SAP project management is essential for companies looking to streamline operations, integrate business processes and deliver projects with greater efficiency. Managing SAP implementations or upgrades requires careful planning and coordination across multiple departments, from finance and logistics to supply chain and human resources. With SAP’s robust suite of tools, businesses can align strategy with execution while maintaining control over costs, timelines and resources.
As organizations face tighter deadlines and increased complexity in their project environments, SAP project management provides the structure and visibility needed to succeed. It ensures that teams can track deliverables, manage risks and collaborate effectively throughout the project lifecycle. Whether launching a new SAP module or overseeing a full-scale enterprise deployment, strong project management practices are critical for achieving measurable business outcomes and long-term value.
Is SAP a Project Management Software?
No, SAP is first and foremost an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system. Its core strength is integrating finance, supply chain, HR, manufacturing, and other critical business functions into one centralized platform. Its feature set is different from project management software like Microsoft Project or ProjectManager.
While SAP project management offers strong enterprise resource planning capabilities, it often lacks the flexibility and ease of use required by growing teams that need fast deployment and real-time collaboration. Acumatica’s integration with ProjectManager delivers a dynamic alternative by combining Acumatica’s ERP foundation with modern project management tools. This allows businesses to plan, schedule and track projects in a way that is more intuitive and adaptable than SAP’s traditionally rigid framework.
The integration connects financials, resources and operational data from Acumatica directly to ProjectManager’s interactive Gantt charts, kanban boards and real-time dashboards. Teams gain immediate visibility into workloads, budgets and progress across multiple projects while maintaining a single source of truth for data. This level of seamless connection between ERP and project execution creates a solution that prioritizes usability, speed and agility—capabilities not fully realized within SAP’s native project management environment. Get started with Acumatica’s integration with ProjectManager today
Does SAP Have Project Management Tools and Features?
SAP does have project management tools, though they are part of its broader ERP ecosystem rather than a standalone software. The two main modules that handle project management are SAP Enterprise Portfolio & Project Management (EPPM) and SAP Project System (PS).
Together, they enable organizations to manage projects from high-level portfolio planning to detailed execution, integrating costs, resources and schedules with finance, procurement and logistics. This makes SAP especially valuable for large enterprises managing complex, resource-intensive projects.
However, activating these modules generally incurs additional license and implementation costs, on top of SAP’s main ERP system, which is called SAP S/4HANA.
SAP’s project management modules—SAP Enterprise Portfolio & Project Management (EPPM) and SAP Project System (PS)—carry significant licensing and implementation costs, making them an expensive investment for manufacturers and enterprises. Pricing for SAP EPPM begins at around $39 per user per month for basic functionality, but jumps to approximately $136 per user per month for advanced features like resource scheduling, portfolio management and cost forecasting.
When teams scale into the hundreds, monthly costs soar quickly—often exceeding six figures annually just for software access. These expenses do not include the additional spending required for SAP-certified consultants, user training and integration with other enterprise systems.
Implementation and long-term ownership costs are even more daunting. According to industry reports, mid-sized organizations can expect to spend $10 million to $20 million on a full SAP ERP rollout, which includes modules like PS and EPPM. Large-scale enterprise deployments, particularly in Fortune 500 companies, can cost well over $100 million in combined software, hardware, consulting, and ongoing support fees.
In online forums like Reddit, SAP users frequently cite multi-million-dollar annual maintenance costs and multi-year upgrade projects that balloon into hundreds of millions of dollars.
This level of financial commitment makes SAP an impractical choice for companies seeking agile and cost-effective project oversight. In contrast, ProjectManager offers robust SAP project management capabilities—including resource tracking, scheduling, real-time dashboards and reporting—at a fraction of the cost. This affordability allows businesses to scale project oversight without compromising budgets or waiting through lengthy deployment cycles, making ProjectManager a more flexible and financially sustainable solution than SAP.
1. SAP Enterprise Portfolio & Project Management (EPPM)
SAP Enterprise Portfolio & Project Management (EPPM) is a comprehensive tool that helps organizations align their project portfolios with business strategies. It focuses on selecting, prioritizing and overseeing projects while ensuring efficient resource allocation and financial control.
EPPM provides visibility into performance through dashboards, reporting and forecasting. It also integrates risk and change management, allowing decision-makers to adapt quickly. By combining project planning and portfolio oversight, EPPM ensures that investments deliver maximum business value while maintaining strong governance and compliance.
Related: 10 Free Project Portfolio Management Templates for Excel and Word
Key SAP Enterprise Portfolio & Project Management (EPPM) Features
SAP EPPM provides a robust set of tools designed to help organizations plan, execute, and monitor complex projects within a fully integrated enterprise environment. These features support scheduling, budgeting, resource allocation and financial oversight while aligning project data with core SAP ERP modules for a unified approach to project delivery.
- Work breakdown structures (WBS)
- Gantt charts & project scheduling (forward/backward, critical path)
- Cost and revenue tracking
- Budgeting & financial planning
- Time tracking & effort logging
- Document management & versioning
- Integration with SAP ERP (finance, procurement, logistics)
SAP Project System (PS)
SAP Project System (PS) is designed to manage the execution phase of projects in detail. It provides tools for structuring work into work breakdown structures (WBS), scheduling tasks with Gantt charts, tracking costs and revenues and controlling budgets.
PS integrates closely with other SAP modules such as finance, procurement and logistics, ensuring seamless management of resources and expenditures. It also supports documentation, reporting and time tracking, giving managers real-time oversight. PS is ideal for organizations running complex, resource-intensive projects requiring deep integration.
Key SAP Project System (PS) Features
The SAP Project System (PS) module focuses on detailed project planning and control, offering capabilities that streamline scheduling, resource allocation, risk oversight and performance tracking. It enables teams to monitor progress in real time while integrating with SAP’s financial and operational data for more accurate reporting and decision-making.
- Portfolio prioritization & scoring
- Project dashboards & reporting
- Risk and issue management
- Change management & approvals
- Resource management (capacity, skills, allocation)
- Collaboration tools (comments, notifications)
Pros of SAP as a Project Management Solution
SAP offers significant advantages for organizations with extensive enterprise resource planning needs. Its project management modules provide deep integration with finance, supply chain and operations, making it a strong option for businesses that require unified data across departments.
Robust Integration With Enterprise Systems
SAP seamlessly connects project management workflows with ERP functions like procurement, inventory and financial planning. This level of integration ensures that all project data flows into the same centralized system, reducing errors and improving visibility across the organization.
Strong Data Security and Compliance Features
Built for enterprise environments, SAP includes advanced data protection and compliance capabilities. Its security framework supports industry standards and regulatory requirements, ensuring that sensitive project data remains protected at every stage.
Scalable for Large and Complex Projects
SAP is designed to handle global, multi-departmental and high-value projects with ease. Its modules support complex scheduling, cost tracking and resource allocation, making it a suitable solution for enterprises that manage hundreds of concurrent initiatives.
Related: 10 Best Enterprise Project Management Software of 2025 (Free & Paid)
Cons of SAP as a Project Management Solution
While SAP offers powerful capabilities, it also presents significant drawbacks that can limit its appeal for organizations seeking a dedicated project management platform. High costs, complexity and a lack of focus on core project management functions often push teams to look for alternatives.
SAP Is an Expensive Software
SAP modules such as EPPM and PS come with licensing, implementation and maintenance costs that can be prohibitive for small to mid-sized businesses. Even large enterprises face steep expenses that include consultant fees, customization and ongoing support.
SAP Is Not Project Management Software
Despite its capabilities, SAP is primarily an ERP system with project features built in. It lacks the intuitive interface, collaborative tools and ease of use found in dedicated project management software like ProjectManager.
There Are Too Many Versions of SAP
SAP has multiple platforms, versions and deployment options, creating confusion for businesses trying to select the right one. This can result in costly missteps during software selection and implementation.
Steep Learning Curve for New Users
Due to its complexity, SAP requires significant training for new users. Onboarding can take weeks or months, delaying adoption and impacting project execution speed.
Customization Can Be Time-Consuming
While SAP can be customized to fit specific workflows, doing so often requires expert developers and long lead times. This slows down deployment and increases total ownership costs.
ProjectManager Is Better Than SAP for Project Management
While SAP offers strong ERP capabilities, ProjectManager is designed specifically for managing projects with flexibility, ease of use and cost-effectiveness. It provides all the tools teams need to plan, track and deliver projects without the heavy overhead and complexity of SAP.
Multiple Project Management Views
ProjectManager gives users access to Gantt charts, task lists, kanban boards and calendars, allowing teams to work in the view that best fits their workflow. This versatility makes it easier to visualize progress, allocate resources and keep projects on schedule.
Project Resource Management and Cost Tracking Features
With ProjectManager, teams can manage workloads, assign tasks efficiently and track costs in real time. Managers get a daily or weekly overview of their team’s activity on the team page, which can update their tasks without leaving the page. Budgeting tools and resource allocation dashboards ensure projects stay on target while maximizing productivity and minimizing waste.
Real-time Project Management Dashboards and Reports
ProjectManager offers live dashboards that update automatically, providing instant visibility into performance metrics, timelines and resource utilization. Customizable reports on project and portfolio status, workload, timesheets and more make it easy to share progress with stakeholders and improve decision-making.
ProjectManager Integrates With Acumatica
Unlike SAP, ProjectManager offers seamless integration with Acumatica, enabling smooth data flow between systems. This integration delivers a robust project management experience that enhances ERP capabilities and simplifies operations.
ProjectManager’s Acumatica Integration Is Better Than SAP for Project Management and ERP
Combining ProjectManager with Acumatica provides organizations with a project management solution that rivals the capabilities of SAP and its project management modules, but at a fraction of the cost and complexity. While SAP EPPM and Project System (PS) offer enterprise-level project oversight, integrating ProjectManager with Acumatica delivers similar functionality, including resource planning, scheduling, budget tracking and reporting.
Teams can manage tasks with Gantt charts, kanban boards and calendars, while real-time dashboards and automated reports give managers the visibility they need to track progress, costs and performance metrics. Additionally, the integration ensures that financials, procurement and inventory data from Acumatica flow seamlessly into project workflows, just like SAP’s modules do with ERP data.
The key difference is that ProjectManager is intuitive, quick to deploy and significantly more affordable, allowing businesses to achieve SAP-level project management capabilities without the steep licensing fees, implementation costs and long learning curves associated with SAP.
Learn more about ProjectManager’s Acumatica integration below.
Acumatica Is Robust ERP Software
Acumatica provides a comprehensive cloud-based ERP platform designed to streamline business processes, improve visibility and enhance decision-making across all departments. Its flexibility, modular design and integration capabilities make it an ideal choice for organizations seeking a scalable and affordable alternative to traditional ERP systems like SAP.
Key Acumatica ERP Features
- Financial Management: Streamlines accounting, budgeting and financial reporting while providing real-time visibility into cash flow and profitability.
- Customer Relationship Management (CRM): Helps manage leads, opportunities, customer interactions and sales pipelines to improve customer engagement and satisfaction.
- Inventory Management: Tracks stock levels, movements and warehouse operations to prevent stockouts, reduce excess inventory and optimize supply chains.
- Accounting Tools: Supports accounts payable, accounts receivable and general ledger management with automation to reduce errors and save time.
- Order Management: Manages sales orders, purchase orders and fulfillment processes to ensure accurate and timely delivery.
- Reporting and Dashboards: Provides real-time analytics and customizable dashboards to monitor KPIs, production goals and operational performance.
- Distribution and Warehouse Management: Optimizes storage, shipping and logistics operations to increase efficiency and reduce costs.
- Payroll Management: Automates payroll processing, tax calculations and compliance reporting to simplify workforce management.
- Time Management: Tracks employee hours, project time and resource utilization to improve productivity and allocation.
- Manufacturing Edition: Supports production planning, scheduling and monitoring to help manufacturers meet production targets efficiently.
- Construction Edition: Manages project costing, budgeting and compliance for construction projects, enhancing oversight and profitability.
- Retail Edition: Streamlines point-of-sale, inventory and sales operations for retail businesses to ensure accurate stock and efficient customer service.
- Professional Services Edition: Tracks projects, resources and billing for service-based companies, improving project delivery and client satisfaction.
Related ERP Project Management Content
If you came here to learn more about ERP project management, you’re in the right place. We’ve recently published a couple of articles on how ERP benefits projects and a roundup of ERP project management software.
ProjectManager is online project and portfolio management software that connects teams, whether they’re in the office or out in the field. They can share files, comment at the task level and stay updated with email and in-app notifications. Join teams at Avis, Nestle and Siemens who are using our software to deliver successful projects. Get started with ProjectManager and integration with Acumatica today for free.
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