Proxies are created for time data changes. Third-party systems can query these proxies using an OData-based API.
Confirmation: A REST API allows external payroll systems to confirm when they have successfully processed a proxy, maintaining data integrity.
Key Difference from ECP: The Data Replication Monitor is not available for third-party integrations. Monitoring is handled through the integration platform rather than a built-in tool.
Opening the proxy framework solves the data-access half of the problem. Building a reliable payroll integration on top of it — handling state, confirmations, and edge cases such as proxy recreation — is where the upcoming IDP guidance comes in.
- Proven Foundation: The same change-tracking mechanism ECP customers rely on, now available as a building block for third-party scenarios.
- More Standardized Integrations: Move away from fragile workarounds like custom Integration Center jobs or reporting-based solutions toward a standard, API-based approach.
- Better Accuracy: Reduce the risk of payroll calculation errors due to missed or incomplete time data.
- Flexible Architecture: Support diverse payroll landscapes with a consistent integration pattern.
Availability
This feature is not yet generally available. Customers interested in using it can request activation.
We're actively developing end-to-end implementation guidance covering proxy consumption, persistence, confirmation, and error handling. The Implementation Design Principle document will be published once available.



