SuccessFactors

[SuccessFactors] Insert balances via TimeAccountDetail API

September 24, 2025 September 24, 2025

I had the task to insert additional vacation days to the TimeAccount of some employees. To do this, you have to insert some new entries in the related TimeAccountDetail entity.

The official documentation states that you can create a TimeAccountDetail via UPSERT, and there is even an example. A very bad formatted example….

But to me, it was unclear, what I have to provide as externalCode. Obviously, TimeAccount_externalCode required the externalCode of the TimeAccount, which the entry should belong to. But I was expecting that the TimeAccountDetail externalCode should be created, when UPSERTing the entry. Somehow the documentation is missing some explanation here… But in the note 2243841 I found the missing hint:

While using API calls, Successfactors system would not generate unique external Code for TimeAccountDetail API. You will have to explicitly provide external code which should be unique.

Ok, so simply provide a random externalCode. Following my UPSERT Request:

### The related TimeAccount, where the entry should belong to. Can be fetched via another API call
@TimeAccount_externalCode=aac183cdc57242cb9f7454131f0da069

### Create a random TimeAccountDetail externalCode 
@externalCode=70b54990b44440fab4c5084c971cc744

### Insert balances
GET {{$dotenv sf_api_url}}/odata/v2/upsert
Authorization: Basic {{$dotenv sf_api_auth_base64}}
Accept: application/json
Content-Type: application/json

{ 
  "__metadata" : {
    "uri" : "http://my-sf-demo-api-server/odata/v2/TimeAccountDetail(TimeAccount_externalCode='{{TimeAccount_externalCode}}',externalCode='{{externalCode}}')", 
    "type" : "SFOData.TimeAccountDetail"
  },
  "TimeAccount_externalCode" : "{{TimeAccount_externalCode}}", 
  "externalCode" : "{{externalCode}}", 
  "bookingUnit" : "DAYS", 
  "bookingType" : "MANUAL_ADJUSTMENT", 
  "bookingDate" : "\/Date(1747872000000)\/", 
  "bookingAmount" : "1", 
  "comment" : "Urlaub"
}

But what ever I tried as externalCode, it always failed…

In note 2243841, there is also the last sentence:

We generally do not suggest to use Upsert operation for TimeAccountDetail OData API due to external code limitation.

This confused me even more, but as the note is from 2016, I thought it could be outdated, and the official API documentation is correct. But it seems the opposite is right….
When trying a normal POST instead of an UPSERT, it immediately worked.

### The related TimeAccount, where the entry should belong to. Can be fetched via another API call
@TimeAccount_externalCode=aac183cdc57242cb9f7454131f0da069

### Create a random TimeAccountDetail externalCode 
@externalCode=70b54990b44440fab4c5084c971cc744

### Insert balances
POST {{$dotenv sf_api_url}}/odata/v2/TimeAccountDetail
Authorization: Basic {{$dotenv sf_api_auth_base64}}
Accept: application/json
Content-Type: application/json

{ 
  "TimeAccount_externalCode" : "{{TimeAccount_externalCode}}", 
  "externalCode" : "{{externalCode}}", 
  "bookingUnit" : "DAYS", 
  "bookingType" : "MANUAL_ADJUSTMENT", 
  "bookingDate" : "\/Date(1747872000000)\/", 
  "bookingAmount" : "1", 
  "comment" : "Urlaub"
}

Not sure if I did something wrong when using UPSERT, but why should I even use an UPSERT, if I can simply use a normal POST request. Once again, poor SAP documentation has cost me a lot of my lifetime…

SuccessFactors

[SuccessFactors] Configure Custom Navigation

June 19, 2024 June 18, 2024

In the Configure Custom Navigation settings, you can define different places where an external application (for example, a link to a side-by-side application) should be visible.

SuccessFactors

[SuccessFactors] Display technical field names

February 1, 2024 February 1, 2024

Go to Settings ⇾ Change Language ⇾ Switch to English Debug

And everything becomes much more beautiful 🙂

SuccessFactors

[SuccessFactors] Get Recruiting information for a given User via Process Trigger

December 14, 2023 May 9, 2025

I was looking for a way, to get the candidate ID and Job Application ID for a given User. In a Process Trigger, you can get a good overview of an employee who moved from REC, via ONB to EC, and there I found all the required information.

Manage Data → Search → Process Trigger

This information can also be fetched via API.

API Entity: ONB2Process

### Process Trigger
GET {{$dotenv sf_api_url}}/odata/v2/ONB2Process('06B129C95FD3482B851018D37B697149')
Authorization: Basic {{$dotenv sf_api_auth_base64}}
Accept: application/json

### processTriggerNav, includes rcmCandidateId, rcmApplicationId, rcmJobReqId
GET {{$dotenv sf_api_url}}/odata/v2/ONB2Process('06B129C95FD3482B851018D37B697149')
?$expand=processTriggerNav
Authorization: Basic {{$dotenv sf_api_auth_base64}}
Accept: application/json

### Fetch candidateId, jobApplicationId, jobReqId via userId
GET {{$dotenv sf_api_url}}/odata/v2/User(100000)/userOfONB2ProcessNav
?$expand=processTriggerNav
&$select=processId,processTriggerNav/rcmApplicationId,processTriggerNav/rcmJobReqId,processTriggerNav/rcmCandidateId
Authorization: Basic {{$dotenv sf_api_auth_base64}}
Accept: application/json

SuccessFactors

[SuccessFactors] OData V2 – filter in (VSC Rest-API Client)

October 30, 2023 October 30, 2023

When filtering an OData V2 endpoint, you can simply list your values separated by a comma after the keyword in (option 2). Much shorter than having to repeat your filter statement all the time, like in option 1.

@user1=10010
@user2=10020

### Option 1: Filter userId using OR condition
GET {{$dotenv api_url}}/odata/v2/User?$filter=userId eq '{{user1}}' or userId eq '{{user2}}'
Authorization: Basic {{$dotenv api_auth}}
Accept: application/json

### Option 2: Filter userId using IN condition
GET {{$dotenv api_url}}/odata/v2/User?$filter=userId in '{{user1}}', '{{user2}}'
Authorization: Basic {{$dotenv api_auth}}
Accept: application/json

SuccessFactors

[SuccessFactors] Check if IAS is activated for a tenant

September 7, 2023 September 7, 2023

Go to Upgrade Center, select Platform in the Filter By Dropdown. In the Optional Upgrades Column, search for:

Initiate the SAP Cloud Identity Services Identity Authentication Service Integration

If the entry exists, IAS is not yet set up. If it does not exist, the IAS configuration is probably already done.

BTP, SuccessFactors

[Cloud Identity Services] Assign SuccessFactors user to IAS group via transformation

June 14, 2023 June 14, 2023

Source System: SuccessFactors
Target System: Identity Authentication

When using ias.api.version 1

https://blogs.sap.com/2021/03/29/ias-integration-with-sap-successfactors-application-2-sync-users-using-identity-provisioning-serviceips/

            {
                "condition": "$.emails[0].value =~ /.*@abc.com.*/",
                "constant": "DEV_IDP1",
                "targetPath": "$.groups[0].value"
            },
            {
                "condition": "$.emails[0].value =~ /.*@def.com.*/",
                "constant": "DEV_AzureAD",
                "targetPath": "$.groups[1].value"
            },

When using ias.api.version 2

https://help.sap.com/docs/identity-provisioning/identity-provisioning/enabling-group-assignment

         {
            "condition":"($.emails EMPTY false)",
            "constant":[
               {
                  "id":"00f8ab94-a732-48fa-9169-e51f87b8dcd5"
               },
               {
                  "id":"01231139-4711-4a28-8f9d-6745843ef716"
               }
            ],
            "targetVariable":"assignGroup"
         }

BTP, SuccessFactors

[BTP] Create sap-successfactors-extensibility service providing a technicalUser

February 2, 2023 October 30, 2023

Prerequisite, you have registered an SAP SuccessFactors system in your Global Account (see here). Creating the sap-successfactors-extensibility service can be done via command line:

#Created the service instance
#An HTTP destination on a subaccount level with the same name as the service instance name is automatically generated
cf create-service sap-successfactors-extensibility api-access myInstanceName -c '{"systemName": "SFCPART000000","technicalUser": "sfadmin"}'

#Bind the instance to an application
cf bind-service myApp-srv myInstanceName

Find an explanation of the parameters here: https://help.sap.com/docs/btp/sap-business-technology-platform/authentication-type-json-file

This service instance will result in creating:

a separate OAuth2 client application on SFSF side (can find in SF in Manage OAuth2 Client Applications)
a separate destination definition on a BTP sub-account level

The technicalUser parameter can be specified only during creation. There is no possibility to provide it afterwards using cf update-service. It may be possible to manually update the technicalUser in the destination, which got automatically created. But I did not test this yet.

Of course, the same service creation can also be done via mta.yaml.

resources:
 #####################################################################################################################
  # SuccessFactors Extensibility Service
  #####################################################################################################################
  - name: myInstanceName 
    type: org.cloudfoundry.managed-service
    #type: org.cloudfoundry.existing-service
    parameters:
      service: sap-successfactors-extensibility
      service-plan: api-access
      config:
        systemName: SFCPART000000 # <-- Provide your system name
        technicalUser: sfadmin

For initial deployment, you need the line type: org.cloudfoundry.managed-service. For all further deployments, you have to comment that line out and comment in the next line type: org.cloudfoundry.existing-service. Else you will receive an error. Read more about that behavior here:https://github.com/SAP-samples/successfactors-extension-calculate-employee-seniority/issues/2

SuccessFactors

[SuccessFactors] Get manager and his employees via API

October 24, 2022 June 14, 2023

@my_endpoint=api2.successfactors.eu
@userId=managerId

### Query manager and his employees
GET https://{{my_endpoint}}/odata/v2/User('{{userId}}')?
$format=json&
$expand=directReports&
$select=firstName,lastName,email,teamMembersSize,directReports/firstName,directReports/lastName,directReports/userId,directReports/email

JavaScript / nodejs, SuccessFactors

[SuccessFactors] Create JavaScript Date-Object from DateTimeOffset

July 20, 2022 March 15, 2024

The SuccessFactors oData v2 API is returning timestamps in Unix Epoch format (unix-style milliseconds since 1/1/1970).

Many timestamp fields are of type Edm.Int64. When receiving the milliseconds as Integer, you can directly create a date-object of it using Date(1658237847).

But some timestamps are of type Edm.DateTimeOffset, i.e.: "createdDate": "/Date(1652252620000+0000)/".
When binding a timestamp property with an ODataModel, the internal lib datajs will convert the /Date(...)/ value to a standard JS date-object.

But in my case I manually had to convert the timestamp and this is the shortest way I found to convert the epoch string into a JS date-object.

// SF epoch date string
const SFdateString = '/Date(1652252620000+0000)/' 

// remove the '/' on both sides and create the date object
const oDate = eval('new ' + SFdateString .slice(1, -1))

console.log(typeof oDate )
console.log(oDate )

const oDateTimeFormat = sap.ui.core.format.DateFormat.getDateTimeInstance({
          pattern: "YYYY-MM-dd HH:mm"
})
return oDateTimeFormat.format(oDate)