Commitments in SAP Project System represent future expected costs from procurement documents, typically purchase requisitions and purchase orders assigned to a project or WBS element. They help controllers understand spending exposure before goods and services have generated actual costs. A commitment is not an invoice, payment, actual cost or budget; it is an open obligation governed by the configured commitments-management process.
Why procurement creates project exposure
A project team can request materials or services long before the supplier delivers them. Without commitment visibility, a WBS element may appear to have substantial budget headroom even though Purchasing has outstanding orders. SAP commitments associate expected cost with the relevant account assignment object, giving project owners a way to assess planned, actual and committed demand together.
Requisition commitments and order commitments
A purchase requisition can generate an initial commitment based on its remaining quantity and price. When the requisition is converted to a purchase order, the related requisition commitment generally reduces for the ordered quantity while the purchase order creates its own outstanding commitment. Counting the original full requisition and the new order together would double count the same requirement. Actual behavior depends on enabled commitment management and account-assignment configuration.
Worked example: a partially ordered requirement
A project requests ten parts at ₹2,500 each, implying a ₹25,000 requisition commitment. Purchasing orders eight at ₹2,600 each, making a ₹20,800 purchase-order commitment. If the remaining two units still sit on the requisition, their residual estimated commitment is ₹5,000. The illustrative total outstanding exposure is then ₹25,800, not ₹45,800: the ordered portion of the initial requisition commitment must be reduced rather than counted twice.
Follow the commitment through receipt and invoicing
As goods and services are received and financially recognized, outstanding order commitments are reduced under the applicable goods-receipt and invoice-receipt logic. The exact reduction timing varies by valuation and process design. Buyers should review document history, open quantities, final-delivery or invoice indicators, canceled items and account assignments when an old commitment persists after apparent completion.
Connection to budget availability control
Where project availability control and commitment management are configured, assigned funds may include actual plus commitment costs for relevant budget checks. A controller should distinguish a project that is genuinely underspending from one with a long list of open purchase orders. The relevant controlling-area settings, document account assignment and tolerance limits determine the observed behavior; avoid asserting that every deployment uses identical controls.
Consultant questions before a design decision
Which purchasing document types create commitments? Are network-generated requisitions included? Do the assignments point to the intended WBS? How are price changes, partially delivered orders, returns and cancellations handled? Who monitors aged commitments and who can close residual quantities? Test one requisition-to-order-to-receipt sequence with traceable source documents.
Read next
Project Cost Planning, Actual Costs on Projects, Availability Control and Network Activities. Return to the SAP PS / EPPM hub.