Starting in January 2010, EFIS, the current ESA financial and invoicing system, will be replaced with ‘esa-p’ (the new ESA SAP Portal). ESA is implementing the FINREF financial management reform that will introduce a fully integrated IT system and a standardized way of working, allowing greater control and visibility of ESA resources. It will provide ESA with a single platform to improve links with industry and the invoicing process. It is expected that, in the near future, this platform will also be improved with additional functionalities to allow the exchange of information with industry. As a component of the FINREF project, ESA is integrating the existing EFIS invoicing system with a new SAP application (esa-p).

The EFIS system will be replaced in January 2010. The final submission date for entering and approving invoices into EFIS is December 31, 2009. Following the transition, there will be a ‘freeze’ period in January when invoices will not be able to be submitted or approved, in order to allow historical records to be migrated into the new system. Exact timings of this transition period will be announced soon. Suppliers will be able to access esa-p online using the same user name and password currently used for EFIS. esa-p will introduce a new SAP user interface, so there will be changes to the look and feel of the system. The existing invoicing process will remain largely unchanged apart from a new ‘goods receipt’ concept that will be introduced as part of our move towards accrual accounting. In the future, ESA will ask suppliers to submit a ‘goods receipt’ when milestones are achieved, in addition to the existing invoice. The new system will also provide reporting and search functionalities that will assist suppliers with invoice management. Further details of this change will be explained in upcoming training materials. EFIS will still be available from January 2010 in a read-only mode to allow suppliers to access historical data.