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SAP Analytics Cloud, explained

One cloud for reporting, planning and prediction

SAP’s software as a service for business intelligence, planning and predictive analysis, all in the browser.

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Switch for technical names and consultant notes.Showing technical names, S/4HANA settings and limits.

Four jobs, one tool

JobIn SACUsed to be
AnalyzeStories, Data AnalyzerBusinessObjects, BEx, Lumira
PlanPlanning modelsBPC, BW-IP, Excel
PredictSmart Predict, CompassA separate predictive tool
PresentDigital BoardroomPowerPoint board packs

The basics

SAC in sixty seconds

SAC is not installed anywhere in your company. SAP runs it for you as a tenant in an SAP data center, you open it in Chrome or Edge, and SAP updates it several times a year. The same data model can feed a dashboard, take budget input and run a forecast.

This page is for people who have never opened SAC and for consultants coming from SAP GUI or BPC. It maps the menus each group works in (SAC has no transaction codes), walks through a planning cycle, and tells how SAP got here from BPC. Several of the older tools SAC took over are still maintained on premise, but new cloud features land in SAC. Use the New to SAC and SAP consultant switch at the top to show or hide the technical layer.

  • Analyze

    Business intelligence

    Stories are SAC’s reports and dashboards: charts, tables, filters, variances and comments. Data Analyzer gives an ad hoc pivot, and Just Ask answers questions typed in plain English.

    • Stories
    • Data Analyzer
    • Just Ask

  • Plan

    Budgets, forecasts and what-ifs

    Planners type numbers into story tables, spread them down hierarchies, work in private versions and run the calculations the planning team prepared. A calendar tracks who must deliver what and who approves it.

    • Versions
    • Data actions
    • Calendar
    • Data locking

  • Predict

    Machine learning and simulation

    Smart Predict builds classification, regression and time series models without code, and can write a forecast into a plan version. Compass runs thousands of Monte Carlo scenarios to show how likely a target is.

    • Predictive Scenarios
    • Compass
    • Value Driver Trees
  • Oct 2015Launched as SAP Cloud for Analytics, code name Project Orca.
  • 0Transaction codes. Every function is an app in the side menu.
  • Feb · May · Aug · NovWhen most tenants get the quarterly update. Fast Track tenants get one every two weeks.
  • Dec 2025Gartner names SAP a Leader in financial planning software.

Sources: SiliconANGLE (2015)SAP Community FAQSAP News (2025)

The first surprise

Wait, where are the transaction codes?

SAP people open SAC for the first time and look for the command field. There isn’t one. SAC runs in the browser, with no SAP GUI behind it, and every function is an app in a side navigation. You open the app, then a file inside it.

SAP GUI

Type a code, a screen opens. Authorization objects decide whether you may run it.

  • Home
  • Files
  • Stories
  • Data Analyzer
  • Digital Boardroom
  • Modeler
  • Data Actions
  • Multi Actions
  • Predictive Scenarios
  • Calendar
  • Connections
  • Security
  • Transport
  • System

SAP Analytics Cloud

Open an app from the side menu, then a story or a model inside it. Cost center planning is not a code: it is a story your planning team built, sitting in a folder you were given access to.

This menu shows the main apps named in SAP Help. Yours may show fewer.

Three things decide what your menu shows

  • Your licenseBusiness Intelligence, Planning Standard or Planning Professional. Without a planning license, the planning apps do not appear.
  • Your roleStandard roles such as Admin or BI Admin, or custom roles. A role is SAC’s PFCG: it lists the permissions behind each app.
  • Your releaseFast Track or quarterly. System › About shows the release; a feature you read about online may not be on your tenant yet.

Translator

From the transaction you know to the SAC way

Pick a transaction from SAP ERP, BW or BPC and see where that job lives in SAC, and what feels different.

You used to run

KP06Cost center planning

In SAC

A planning story from SAP’s Integrated Financial Planning content, exported to ACDOCP

Instead of a GUI screen per cost center, planners work in a story with all their cost centers, versions and comments. The approved public version is exported to S/4HANA.

Consultant’s note. The cost center model is SAP__FI_BPL_IM_COSTCENTER; plan values go to ACDOCP through API_FINANCIALPLANDATA_SRV.

You used to run

KP26Activity type planning (prices)

In SAC

The cost rate input and calculation stories of the same content

Output quantities and costs are planned in SAC, the rate is calculated there, and the result goes back to S/4HANA.

Consultant’s note. Activity prices export to table ACCOSTRATE through C_ACTYTYPEPLANCOSTRATE_SRV.

You used to run

KSU5Execute assessment cycle

In SAC

An allocation step, alone or inside a data action

The cycle becomes a driver-based allocation that planners can rerun with one button after changing drivers.

Consultant’s note. Keep allocation in plan data only; actual allocations still run in S/4HANA.

You used to run

RSPLANPlanning modeler

In SAC

Modeler plus Data Actions

Aggregation levels, filters and planning functions give way to models, versions and data actions with advanced formulas.

Consultant’s note. FOX logic has to be rewritten; there is no automatic conversion.

You used to run

UJKTScript logic tester

In SAC

The data action editor, tested on a private version

Logic is built in steps and advanced formulas, then run on a private version to check results before anyone uses it.

Consultant’s note. BAdIs called from script logic have no SAC equivalent; redesign the logic or move it upstream.

You used to run

UJFSBPC file service

In SAC

Files

Folders, sharing and workspaces replace the server file tree of each BPC environment.

Consultant’s note. Uploads on the Files page are limited to 100 MB per file.

You used to run

UJBRBackup and restore of an environment

In SAC

Transport › Export and Import

You export a package of models, stories and other objects and import it into another tenant.

Consultant’s note. The target tenant must be on the same or a later release than the source.

You used to run

UJSTATBPC performance statistics

In SAC

System › Monitor

SAP runs the platform, so you monitor your content and jobs, not the servers.

Consultant’s note. For live connections, slow stories usually mean a slow source query: test it on the source side.

You used to run

RSA1Data Warehousing Workbench

In SAC

Connections, Modeler and Datasets

SAC is not a data warehouse. Heavy integration belongs in BW/4HANA or SAP Datasphere; SAC models what it needs.

Consultant’s note. With seamless planning, model data is stored in a Datasphere space chosen per model.

You used to run

RSPCProcess chains

In SAC

Multi Actions, scheduled import jobs and calendar events

Import, calculate and publish can run as one multi action, on a schedule or from a button.

Consultant’s note. Watch the limit of 30 concurrent data management jobs per tenant.

You used to run

SU01 · PFCGUsers and roles

In SAC

Security › Users, Roles and Teams

Roles grant permissions per object type; data access control on dimensions decides which members a user sees.

Consultant’s note. Single sign-on usually comes from the company identity provider; live sources still check their own authorizations.

You used to run

STMSTransport management

In SAC

Transport and the Content Network

No transport routes or requests: you export a package from one tenant and import it into the next.

Consultant’s note. Plan which tenant is the source of truth for each object; there is no version control as in ABAP.

You used to run

RSRTQuery monitor

In SAC

Data Analyzer

Quick pivot on a query or model inside SAC. Keep RSRT for testing the S/4HANA or BW query that SAC reads live.

Consultant’s note. A query that is slow in RSRT will be slow in the story too.

You used to run

GR55Report Painter and Report Writer

In SAC

Stories

Reports become stories with charts, variance, comments and scheduled delivery by email.

Consultant’s note. For operational ERP reporting, S/4HANA embedded analytics may fit better; SAC shines across sources and with plan data.

The process

How work flows through SAC, step by step

Two flows cover almost every project: a planning cycle, from actuals to an approved budget that goes back to S/4HANA, and an analytics flow, from data source to dashboard.

Step 1 of 7 · Modeler

Load actuals and master data

Import jobs bring cost centers, accounts and actuals from S/4HANA through OData, once or on a schedule. They are the comparison data for the plan.

Where in SAC

  • Data Management
  • Connections

Watch out

Load master data first, then transactions; missing members make rows fail.

Consultant’s note. With SAP’s Integrated Financial Planning content, the import jobs and models come prebuilt.

Step 2 of 7 · Planning lead

Set the frame

Create the versions for this cycle, such as Budget 2027 and Forecast, set currency rates, define which combinations are valid, and decide who plans what.

Where in SAC

  • Modeler
  • Version management
  • Security

Watch out

Decide early which version goes back to S/4HANA; only public versions can be exported.

Consultant’s note. Validation rules restrict member combinations; data access control restricts who can write where.

Step 3 of 7 · Planning lead

Seed the plan

Copy last year’s actuals or the last forecast into the new version, apply growth rates, or let a Smart Predict time series propose a starting point.

Where in SAC

  • Data Actions
  • Multi Actions
  • Predictive Scenarios

Watch out

A seeded plan looks finished. Tell planners which numbers are proposals.

Consultant’s note. Package the seeding as one multi action so it reruns the same way every cycle.

Step 4 of 7 · Planners

Plan and simulate

Planners type and spread values, run allocations, test ideas in private versions, and use value driver trees or Compass to see risks.

Where in SAC

  • Stories
  • Allocations
  • Compass

Watch out

Private versions are invisible to others until published; remind people to publish before the deadline.

Consultant’s note. Data entry, data actions and allocations are open to Planning Standard users.

Step 5 of 7 · Reviewers

Review and approve

The calendar sends tasks, collects submissions and routes approvals. Approved areas are locked so they cannot change by mistake.

Where in SAC

  • Calendar
  • Data locking
  • Comments

Watch out

Without data locking, an approved budget can still be edited.

Consultant’s note. Calendar processes can also trigger data actions at set dates.

Step 6 of 7 · Modeler

Publish and write back

Publish the final public version and run the export job to S/4HANA, or keep it in Datasphere when the model uses seamless planning.

Where in SAC

  • Version management
  • Data Management

Watch out

Exports overwrite only what they send: a value deleted in SAC stays in S/4HANA until you export a zero.

Consultant’s note. Plan values go to ACDOCP, activity prices to ACCOSTRATE and statistical key figures to FINSSKF; each IFP export is a full update.

Step 7 of 7 · Everyone

Analyze and roll forward

Compare plan and actual in SAC stories, or in S/4HANA embedded analytics on ACDOCP. A rolling forecast starts the cycle again next month.

Where in SAC

  • Stories
  • Data Analyzer

Watch out

Agree on one place for plan-versus-actual reporting, or two numbers will circulate.

Consultant’s note. Our ACDOCA page shows how ACDOCP sits next to the Universal Journal.

Step 1 of 5 · Administrator

Connect to the data

Choose a live connection, which leaves the data in S/4HANA, BW, HANA or Datasphere, or an import connection, which copies it into SAC from OData services, SQL databases, files or cloud apps.

Where in SAC

  • Connections

Watch out

Live keeps data at the source but some features, such as Smart Predict and Smart Insights, need imported data.

Consultant’s note. Live S/4HANA on premise reads the analytical queries through InA; test them in RSRT first.

Step 2 of 5 · Modeler

Model it

Turn raw data into measures, dimensions, hierarchies and currencies. With a live connection the source query is the model; with import you build the model in SAC.

Where in SAC

  • Modeler
  • Datasets

Watch out

Names matter: Just Ask and every story reuse the names you give measures and dimensions.

Consultant’s note. Prefer the new model type for new work; classic account models have lower import limits.

Step 3 of 5 · Content creator

Build the story

Add pages with charts, tables, filters and variances. Scripts can add popups and custom navigation when the built-in options are not enough.

Where in SAC

  • Stories

Watch out

Fewer widgets per page load faster. Split a crowded dashboard into pages.

Consultant’s note. The optimized story experience merged stories and analytic applications into one designer.

Step 4 of 5 · Content creator

Share and schedule

Share through folders, teams and workspaces; schedule publications that email a PDF or PowerPoint; build a Digital Boardroom agenda for management.

Where in SAC

  • Files
  • Schedule publication
  • Digital Boardroom

Watch out

Stories can only be shared with users of the same tenant, never outside the company.

Consultant’s note. Scheduled publications were not available on Datasphere live models when NextLytics reviewed them.

Step 5 of 5 · Business user

Explore and ask

Filter, drill down, add comments, ask Just Ask or Joule a question, open the story on the iOS app or continue in Excel with the SAC add-in.

Where in SAC

  • Stories
  • Just Ask
  • Excel add-in

Watch out

If a number looks wrong, check the filters and the version first; most “wrong numbers” are a filter.

Consultant’s note. Data Analyzer is the fastest way to reproduce a user’s number without the story layout.

The question everyone asks

Live connection or import?

A live connection leaves the data where it is and sends queries to it. An import copies the data into SAC. Answer six questions and see which way your case leans.

Must the data stay in the source system, with no copy in the cloud?
Will users enter plan or forecast numbers in SAC?
Is the source SAP BPC on BW or BW/4HANA?
Do you need Smart Insights, Smart Predict or other smart features?
Must users see changes in the source the moment they happen?
Will one story combine data from several systems?

Your case leans to

Either works

Nothing in your answers tips the balance. Most companies use both: live for reporting on SAP sources, import for planning.

  • Start live for operational reporting on S/4HANA or BW.
  • Switch to import when planning or smart features come in.
  • Answer the questions to see what changes.

Live connection

Your answers put data residency and freshness first. Users see the source as it is, under its own authorizations.

  • Performance depends on the source system and its queries.
  • Some chart types, smart features and blending options are limited on live data.
  • On premise S/4HANA needs CORS settings, InA services and an allowlist.

Import connection

Planning, smart features or several sources need the data inside SAC, where every feature is available.

  • Schedule import jobs; the data is as fresh as the last run.
  • Mind the limits: 800,000 rows per job in classic account models, 10 million in the new model.
  • Security moves to SAC roles and data access control.

Live connection to BPC

SAC becomes the front end and the planning itself runs in BPC. Many BPC customers use this hybrid on the way to SAC planning.

  • Planning functions, logic and data stay in BPC.
  • Establishing the SAC-to-BPC connection needs at least one Planning Professional user.
  • Plan a later step: rebuilding the models natively in SAC before BPC maintenance ends.

A conflict to solve first

SAC plans on data it stores itself, so “no copy in the cloud” and “plan in SAC” do not fit together as asked.

  • Keep planning in BPC and put SAC live on top for reporting.
  • Or use seamless planning, where plan data sits in your SAP Datasphere space instead of in SAC.
  • Or agree to import only the slice needed for planning, and report the rest live.

An illustration of the trade-offs, not a sizing tool.

TopicLive connectionImport connection
Where the data livesIn the source; SAC sends queries and stores no copyCopied into the SAC tenant, or into SAP Datasphere with seamless planning
FreshnessReal timeAs of the last import job; schedule it
PlanningOnly through a live connection to BPC, where the planning runsFull SAC planning: versions, data actions, allocations, calendar
Smart featuresSmart Insights and Smart Predict not supported on BW or Datasphere live dataAvailable
SecurityThe source system’s authorizations applySAC roles, teams and data access control
PerformanceDepends on the source query and the networkSAC’s own SAP HANA engine
ModelThe source query or view is the modelA model you build and maintain in SAC
Typical sourcesS/4HANA, SAP BW, SAP HANA, SAP Datasphere, SAP BPCS/4HANA OData, SQL databases, files, Google Drive and other cloud sources

Sources: NextLytics: live connection, advantages and challengesSAP Help: live connection to S/4HANA via CORSSAP blog: seamless planning

For consultants

SAC and S/4HANA: where the real transaction codes are

SAC itself has none, but the S/4HANA side of an SAC project is configured in SAP GUI. Two jobs come up in almost every project: reading S/4HANA live, and writing the approved plan back.

Read · live, on premise

S/4HANA → SAC, no copy

The user’s browser talks to S/4HANA directly through the InA protocol. S/4HANA must accept calls from the SAC host (CORS) and set cookies the browser keeps.

  1. Set SameSite cookie attributes on the ABAP server so the browser keeps its session cookies.
  2. Check that the InA services under /sap/bw/ina are active in SICF.
  3. Set the profile parameter icf/cors_enabled to 1 (RZ10, permanent; RZ11 only until restart).
  4. In UCONCOCKPIT, add the SAC host to the HTTP allowlist for /sap/bw/ina with GET, HEAD, POST and OPTIONS.
  5. In SAC, add a live connection to SAP S/4HANA of type Direct, with host, HTTPS port and client.

Write · export job

SAC → S/4HANA plan tables

SAP’s Integrated Financial Planning content imports actuals and master data through OData and exports the approved public version back:

OData serviceWritesTable
API_FINANCIALPLANDATA_SRVPlan valuesACDOCP
C_ACTYTYPEPLANCOSTRATE_SRVActivity pricesACCOSTRATE
C_SKF_SRVStatistical key figuresFINSSKF

Only public versions export. Each export overwrites its scope: a value deleted in SAC stays in S/4HANA until you export a zero.

S/4HANA transactions an SAC consultant should know

TransactionWhat you do thereFor
SICFActivate the InA services under /sap/bw/ina (GetServerInfo, GetResponse, ValueHelp and others).Live
RZ10 · RZ11Set icf/cors_enabled = 1 so S/4HANA answers cross-origin calls from the browser.Live
UCONCOCKPITHTTP allowlist: CORS active check, the SAC host and the allowed methods and headers.Live
RSRTTest the analytical query SAC will read live, and see how fast it runs.Live
/IWFND/MAINT_SERVICEActivate the OData services used for import and export, such as API_FINANCIALPLANDATA_SRV.Import · export
/IWFND/ERROR_LOGFind which OData call failed and which service is missing.Import · export
SE16NCheck what arrived in ACDOCP, ACCOSTRATE or FINSSKF after an export.Import · export
SU01 · PFCGUsers and authorizations for the people and technical users SAC calls with.Both
SE24Only for SAML single sign-on: the small dummy handler class SAP Help describes.Live (SSO)

Good to know

The classic FI-CO planning transactions are gone from the S/4HANA user menu. SAP Note 2474069 can bring some G/L planning back in converted systems, but SAP does not recommend it for new projects: SAC is SAP’s strategic planning application.

Sources: SAP Help (CORS live connection)SAP Learning: planning with SACZPARTNER: export to ACDOCPSAP blog: financial planning options in S/4HANA

History

From BW planning and BPC to SAC, in seven chapters

SAC did not grow out of BPC: SAP wrote it from scratch for the cloud. To understand why it looks the way it does, follow how SAP planning moved from IT to finance and then to the cloud.

Around 2000 – 2006

Planning lives inside SAP BW

Before SAC, SAP’s planning ran inside its data warehouse, built and owned by IT.

What happened

SAP SEM-BPS (Business Planning and Simulation) put planning layouts on top of BW data. BW-BPS moved planning into BW itself, and SAP NetWeaver BI 7.0 replaced both with BW Integrated Planning: aggregation levels, filters and planning functions such as FOX formulas, with Excel and web front ends.

What it meant for finance teams

Powerful and close to the data, but each change needed a BW expert. The real budget often stayed in Excel.

Names to know

  • RSPLAN
  • RSA1
  • RSRT
  • FOX

Consultant’s note. BW Integrated Planning, accelerated later in SAP HANA by the planning applications kit, is the engine under BPC Embedded and BPC on S/4HANA.

2007 – 2008

SAP buys its way into finance and BI

In one year SAP bought a planning tool finance teams liked and the biggest BI vendor of the time.

What happened

In June 2007 SAP announced the purchase of OutlookSoft, a planning and consolidation vendor from Stamford, Connecticut; its main product became SAP Business Planning and Consolidation (BPC). Months later SAP agreed to buy Business Objects, a deal that closed in January 2008 and brought Web Intelligence, Crystal Reports and dashboards into SAP’s portfolio.

What it meant for finance teams

SAP now had two planning worlds: BW planning for IT-led projects on SAP data, and BPC for finance-led planning in Excel.

Names to know

  • BPC
  • EPM add-in
  • Web Intelligence

Consultant’s note. The OutlookSoft price was never disclosed; estimates ranged from 200 to 400 million dollars.

Sources: OutlookSoft (Wikipedia)

2008 – 2013

BPC on two platforms

BPC became the budgeting tool of many SAP customers, run by finance itself.

What happened

BPC shipped in a version for Microsoft SQL Server and a version for SAP NetWeaver on BW. Finance administrators owned dimensions, input forms, script logic and business process flows, mostly through the EPM add-in for Excel, without waiting for IT.

What it meant for finance teams

Fast to change and loved by controllers, but data was copied out of the ERP and back, and custom logic grew into BAdIs and long script files.

Names to know

  • UJKT
  • UJFS
  • UJBR
  • UJSTAT
  • SLG1 (UJ*)

Consultant’s note. Script logic is tested in UJKT, environments are backed up and restored with UJBR, UJFS opens the file service and UJSTAT shows performance statistics. None of these has an SAC twin with the same name.

Sources: Useful BW transaction codes for BPC NW 10.0 (SAP blog)

2014 – 2016

The HANA turn: Embedded and S/4HANA

With SAP HANA, SAP brought planning back next to the transactional data.

What happened

BPC 10.1 on NetWeaver offered two model types: Standard, the classic BPC way, and Embedded, BW Integrated Planning under a BPC front end. In 2015 SAP added Integrated Business Planning for Finance to S/4HANA Finance; renamed BPC Optimized for S/4HANA in release 1610, it reads actuals from ACDOCA and stores plan data in ACDOCP.

What it meant for finance teams

Real-time plan against actuals in one database, but still on premise, tied to upgrade projects and to BW skills.

Names to know

  • ACDOCP
  • ACDOCA
  • Embedded BW
  • BPC 10.1

Consultant’s note. Not to be confused with SAP IBP, the supply chain planning product. SAP still mentions BPC on S/4HANA for rare real-time planning needs.

Sources: Financial planning options in S/4HANA (SAP blog)

2015 – 2017

A new product is born in the cloud

SAP started from a clean sheet: one browser tool for analytics, planning and prediction.

What happened

SAP Cloud for Planning appeared in early 2015. In October 2015, at SAP TechEd, SAP launched SAP Cloud for Analytics, code name Project Orca, built on its HANA Cloud Platform. It was renamed SAP BusinessObjects Cloud in June 2016 and SAP Analytics Cloud in 2017. In June 2017 BPC 11 for SAP BW/4HANA shipped with a two-way link to SAC.

What it meant for finance teams

For the first time BI, planning and predictive shared one model and one interface, updated by SAP instead of by upgrade projects.

Names to know

  • Project Orca
  • BPC 11.0
  • Hybrid live connection

Consultant’s note. BPC 11 dropped the EPM add-in in favour of Analysis for Office and added near real-time data exchange with SAC in both directions.

Sources: SiliconANGLE, Oct 2015DBTA, Jun 2016SAP blog, release 2017.09element61 on BPC 11

2018 – 2023

SAC grows up

The young tool got the features large companies asked for.

What happened

Analytics Designer let developers script full applications. The new model type (2021) put measures beside an optional account dimension and raised the import limits. The optimized story experience (2022) began merging stories and analytic applications into one designer. SAP published Integrated Financial Planning content for S/4HANA with export back to ACDOCP, and in 2023 SAP Data Warehouse Cloud became SAP Datasphere.

What it meant for finance teams

Planning projects could move from BPC to SAC with SAP content as a starting point instead of a blank model.

Names to know

  • New model
  • Optimized story experience
  • SAP__FI_BPL_IM_COSTCENTER

Consultant’s note. The IFP content exports through OData: plan values to ACDOCP, activity prices to ACCOSTRATE and statistical key figures to FINSSKF.

Sources: New model overview (SAP blog, 2021)Optimized story experience (SAP blog, 2022)Planning with SAC (SAP Learning)

2024 – 2026

AI and the Business Data Cloud

Today SAC is one piece of a larger SAP data cloud, and AI is moving into every step.

What happened

Just Ask, natural-language questions on models, became generally available in Q1 2024, followed by Joule in SAC. Seamless planning, which stores plan data in SAP Datasphere, entered controlled release in Q4 2024 with general availability planned for Q1 2025. SAP Business Data Cloud, announced in February 2025, now frames SAC together with Datasphere. Live versions for external data arrived in Q4 2025, Gartner named SAP a Leader in financial planning software in December 2025, and mainstream maintenance of BPC 10.1 for Microsoft ended on 30 June 2026.

What it meant for finance teams

The question is no longer whether SAC replaces BPC for planning, but when. The next BPC dates fall on 31 December 2027.

Names to know

  • Just Ask
  • Joule
  • Seamless planning
  • Live versions
  • Business Data Cloud

Consultant’s note. Seamless planning needs SAC on SAP HANA Cloud, both tenants in the same data center, the same identity provider and a 1:1 tenant link.

Sources: Generative AI in SAC (SAP)Seamless planning (SAP blog)Live planning (SAP blog)Gartner MQ (SAP News)

Compared

SAP BPC versus SAP Analytics Cloud

Same goal, budgets and forecasts finance can own, built on very different foundations. Filter the rows by theme.

TopicSAP BPCSAP Analytics Cloud
DeploymentOn premise: Microsoft SQL Server, SAP NetWeaver on BW, BW/4HANA, or inside S/4HANASoftware as a service only, in the browser; no on-premise edition
UpgradesProjects with support packages, often years apartSAP updates the tenant: quarterly, or every two weeks on Fast Track
Where data livesBPC tables in BW or SQL Server, or ACDOCP in S/4HANAThe SAC tenant, an SAP Datasphere space with seamless planning, or the source for live analytics
Front endEPM add-in or Analysis for Office, BPC web clientStories in the browser, SAC add-in for Excel, iOS app
LicensingLicense plus yearly maintenanceSubscription per named user: Business Intelligence, Planning Standard or Planning Professional
Planning logicScript logic, ABAP BAdIs, FOX in Embedded modelsData actions with advanced formulas, allocations and multi actions; no ABAP
Process controlBusiness process flows and work statusCalendar processes, approvals and data locking
SimulationExtra categories and custom logicPrivate versions, value driver trees, Compass and Smart Predict
ConsolidationFull consolidation: eliminations, ownership, currency translationNot a statutory consolidation tool; SAP points to SAP Group Reporting
TransportABAP transports (STMS) or backup and restore (UJBR)Export and import packages or the Content Network; target on the same or a later release
SecuritySU01 and PFCG plus BPC teams and data access profilesSAC users, roles, teams and data access control on dimensions
FutureFixed maintenance dates per version (see the clock below)Where SAP builds new planning features

Sources: SAP Help and blogs in the references below; element61 on BPC 11; LeverX on BPC-to-SAC migration.

Deadlines

The BPC clock: what ends when

End of mainstream maintenance by BPC version. The red line is today, and the labels on the right count the months left.

  • BPC 11.1with SAP BW/4HANA 2.0
    Ended31 Dec 2025
  • BPC 10.1 for Microsofton Microsoft SQL Server
    Ended30 Jun 2026
  • BPC 10.1 for NetWeaveron SAP BW 7.5 · optional extension to 2030
    14 months left31 Dec 2027
  • BPC 2021with SAP BW/4HANA 2021
    14 months left31 Dec 2027
  • BPC 2021with SAP BW/4HANA 2023
    50 months left31 Dec 2030
  • BPC on SAP S/4HANAembedded, formerly “Optimized”
    Check the PAM2027 or 2040
  • Mainstream maintenance
  • Already ended
  • Optional extension or unconfirmed
  • Today
  • BPC follows BW/4HANAEach BPC release is maintained as long as the BW/4HANA release under it. SAP says the BW/4HANA line will be maintained until at least 2040.
  • BPC on S/4HANA: sources differSAP’s 2023 post gives 2040 for BPC inside S/4HANA; some partner tables list 31 December 2027. Check the Product Availability Matrix for your release.
  • “Ended” is not “switched off”After mainstream maintenance the software still runs, but new legal changes and fixes stop. Planning tools rarely need legal updates, so the real driver is the platform underneath.

Sources: SAP blog: maintenance timelines for SAP BPC (2023)Concentric (2025, citing SAP Note 3362512)concellens (SAP PAM dates)

What people ask most about SAC

Is SAC the replacement for SAP BPC?

For planning, yes: SAP calls SAC the first choice for new planning projects and its strategic planning application. It is a new implementation, not an upgrade: models, script logic and input forms are designed again. Consolidation is different: SAC is not a statutory consolidation tool, and SAP points those customers to SAP Group Reporting.

Does SAC replace SAP BW or SAP Datasphere?

No. SAC is the front end and the planning engine; BW/4HANA and Datasphere are data warehouses. SAC reports live on both, and with seamless planning it can keep its plan data in a Datasphere space.

Live connection or import: which should I use?

Live when the data must stay at the source or must be real time; import when you plan, need smart features or combine several sources. Most companies use both. The six questions on this page show which way your case leans.

Can SAC write plan data back to S/4HANA?

Yes. Export jobs send the data of a public version through OData: plan values to ACDOCP, activity prices to ACCOSTRATE and statistical key figures to FINSSKF. Each export overwrites its scope; deleted values are not cleared, so export zeros.

Can I keep working in Excel?

Yes. The SAC add-in for Microsoft Excel, for Microsoft 365 and Office 2021 on desktop and web, reads SAC models and can trigger data actions. Analysis for Office still serves BW, BPC and HANA, but it cannot read the new SAC model type and SAP is not developing it further.

Is there an on-premise SAC, or an offline mode?

No on-premise edition: SAC is fully cloud and runs in a browser, with Chrome and Edge recommended. Live connections let it read on-premise systems without copying the data.

Where is my data stored?

With a live connection, the data stays in the source and SAC sends queries. Imported data sits in your SAC tenant, in the SAP data center chosen for your contract. With seamless planning, model data sits in an SAP Datasphere space.

How much does SAC cost?

SAP does not publish a public price list for SAC. It is a subscription per named user, priced by edition (Business Intelligence, Planning Standard, Planning Professional), and SAP now positions it inside SAP Business Data Cloud. Ask SAP or a partner for a quote.

What is the difference between Planning Standard and Planning Professional?

Both enter data, manage versions, lock data, run data actions and allocations and use the calendar. Creating and changing planning models is Professional work, and a live connection between SAC and BPC needs at least one Professional user.

Why does a colleague’s tenant have a feature mine does not?

Fast Track tenants get an update every two weeks; most tenants are on the quarterly release cycle, updated in February, May, August and November. System › About shows your release.

How do I move content from development to production?

Export it as a package and import it into the target tenant through Transport or the Content Network. The target must be on the same or a later release, so keep both tenants on the same cycle.

Classic account model or new model?

For new work, the new model: measures beside an optional account dimension, up to 1,000 columns and 10 million rows per import job, against 100 columns and 800,000 rows in classic account models. Analysis for Office reads only the classic type.

Myths

Six things people believe about SAC

  • MythSAC is just a dashboard tool.

    FactReporting is one of three jobs. The same models carry planning, with versions, data entry, allocations and approvals, and prediction, with Smart Predict and Compass.

  • MythThere must be a transaction code for that.

    FactSAC has no transaction codes and no SAP GUI. Every function is an app in the side navigation, shown according to your role and license.

  • MythA live connection copies my data to the cloud.

    FactWith a direct live connection the browser queries the source and SAC stores no copy of the data. Some advanced features do need data to leave your network.

  • MythMoving from BPC to SAC is an upgrade.

    FactIt is a new implementation. Script logic becomes data actions, ABAP BAdIs have no equivalent, and input forms are rebuilt as stories.

  • MythSAC does group consolidation.

    FactNot statutory consolidation. SAC plans and reports; for eliminations and ownership, SAP points to SAP Group Reporting in S/4HANA.

  • MythYou need SAP BW to use SAC.

    FactNo. SAC connects live or by import to S/4HANA, SAP HANA, Datasphere, BW, SQL databases, OData services and files.

From the field

14 tips for users and consultants

Each tip links to the page it comes from.

  • 01Users

    Check your release first

    System › About shows your tenant’s release. Features and help follow it, and may differ from what you read online.

    SAP Community FAQ
  • 02Users

    Ad hoc? Use Data Analyzer

    For a quick pivot on a model, a BW query or a HANA view, Data Analyzer is faster than building a story.

    SAP Help: Get around SAC
  • 03Users

    Plan in private, then publish

    Private versions are your sandbox. Nothing reaches the public version, or S/4HANA, until you publish.

    SAP Help: features by license
  • 04Users

    Let SAC send the PDF

    Scheduled publications email a story as PDF or PowerPoint on a timetable. No more Monday exports.

    SAP Community FAQ
  • 05Users

    Start Compass from a cell

    With a planning license you can launch a Monte Carlo simulation straight from a number in a story and see how likely the target is.

    NextLytics on Compass (partner)
  • 06Users

    Excel without an installer

    The SAC add-in comes from Microsoft’s add-in store and also runs in Excel on the web.

    NextLytics on Excel add-ins (partner)
  • 07Consultants

    Know the import limits

    800,000 rows per job in classic account models, 10 million in the new model; 1,000,000 members per dimension, 150,000 with a parent-child hierarchy.

    SAP Help: sizing and limits
  • 08Consultants

    Watch the job queue

    A tenant runs 30 data management jobs at once. Extra jobs wait 50 minutes, then time out, and one job may run 24 hours at most.

    SAP Help: sizing and limits
  • 09Consultants

    Zeros, not deletes

    Exports to ACDOCP overwrite only what they send. A value deleted in SAC stays in S/4HANA until you export a zero.

    ZPARTNER (partner)
  • 10Consultants

    Exports are full loads

    Each transaction data export of the IFP content is a full update, so frequent exports cost S/4HANA resources.

    SAP Learning
  • 11Consultants

    Live S/4HANA needs four settings

    SameSite cookies, icf/cors_enabled, the /sap/bw/ina services in SICF and the SAC host in the UCONCOCKPIT allowlist.

    SAP Help: CORS live connection
  • 12Consultants

    Check the seamless prerequisites

    SAC on HANA Cloud, same data center and identity provider as Datasphere, a 1:1 link. At first release, hierarchies were not exposed to Datasphere.

    SAP blog: seamless planning
  • 13Consultants

    Keep tenants on one cycle

    Content only imports into a tenant on the same or a later release than the source.

    SAP Learning: lifecycle management
  • 14Consultants

    OData error? Read the log

    Missing services show up as access errors. /IWFND/ERROR_LOG names the service to activate in /IWFND/MAINT_SERVICE.

    ZPARTNER (partner)

Vocabulary

Ten words you will hear on day one

Tenant
Your own SAC system in the cloud. Companies usually have at least a development and a production tenant.
Story
SAC’s report or dashboard. With the optimized experience it can also carry scripts.
Model
The structure behind a story: measures, dimensions, hierarchies and currencies.
Public dimension
A dimension shared by several models, such as a list of cost centers.
Version
A slice of data such as Actual, Budget or Forecast. A private version belongs to one user until published.
Data action
Stored planning steps: copies, advanced formulas, allocations.
Multi action
One button that runs several data actions, version steps or predictive steps in order.
Live connection
SAC queries the source system and keeps no copy of the data.
QRC
Quarterly release cycle: most tenants are updated four times a year.
Seamless planning
SAC planning with the model data stored in SAP Datasphere.

More terms in the Glossary

References

Checked in November 2026. SAP Notes and knowledge base articles need an SAP for Me login. Consultancy and vendor pages are marked as such: treat their claims as a starting point.