SAP BPC sunset signals the end of feature development and upcoming maintenance deadlines. Finance teams face rising costs, skill shortages, and operational risk if they delay transition. Legacy architecture limits agility, while modern platforms offer automation, audit readiness, and integration with existing ERPs like S/4HANA and NetWeaver.
SAP BPC has been a core component in the finance tech stack of thousands of companies for over a decade. Designed to support planning, consolidation, and reporting, it helped finance teams structure their workflows around compliance and control. But with SAP officially moving BPC into end-of-life, organizations that rely on it are now facing a pressing question: what comes next?
While SAP has extended maintenance for some versions into 2027 and beyond, development has stopped. No new features. No product evolution. That’s a red flag for leaders who are being asked to move faster, reduce close cycles, and respond to more complex audit and compliance demands.
What’s at stake isn’t just system support. It’s whether your finance function will evolve to match the speed and complexity of modern business or be held back by tools that were built for a different era.
In this post, we’ll break down what SAP BPC’s sunset really means, explore the risks of waiting, and show how teams are using this as a strategic opportunity to modernize their close and consolidation process with AI-first tools like Nominal.
What Does the SAP BPC Sunset Mean?
SAP BPC (Business Planning and Consolidation) is officially in sunset mode. According to the official announcement, here are the confirmed maintenance timelines:
- SAP BPC 10.1, version for SAP NetWeaver: supported until 31 December 2027
- SAP BPC 11.1, version for SAP BW/4HANA 2.0: supported until 31 December 2024
- SAP BPC 2021, version for SAP BW/4HANA 2021: supported until 31 December 2027
- SAP BPC 10.1, version for Microsoft: supported until 30 June 2026
In addition, SAP clarified:
- BPC 10.1 for SAP BW 7.5 will continue maintenance until end of 2027, with optional extended maintenance until 2030
- BPC Optimized for S/4HANA will follow S/4HANA’s roadmap, currently planned through 2040
For finance teams, “sunset” means relying on a tool that will soon stop evolving. As support phases out, so does access to qualified consultants, integration paths, and the ability to keep up with growing business complexity.
Delaying the transition brings hidden risks: inflated maintenance costs, reliance on shrinking pools of technical expertise, and mounting inefficiencies.
BPC will not break overnight, but teams staying on it will be stuck in workflows that require more manual effort and expose them to audit vulnerabilities.
Recommended read: Finance Audit Checklist: How to Prepare Your Team and Stay Compliant
What Finance Teams Need to Consider Next
This moment is not just about evaluating alternatives. It’s a critical inflection point. Clinging to legacy workflows and outdated technology could put your organization in a dangerous position, both operationally and strategically.
Finance teams that approach this as a simple tech swap risk replicating the same inefficiencies in a shinier interface.
Lift-and-shift migrations that preserve manual processes, disconnected systems, and spreadsheet workarounds ultimately postpone the inevitable without addressing the root causes. The result: technical debt, delayed ROI, and exposure to real compliance and reporting failures.
As SAP BPC support winds down, the cost of inaction rises. You face a shrinking pool of experts, growing maintenance fees, and increasing audit scrutiny, all while being asked to close faster, consolidate across entities, and navigate post-acquisition complexity. The longer you wait, the harder it becomes to untangle the mess.
A future-ready solution must bring automation, not just configuration. It must fit your ERP landscape — whether S/4HANA, NetWeaver, or hybrid — without friction.
It must embed controls, audit trails, and real-time visibility from day one. Otherwise, you are not modernizing. You are masking risk.
For finance leaders managing multi-entity operations, M&A, or global reporting obligations, the warning is clear. Staying put is not a neutral decision. It is a liability.
Nominal vs. SAP BPC: What’s Different?
Nominal approaches the problem differently. Instead of requiring full ERP replacement or months of configuration, it overlays your existing systems to centralize and automate the close process.
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It is designed for finance teams, not just for compliance. It streamlines reconciliation, intercompany eliminations, and audit prep without the overhead of complex configurations.
Making the Transition: Key Questions to Ask
Before selecting a new platform, finance leaders should align around the strategic outcomes they want. These questions help frame the discussion:
- Which parts of our close and consolidation process are still manual?
- Where do most delays or audit risks emerge today?
- How will this platform integrate with our ERP?
- What do we want our finance tech stack to look like in two years?
This is not just about replacing what you had. It’s about building what you actually need.
SAP BPC’s end of life isn’t just an expiration date. It’s an opportunity to modernize the finance function with less complexity, more speed, and smarter automation.
Nominal helps teams close faster, reduce audit prep, and consolidate with confidence, all while preserving your ERP and skipping the spreadsheet chaos.
Want to see how it works? Book a demo to explore how Nominal compares to your current BPC setup.
