Lesson 1 of 5
What SAP Readiness Check is for
11 min
Listen to this lesson
SAP Readiness Check is a self-service analysis that SAP offers at no additional cost to customers with an active maintenance agreement. You collect data in an existing system, upload it, and SAP returns an interactive dashboard that shows what a transition will involve. For a system conversion from SAP ERP 6.0 to SAP S/4HANA, the relevant scenario is SAP Readiness Check for SAP S/4HANA, governed by central SAP Note 2913617. Contoso uses it to understand what converting its ECC 6.0 EHP 8 production system EP1 will take.
Readiness Check has grown well beyond its first purpose. SAP's user group material from November 2025 lists nine supported scenarios, including SAP S/4HANA conversion, SAP S/4HANA upgrades, SAP BW/4HANA conversion and SAP ERP usage and data profiling. This course covers only the SAP S/4HANA conversion scenario.
What it analyzes
| Check | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Simplification Items | Which of SAP's documented changes are relevant for your system, with effort ranking |
| Compatibility Scope Analysis | Items tied to compatibility packages and whether an alternative exists or is planned |
| Activities Related to Simplification Items | Mandatory, conditional and optional activities by conversion phase |
| Add-On Compatibility | Whether installed add-ons are compatible with the target release |
| Active Business Functions | Whether active business functions are compatible or would block the conversion |
| SAP S/4HANA Sizing | Estimated memory and disk, top tables and data volume management potential |
| Custom Code Analysis | Results of custom code checks grouped by simplification item category |
| Integration | Interface inventory and the interfaces most likely to be impacted |
| Customer Vendor Integration Analysis | Business partner synchronization status and data quality issues |
| Planned Downtime Calculator | Expected business downtime for a standard conversion |
| Financial Data Quality | Inconsistencies in general ledger, asset accounting and material ledger data |
| SAP Business AI Capabilities | SAP Business AI capabilities and their readiness against the selected Private Edition target release |
| App Availability, Recommended SAP Fiori Apps | Which used transactions and apps change, and which Fiori apps fit your usage |
| SAP Innovative Business Solutions | Custom developments SAP built for your customer number that must be checked for SAP S/4HANA |
| Business Process Discovery and others | Process key figures, backlog of old open documents, innovation potential |
Checks in SAP Readiness Check for SAP S/4HANA, as listed in SAP's Key Feature Overview (October 2026). The list grows over time.
| SAP Readiness Check | Simplification Item Check | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Cloud-based self-service with a dashboard | Report /SDF/RC_START_CHECK in SAP GUI |
| Scope | Simplification items plus add-ons, business functions, custom code, sizing, integration and more | Simplification item relevance and consistency |
| Called by Software Update Manager | No | Yes |
| Mandatory | No, but highly recommended | Yes |
| Main use | Planning and tracking | Operational cleanup up to downtime |
When to run it
SAP recommends running it very early, in the Discover phase or at the start of Prepare, to find mandatory preparation steps, and repeating it as the conversion date approaches to track progress. It is most useful before budgets and timelines are fixed: an incompatible business function or a large financial data cleanup found after the plan is approved becomes a change request rather than a planning input.
- DiscoverFirst analysis on EP1Scope, effort drivers and blockers before the business case
- PreparePlanning baselineFindings become workstream tasks in SAP Cloud ALM
- Before mock 1Progress checkRepeat to confirm consistency errors and CVI progress
- Before mock 2Final readinessRepeat again; remaining items owned and scheduled
Where the results live
Results are available in two environments: SAP for Me (quick link me.sap.com/readinesscheck), for all customers with an active maintenance agreement, and SAP Cloud ALM, for customers with a tenant (SAP Note 3344480 describes the deployment options). In SAP for Me you can also ask Joule how to reach the tool. Contoso runs its S/4HANA program in SAP Cloud ALM, so Grace's team creates the analysis there and links findings to the project. A point-in-time report can be generated for offline review, and the dashboard's "Learn More" side panel holds SAP's documentation for each check.
Worked example: what Contoso's first analysis said
| Tile | EP1 result (illustrative course data) | What the program decided |
|---|---|---|
| Simplification Items | 118 relevant, 9 ranked high | Each high item assigned to a workstream lead |
| Custom Code Analysis | 11,800 Z objects, about 40% unused | Delete unused code; 7,500 objects in scope |
| Customer Vendor Integration | 4,850 customers with no business partner yet | CVI pre-project started at once |
| Add-On Compatibility | One third-party add-on with unknown status | Sam asks the vendor for a written statement |
| Integration | IDocs, RFCs and web services, many through Process Orchestration | Theo's team checks each impacted interface |
| Planned Downtime Calculator | Close to the 60-hour window | Archiving before Mock 1; DMO tuning in the mocks |
| Financial Data Quality | Inconsistencies in several fiscal years | Dan's team corrects them before the finance migration |
The first EP1 analysis in one table: each tile becomes a decision with an owner.
Notice what the table does not contain: a verdict. Readiness Check never says "ready" or "not ready". It lists what has to happen and roughly how hard it is. The program decides whether the plan is affordable. Public Edition note: this scenario is for converting an existing SAP ERP system, so it applies to Private Edition and on-premise targets; a move to SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition is a new implementation and uses other assessment tools.
What would you do?
Grace wants to skip Readiness Check because "the Simplification Item Check is mandatory anyway and gives us the same list". What should the solution architect say?
- Self-service analysis of the source system; central SAP Note 2913617.
- Covers simplification items, add-ons, business functions, sizing, custom code, integration, CVI, finance data and more.
- A planning tool: run early, repeat to track progress.
- Complements the mandatory Simplification Item Check; it does not replace it.
Check your understanding · not graded
Lesson check
1. Which SAP Note is the central note for SAP Readiness Check for SAP S/4HANA?
2. Which tool is called by Software Update Manager during the conversion?
3. When does SAP recommend running Readiness Check first?
4. Which statement about a green Readiness Check tile is correct?
5. Contoso's first analysis shows 4,850 customers without a business partner. Which tile shows this?