Key Takeaways
- The GROW with SAP checklist covers five phases: evaluation, user classification, contract review, BTP scoping, and post-go-live governance.
- Most organisations complete fewer than 8 of these 25 steps before signing. The ones they skip are the ones that cost the most.
- The checklist is most valuable 8–12 weeks before your target contract signature date — not at the last minute.
- Many of these steps require independent expertise that SAP's pre-sales team cannot objectively provide.
- Every checklist item maps to a specific financial or operational risk described in the GROW with SAP: Key Risks guide.
GROW with SAP evaluation is routinely compressed by SAP's sales process. SAP creates urgency — quarter-end pricing, "limited availability" for implementation slots, CIO briefings with tight follow-up windows. The result is that most organisations reach contract signature without completing the due diligence that would protect them. This checklist is the antidote to that process.
Read this alongside the GROW with SAP Complete Enterprise Guide for strategic context, and the GROW with SAP Practical Enterprise Guide for step-by-step implementation detail on key items. The GROW Cost Reduction Strategies guide provides financial analysis behind the savings each checklist item generates.
This checklist should be initiated at least 8 weeks before your target contract signature date. SAP's commercial team will attempt to compress your timeline. Resist. Every week you protect for independent analysis produces a better commercial outcome.
Phase 1: Evaluation and Fit Assessment (Steps 1–6)
Evaluation Phase Checklist
Document your actual process requirements
Before any SAP engagement, map your core business processes — order-to-cash, procure-to-pay, record-to-report, hire-to-retire — and identify where you have differentiated requirements that may not fit Public Edition's standard scope. This is your baseline for scope gap analysis.
Conduct an independent scope gap analysis
Compare your documented process requirements against GROW's Public Edition standard scope items. Engage an implementation advisor with no commercial interest in closing the GROW deal. SAP's own fit-to-standard workshops are commercially biased toward minimising apparent gaps.
Evaluate GROW vs RISE for your specific profile
Conduct an independent GROW vs RISE total cost of ownership analysis covering a 5-year period. Include BTP expansion, quarterly update remediation, support costs, and exit costs. SAP's GROW vs RISE comparison is not neutral — request independent TCO analysis from our RISE with SAP Advisory team.
Review GROW's regulatory compliance coverage
Confirm that GROW's Public Edition covers your jurisdiction's specific regulatory requirements — tax reporting, financial compliance, local GAAP, sector-specific regulations. SAP's standard scope covers major markets, but gaps exist for specific countries and regulated industries.
Request and review GROW SLA commitments
Obtain SAP's specific uptime SLA, incident response time commitments, and scheduled maintenance windows for GROW. Compare against your business continuity requirements. Negotiate enhanced SLA terms before signing if standard commitments are insufficient.
Identify your implementation partner independently
Do not accept SAP's recommended implementation partner without independent assessment. SAP-aligned SIs earn margin on the deal and have commercial incentives that do not align with your interests. Evaluate implementation partners based on GROW-specific experience, client references, and day-rate transparency.
Phase 2: User Classification (Steps 7–12)
User Classification Checklist
Build a complete proposed user list
Generate a definitive list of all employees who will require GROW system access. Include role, department, and manager. This is your starting point for user classification — do not use SAP's pre-sales headcount estimate as your baseline.
Map each user to specific GROW transactions
For every proposed user, document the specific GROW processes they need to access and at what frequency. This is the evidence base for your user type classification. Users with read-only or approval-only access patterns are strong Self Service User candidates.
Apply SAP's user type definitions independently
Apply SAP's Full User and Self Service User definitions to your user list based on your own analysis. Do not ask SAP's pre-sales team to classify users — their classification methodology maximises Full User counts. Document the classification rationale for each user.
Challenge SAP's initial user count proposal
Present your independent user count to SAP as the starting point for commercial discussions. SAP's initial proposal will almost always include a higher Full User count than your analysis supports. Use your documented classification rationale as evidence to defend your position.
Remove pre-purchased growth headroom
Identify any "growth licences" included in SAP's proposal — capacity purchased now against future user growth. Negotiate removal of pre-purchased headroom and replacement with the right to add users at the contracted per-unit rate when you actually need them.
Establish a user governance process
Define the internal process for adding, modifying, and removing GROW users before go-live. Assign ownership to the ITAM manager or SAP CoE lead. Ensure the process includes licence type review at every user change event.
Phase 3: Contract Review (Steps 13–18)
Contract Review Checklist
Review the Order Form line by line
Verify every line of the Order Form: user counts, unit prices, contract start date, term, escalation clause, expansion pricing, and any bundled BTP or module inclusions. Confirm that all verbally agreed terms are reflected in the written document.
Negotiate annual escalation cap
Secure either a fixed subscription price for the initial term or a maximum annual escalation of 1–2%. SAP's standard escalation of 3–5% adds significant compounded cost. Our SAP Contract Negotiation team has successfully capped or eliminated escalation in over 80% of GROW negotiations.
Negotiate a locked expansion rate card
Secure a rate card for additional users, BTP capacity, and scope expansions that is locked for the duration of the initial term. "Market rate at time of expansion" language gives SAP full pricing discretion for any additions — eliminate this before signing.
Review and negotiate exit provisions
Negotiate explicit data export rights (format, completeness, timeline), a termination-for-convenience clause with a defined notice period, and IP ownership provisions for any BTP extensions your organisation creates. Standard GROW exit provisions are weak — negotiation is required.
Review and understand audit rights
Read the audit clause in your GROW contract carefully. Understand SAP's rights to measure usage, when they can exercise them, and the process for disputing audit findings. Ensure your team knows to contact independent advisors — not SAP's audit team — if an audit is initiated.
Consider a shorter initial term
Push for a 24-month initial term rather than SAP's default 36 months. If SAP requires 36 months, negotiate stronger protections in exchange — enhanced exit rights, capped escalation, higher BTP inclusion. Longer terms increase lock-in risk without proportionate price benefit.
Phase 4: BTP Scoping (Steps 19–21)
BTP Scoping Checklist
Inventory all planned integrations
List every third-party system that will exchange data with GROW, classify complexity (simple/medium/complex), and estimate message volume. This is the foundation for your BTP consumption estimate.
Commission independent BTP consumption estimate
Engage a neutral integration architect to translate your integration inventory into estimated BTP credits per month. Use this estimate to negotiate higher BTP inclusion in the GROW subscription before signing rather than purchasing BTP separately at a post-signature premium.
Plan for quarterly update BTP remediation
Budget quarterly remediation resource for BTP extension testing against SAP's quarterly update releases. Include this cost in your GROW business case from day one — it is not optional and is frequently omitted from initial implementation estimates.
Phase 5: Post-Go-Live Governance (Steps 22–25)
Post-Go-Live Governance Checklist
Establish licence baseline at go-live
Document your definitive Named User list, role-to-licence mapping, BTP consumption baseline, and scope-of-use confirmation at go-live. This is your audit-defence foundation — maintain it continuously, not just at year-end.
Implement quarterly licence hygiene
Schedule quarterly licence reviews: remove ghost accounts, review user role changes, and flag BTP consumption drift above contracted allocation. Our SAP License Compliance service provides ongoing licence management support for GROW customers.
Begin renewal planning 12 months before expiry
Start your renewal process at least 12 months before contract expiry — baseline actual usage, evaluate competitive alternatives, and engage independent advisors before entering any renewal discussions with SAP's commercial team.
Establish an audit response protocol
Define internally what happens if SAP sends an audit notification. Who is the first point of contact? Who decides whether to accept or challenge SAP's findings? The answer should always involve independent advisors before any engagement with SAP's audit team. Contact our SAP Audit Defence team at the first notification.
Work Through This Checklist With an Independent Expert
Our GROW with SAP advisors guide mid-market organisations through every item on this checklist before they commit — protecting an average of 20–30% of total contract value.
Book a Free Consultation →Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to complete the GROW with SAP pre-signing checklist?
With independent advisory support, the core pre-signing checklist — Phases 1 through 4 — can be completed in 4–6 weeks. The user classification (Phase 2) and BTP scoping (Phase 4) are typically the most time-intensive, requiring 1–2 weeks each. Phase 3 contract review can be completed in parallel. Start the process at least 8 weeks before your target signature date to allow adequate time for negotiation.
Can I use this checklist if I have already signed a GROW contract?
Phases 4 and 5 (BTP scoping and post-go-live governance) remain fully applicable post-signature. Phase 3 items around exit rights and rate cards may be addressable through contract amendments during the annual review period or at significant change events (acquisition, merger, major organisational change). Contact our contract renegotiation team to assess which pre-signing protections can still be achieved post-signature.
What is the most commonly skipped checklist item?
Step 6 — identifying your implementation partner independently — is the most commonly skipped, typically because organisations accept SAP's recommendation without independent assessment. The result is an SI with commercial alignment to SAP rather than to the buyer, which systematically produces scope underestimates, timeline overruns, and missed negotiation opportunities. The second most commonly skipped item is Step 20 (independent BTP consumption estimate) — with predictably expensive post-go-live consequences.
Independent SAP licensing advisory — not affiliated with SAP SE. SAP and GROW with SAP are trademarks of SAP SE.