follow up to my voice mail as we discussed in rick ' s staff meeting , you can help your 7 / 1 / 00 go - live go more smoothly , whether you are implementing financials and hr or hr only . here is one way . timekeeping , though it seems mundane on the surface , is a focal point of the sap integration . entry and coding of time populates not just payroll , but projects and cost centers , real time . we will now have more flexibility to charge employee and contractor time to the areas they actually work ( where people work on more than one area at a time ) . this will only happen to the extent that the business and cost center owners drive it . this capability is customizable not just by business unit or company , but by cost center within a company . to make this work how you want it to on 7 / 1 , each " organizational unit " ( as i said above , you can drive this in your cost center ( s ) only or across your bu ) needs to be clear on questions such as : 1 . whether or not they want contractors to enter time in sap 2 . whether you want positive timekeeping ( each pay period specifying the cost center or projects one worked on ) or " exceptions " only ( e . g . , vacation , sick time , etc ) 3 . whether an approval process is desired and if so , what it is 4 . whether people will record their own time using the self service capability ehronline ( typically more precise and less handoffs ) or whether they will continue to use a timekeeper ( typically a little more convenient for people who ( a ) rarely have access to a computer or ( b ) work in many different areas and are not willing / able to identify and use cost center numbers or project codes 5 . whether people know the projects and cost center codes they should charge to your leadership in clarifying this within your cost center and / or bu will be instrumental in driviing the level of change you desire , as well as minimizing the noise related to the 7 / 1 go - live . we have been using a variety of methods to communicate and drive much of this change , but the business drive for how much to utilize the tool is determined by you . the deadline for the first sap time entry period is 3 pm houston time on friday , june 30 . despite all our collective efforts , i expect that it will be a few pay periods before we get each individual clear on what level of acitivity is desired from him by his cost center or company . thanks for your help in getting through the transition period . please call me or andrea yowman if you have any questions .