--- title: 10 SAP BW Project Cost Management Secrets [Checklist] description: Excel in SAP BW project cost management with 10 key secrets. Improve your project management skills & customer satisfaction. Click for expert insights! image: https://www.sapbwconsulting.com/hs-fs/file-16579851-png/images/project_management_triangle.png --- ![SAP BW Project Management](https://www.sapbwconsulting.com/hs-fs/file-16579851-png/images/project_management_triangle.png) # 10 SAP BW Project Cost Management Secrets [Checklist] Table of Contents ## [Project Management](https://www.sapbwconsulting.com/enterprise-services/sap-industry-solutions/sap-project-management) Golden Triangle Well, you've finally arrived.  After years of struggling, or perhaps, even less time than you ever expected, you've been formally assigned the role of **[SAP BW](https://www.sapbwconsulting.com/understanding-sap-bw-in-5-minutes) Project Manager**!  Congratulations!  In the past, you may have been able to keep your head down and just build [beautiful dashboards](https://www.sapbwconsulting.com/create-beautiful-sap-businessobjects-webi-dashboards/), or write efficient code.  You may still do that, but, psst, want to know a secret?  Your boss now expects you to [deliver the project](https://www.sapbwconsulting.com/blog/how-to-use-a-project-charter-to-start-a-project) **"at a [profit](https://www.sapbwconsulting.com/blog/how-to-improve-sap-profitability-management-the-ultimate-guide)"**.  You probably already know the three primary dimensions of your [project management job](https://www.sapbwconsulting.com/blog/inbound-marketing/field-report-from-a-marketing-project-manager): ![Project Cost Management](https://www.sapbwconsulting.com/hs-fs/file-16579851-png/images/project_management_triangle.png)**The Three Big Project Management Dimensions (but you know there are really 3 more)** ## [Project Cost Management](https://www.sapbwconsulting.com/blog/what-is-the-tco-of-that-shinny-new-system-youre-about-to-buy) Secrets Of The Pro's If you're already a [PMP](https://www.sapbwconsulting.com/blog/9-reasons-sap-bw-projects-fail-maybe) or just an experienced [Project Manager](https://www.sapbwconsulting.com/blog/understanding-the-most-common-sap-data-warehousing-concepts), you'll already know how to compute the various 'standard' measures of the project, such as **EVA**, **BCWP**, etc.  I want to tell you how to [manage your project cost](https://www.sapbwconsulting.com/blog/how-to-determine-your-fully-loaded-cost-rate) day-to-day to hit your [cost target](https://www.sapbwconsulting.com/fully-loaded-cost-calculator) and be a profitable [project manager](https://www.sapbwconsulting.com/blog/10-key-infrastructure-tips-for-sap-implementation-projects).   5 Surprising [Reasons Enterprises](https://www.sapbwconsulting.com/blog/5-surprising-reasons-enterprises-dont-use-an-erp) Don’t Use An ERP   Whether yours is a fixed-price implementation or [time-&-materials](https://www.sapbwconsulting.com/blog/how-do-you-know-that-sap-bw-project-will-take-9-months) contract, you will want to do these ten things: 1. **[Hire your team](https://www.sapbwconsulting.com/our-services/SAP-BW-Consulting/request-for-services/).**  Your number one secret to success is to make the [team selection](https://www.sapbwconsulting.com/estimate-your-sap-bw-consulting-resource-needs-calculator-timer) yourself. It is fine if you are provided a batch of candidates, but you must do the hiring yourself.  This is time consuming but critical work. 2. [**Hire the very best consultants you can find.**](https://www.sapbwconsulting.com/Portals/118735/docs/guide%20to%20sap%20consultants.pdf)  Then fix the budget issues this might engender. 3. **Ensure your team members arrive on time.**  A fixed price contract has an underlying assumption that your full team will be [available on the first day](https://www.sapbwconsulting.com/need-sap-project-staffing--resourcing/), not mid way through.  If not, you will not make your budget. 4. [**Build and refine your project plan (using MS Project)**](https://www.sapbwconsulting.com/sap-project-management/SAP-ASAP/), and put in [resource rates](https://www.sapbwconsulting.com/consulting-rate-calculator-whats-your-rate).  Learn to use it right and you can start to [trust](https://www.sapbwconsulting.com/blog/inbound-marketing/does-pci-dss-compliance-affect-you) it when it says you won't make it or if it says, you going to blow through your budget. 5. **Set up your time and expense tracking.**  Most consultancies have online systems.  You [need to have](https://www.sapbwconsulting.com/blog/inbound-marketing/speaking-at-the-fame-and-profit-summit-2022) those figures in your own spreadsheet (ask me for my template if needed). 6. **Ensure all time and expenses are submitted on a weekly basis. ** Never, ever, ever let it slip for 2 months, and you know who you are:( 7. **Make sure your team is getting paid on time.**  If they do their Time&Expenses on time, they expect to get paid on time.  Your biggest enemy is project turnover.  Not getting paid on time directly increases this rate. 8. **Resist the urge to say yes.**  Customers rightly want as much as possible for the least amount possible.  However, especially with a fixed price project or even one with T&M, better to kill add-ons.  You don't really have the information at hand to do a proper [business case](https://www.sapbwconsulting.com/justify-your-project-value-with-our-business-case-builder-tool) most of the time.  9. **Be aggressive with the [Change Request Management](https://www.sapbwconsulting.com/blog/inbound-marketing/discover-project-managers-utopia-with-these-change-management-tips) Approach.**  You won't win any popularity contest, but see item 7.   10. **Stay aware of and involved in other projects that impact you.**  For instance, if they are 'implementing' the core R/3 system, it is unlikely your data will be ready on-time nor that you really should be in there on a fixed price project.    ## Many Factors Affect Fixed Price ERP Implementation or a SAP BW Project   Of course, many other factors are involved in delivering a successful [SAP BW Projec](https://www.sapbwconsulting.com/blog/inbound-marketing/12-sap-crm-content-management-system-requirements)t, or a [SAP Project](https://www.sapbwconsulting.com/practice-area/sap-project-management/) in general.  Many customers might actually be [uncomfortable](https://www.sapbwconsulting.com/blog/12-risk-management-considerations-to-measure-wricef-a) with the knowledge that the SAP Project Manager is actually focused on [delivering a profit to his employer](https://www.sapbwconsulting.com/blog/a-step-by-step-process-for-setting-profit-improvement-goals-using-sap), and that the goal of the project, i.e., to deliver a business benefit to the customer, is a co-number one priority.    However, experience indicates that if there is to be any 'extra' leeway granted by the service provider, showing a [profit](https://www.sapbwconsulting.com/blog/9-little-known-factors-that-could-affect-your-profitability), both on-going and projected, along with a very tightly managed [project cost management](https://www.sapbwconsulting.com/enterprise-services/sap-industry-solutions/sap-business-intelligence-consulting/what-is-sap-business-warehouse) approach, helps tremendously in securing those resources.   In the SAP BW [Project Cost Management](https://www.sapbwconsulting.com/enterprise-services/sap-industry-solutions/sap-business-intelligence-consulting/what-is-sap-business-warehouse) world, which is all about datawarehouse concepts and how to deliver their benefits to the customer, scope is very difficult to nail down 100%.  In fact, it is basically not done. If you would like help in getting your [Project Cost Management techniques](https://www.sapbwconsulting.com/blog/sap-grants-management) down, drop us a line.  [![Download Our Top Ten SAP Project Management Tips](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/118735/9203c3f1-ce06-4cbf-b0de-5b4201575e92.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/118735/9203c3f1-ce06-4cbf-b0de-5b4201575e92)        Topics from this blog: [Best Practices](https://www.sapbwconsulting.com/blog/topic/best-practices) [Project Management](https://www.sapbwconsulting.com/blog/topic/project-management) [Consulting](https://www.sapbwconsulting.com/blog/topic/consulting) [Project Cost Management](https://www.sapbwconsulting.com/blog/topic/project-cost-management) ### Download SAP BW Mindmap Learn what SAP Business Warehouse is and what it does in under five minutes [![Get this Mindmap](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/118735/8db2ad37-8211-47a3-86ae-09b6b2bb297b.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/118735/8db2ad37-8211-47a3-86ae-09b6b2bb297b) [mailto:someone@yoursite.com](mailto:someone@yoursite.com) ### Lonnie D. Ayers, PMP About the Author: Lonnie Ayers is a Hubspot Certified Inbound Marketing consultant, with additional certifications in Hubspot Content Optimization, Hubspot Contextual Marketing, and is a Hubspot Certified Partner. Specialized in demand generation and sales execution, especially in the SAP, Oracle and Microsoft Partner space, he has unique insight into the tough challenges Service Providers face with generating leads and closing sales using the latest digital tools. With 15 years of SAP Program Management experience, and dozens of complex sales engagements under his belt, he helps partners develop and communicate their unique sales proposition. Frequently sought as a public speaker in various events, he is available for both inhouse engagements and ** remote coaching. ** ![Balanced Scorecard Consultant](https://www.sapbwconsulting.com/hubfs/social-suggested-images/Balanced%20Scorecard%20Certified%20Graduate.jpg) He also recently released a book **"How to Dominate Any Market - Turbocharging Your Digital Marketing and Sales Results",** which is available on [ Amazon.](https://www.amazon.com/Dominate-Turbocharging-Digital-Marketing-Results/dp/1728357950/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&qid=1589182458&refinements=p_27%3ALonnie+D.+Ayers&s=books&sr=1-1&text=Lonnie+D.+Ayers)**** [View All Articles by Lonnie D. Ayers, PMP](https://www.sapbwconsulting.com/blog/author/lonnie-d-ayers-pmp) ## The SAP Blog Subscribe to our blog and receive SAP BW Updates, demand generation, inbound marketing, sales enablement, technology and revenue generation insights and ideas delivered right to your email. [mailto:someone@yoursite.com](mailto:someone@yoursite.com) ![SAP](https://googleads.g.doubleclick.net/pagead/viewthroughconversion/960101754/?value=0&guid=ON&script=0) ![](https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=199270410761059&ev=PageView&noscript=1) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@id" : "https://www.sapbwconsulting.com/blog/10-sap-bw-project-cost-management-secrets#blogposting", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "about" : [ { "@type" : "Thing", "name" : "Project Management", "sameAs" : "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_management" }, { "@type" : "Thing", "name" : "Cost Management", "sameAs" : "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cost_management" }, { "@type" : "Thing", "name" : "SAP BW", "sameAs" : "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAP_Business_Warehouse" }, { "@type" : "Thing", "name" : "Best Practices", "sameAs" : "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Best_practice" }, { "@type" : "Thing", "name" : "Budgeting", "sameAs" : "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budget" }, { "@type" : "Thing", "name" : "Efficiency", "sameAs" : "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Efficiency" } ], "audience" : { "@type" : "Audience", "audienceType" : "Business Professionals, Project Managers, SAP BW Users", "description" : "This blog is intended for business professionals, project managers, and SAP BW users looking to effectively manage costs in their SAP BW projects." }, "author" : { "@id" : "https://www.sapbwconsulting.com/about-lonnie-ayers#person" }, "description" : "Discover the top 10 secrets to effectively manage costs in your SAP BW projects.", "headline" : "10 SAP BW Project Cost Management Secrets", "inLanguage" : "en", "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://www.sapbwconsulting.com/blog/10-sap-bw-project-cost-management-secrets" }, "mentions" : [ { "@type" : "Thing", "name" : "Planning", "sameAs" : "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planning" } ], "name" : "10 SAP BW Project Cost Management Secrets", "publisher" : { "@id" : "https://www.sapbwconsulting.com#organization" }, "url" : "https://www.sapbwconsulting.com/blog/10-sap-bw-project-cost-management-secrets" } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@id" : "https://www.sapbwconsulting.com/blog/10-sap-bw-project-cost-management-secrets", "@type" : "WebPage", "author" : { "@id" : "https://www.sapbwconsulting.com/about-lonnie-ayers#person" }, "breadcrumb" : { "@id" : "https://www.sapbwconsulting.com/blog/10-sap-bw-project-cost-management-secrets#breadcrumbs" }, "description" : "Discover the top 10 secrets to effectively manage costs in your SAP BW projects.", "headline" : "10 SAP BW Project Cost Management Secrets", "inLanguage" : "en", "isPartOf" : { "@id" : "https://www.sapbwconsulting.com#website" }, "mainEntity" : [ { "@id" : "https://www.sapbwconsulting.com/blog/10-sap-bw-project-cost-management-secrets#blogposting" }, { "@id" : "https://www.sapbwconsulting.com/blog/10-sap-bw-project-cost-management-secrets#itemlist" } ], "name" : "10 SAP BW Project Cost Management Secrets", "potentialAction" : { "@type" : "ViewAction", "name" : "Download Our Top Ten SAP Project Management Tips", "target" : { "@type" : "EntryPoint", "actionPlatform" : [ "https://schema.org/DesktopWebPlatform", "https://schema.org/MobileWebPlatform" ], "inLanguage" : "en", "urlTemplate" : "https://www.sapbwconsulting.com/top-10-tips-for-effective-sap-project-management" } }, "publisher" : { "@id" : "https://www.sapbwconsulting.com#organization" }, "url" : "https://www.sapbwconsulting.com/blog/10-sap-bw-project-cost-management-secrets" } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@id" : "https://www.sapbwconsulting.com/blog/10-sap-bw-project-cost-management-secrets#itemlist", "@type" : "ItemList", "itemListElement" : [ { "@type" : "ListItem", "item" : { "@type" : "Book", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Lonnie D. 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