On-prem SAP software is licensed under the SAP Software Use Rights: except as specifically provided in §§3.2, 5.3 and 7, the Use of any Package requires both a Named User License and a Package License.[1] A Named User is any individual authorized by Customer to Use a Package. Indirect Use through a Customer or third-party interface still counts as Use. SAP S/4HANA Digital Access is a Package metric that licenses humans (through Non-SAP Applications) and non-humans by Documents created annually, not by Named User of S/4 EM. Current global English text is enGLOBAL.v.4-2026 (PDF 20 April 2026).
Named User types
Exhibit 2 of enGLOBAL.v.4-2026 names these Named User types. Each is a catalog row (Metrics 5–17) of the Named User principle. Unit for each is one Named User of that type. Most types exclude SBOP. SAP publishes no conversion between types.[1]
| Type (SUR) | Exhibit 2 | Authorized Use (SUR summary) | Also includes |
|---|---|---|---|
| SAP Developer User | §1.1 | Access development tools provided with the licensed Software to make Modifications and/or Add-ons | SAP Employee User |
| SAP Learning User | §1.2 | Solely the specified learning solutions on SAP’s price list, provided those solutions are licensed | — |
| SAP Professional User | §1.3 | Operational related and system administration / management roles supported by the licensed Software (excluding SBOP). v.4-2026 does not nest SAP Retail User | SAP Project User, SAP Logistics User, SAP Industry Portfolio User, SAP Worker User, SAP Business Partner User |
| SAP Project User | §1.4 | Project management (including project-related resource management; project-related quotation, order and billing in SAP ERP; accounting on individual projects; project-related purchase requests, purchase orders and service entry sheets); product and project related reporting; managing project-related revenues and expenses; viewing A/R G/L postings; controlling access and releasing product data and recipes; viewing/approving/managing change through engineering records; collaborating in cFolders; interfaces to 3rd party authorized authoring tools | SAP Manager Self-Service User |
| SAP Employee User | §2.1 | Own purpose only, not for or on behalf of other individuals: Use (excluding modify/customize) standard and interactive reports related to those tasks; travel planning / expense reporting self-services; procurement self-services; room reservation self-services | SAP Learning User and SAP Employee Self-Service User |
| SAP Employee Self-Service User (SAP ESS User) | §2.2 | Own purpose only: employee time and attendance entry; employee appraisals; talent and skill profiles; profile match up | SAP Employee Self-Service Core User |
| SAP Employee Self-Service Core User | §2.3 | Own purpose only: employee records maintenance; employee directory; benefits and payment; leave management; E-Recruiting. Also Non-SAP Content on Customer’s SAP Portal if that access does not require or result in any Use of licensed Software beyond that portal content | — |
| SAP Logistics User | §2.4 | Solely Transportation Management; Warehousing (including RF mobile devices); Track and Trace; Direct Store Delivery; Yard Logistics, as specified in §2.4 | SAP Employee User (for Customer employees) |
| SAP Worker User | §2.5 | Working in Customer’s production facilities or as a maintenance worker: display work instructions and document activities; confirm goods receipts/issues/stock movements and completion confirmations into maintenance work orders; enter production order confirmations; record product or production information; enter production issues and related service requests; submit purchase requisitions for tools/spare parts; confirm maintenance notifications; enter service requests and service entry sheet; related maintenance reporting | SAP Employee User |
| SAP Business Partner User | §2.6 | Employee of a Business Partner accessing licensed Software (excluding SBOP) solely to perform operational related tasks within standard business-to-business scenarios. Distinct from the Package metric “Business Partners” | — |
| SAP Manager Self-Service User | §2.7 | Listed manager self-services roles (HCM processes/forms; requisition/candidate assessments; talent assessments; compensation planning/approval; budget overviews; project management tasks; planning; travel/expense approval; HR and procurement workflow for the manager’s direct reports or business unit). Roles must be directly related to the employees and business unit/department for which the manager is responsible, supported by the licensed Software (excluding SBOP), and related to Human Capital Management only | SAP Employee User |
| SAP Industry Portfolio User | §§3.1–3.2 | Solely the specified industry packages on SAP’s price list, provided those packages are licensed. Not entitled to access other SAP solutions or solution components. External business partners in Insurance collaborating with Customer need to be licensed as SAP Industry Portfolio Users | SAP Employee User |
| SAP Platform User | §4.1 | Use licensed Software through a separate SAP, Partner, or Customer application that connects to and/or communicates with SAP Software through published SAP application programing interfaces | — |
Not in enGLOBAL.v.4-2026 Exhibit 2: SAP Retail User (still defined in Germany LPC 2025/1 Exhibit 2 §3.3 and nested under Professional User there); SAP Limited Professional User (named only as a historical restriction in that LPC, with no definition in v.4-2026 Exhibit 2). Treat both as not current on the global SUR; a given contract or country LPC may still use them.
Legacy types for June 2014-and-earlier contracts (SUR §§5.1.2–5.1.3): mySAP.com Users, SAP Business Suite Users, SAP ERP Users, Individual SAP solutions Users, SAP Application Users, SAP BA&T Users. Those customers may license additional quantities of the same types and “are not permitted to license SAP Named Users within their existing license contract.”
Metrics
The catalog has twenty-nine rows for SAP. Rows 5–29 are Exhibit 2 Named User types (5–17), Business One Exhibit 6 types (18–22), Digital Access packages (23–24), S/4 Use types (25–28), and RISE FUE (29). The nine Document Types are types of Documents, not separate metrics. SAP Retail User and SAP Limited Professional User are not current global types.
| # | SAP name | Catalog row | Unit | What SAP says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Named User | Named User | User | Any individual authorized by Customer to Use a Package, including without limitation employees of its Affiliates or its Business Partners. Named User Licenses cannot be assigned to more than 1 individual. |
| 2 | Documents (Digital Access) | Documents for SAP Digital Access | Document | Package metric for Digital Access. Nine Document Types; Material and Financial count 0.2. Not a Named User type. |
| 3 | Core | Cores | Core | Exhibit 2 Package metric (integer physical or virtual cores). SUR states this Core is different from “core” in any CPU-basis metric. |
| 4 | Concurrent Sessions | Concurrent Sessions | Other | Exhibit 2 Package metric (peak simultaneous sessions). Unlimited-session deployments still require a Named User License. |
| 5 | SAP Professional User | SAP Professional User | User | Exhibit 2 §1.3. Broadest current cross-LoB operational type. Nested: Project, Logistics, Industry Portfolio, Worker, Business Partner. v.4-2026 does not nest Retail User. |
| 6 | SAP Developer User | SAP Developer User | User | Exhibit 2 §1.1. Development tools for Modifications and/or Add-ons. Includes Employee User rights. |
| 7 | SAP Learning User | SAP Learning User | User | Exhibit 2 §1.2. Specified learning solutions on SAP’s price list, provided those solutions are licensed. |
| 8 | SAP Project User | SAP Project User | User | Exhibit 2 §1.4. Listed project roles. Includes Manager Self-Service User rights. |
| 9 | SAP Employee User | SAP Employee User | User | Exhibit 2 §2.1. Own purpose only. Includes Learning User and ESS User rights. |
| 10 | SAP Employee Self-Service User | SAP Employee Self-Service User | User | Exhibit 2 §2.2 (SAP ESS User). HR self-services, own purpose. Includes ESS Core User rights. |
| 11 | SAP Employee Self-Service Core User | SAP Employee Self-Service Core User | User | Exhibit 2 §2.3. Narrower HR self-services, own purpose. |
| 12 | SAP Logistics User | SAP Logistics User | User | Exhibit 2 §2.4. TM / warehousing / track and trace / DSD / yard. Nested under Professional. |
| 13 | SAP Worker User | SAP Worker User | User | Exhibit 2 §2.5. Production/maintenance shop-floor. Nested under Professional. |
| 14 | SAP Business Partner User | SAP Business Partner User | User | Exhibit 2 §2.6. Business Partner employee in B2B scenarios. Distinct from the Package metric Business Partners. |
| 15 | SAP Manager Self-Service User | SAP Manager Self-Service User | User | Exhibit 2 §2.7. HCM manager self-services for own reports. Nested under Project User. |
| 16 | SAP Industry Portfolio User | SAP Industry Portfolio User | User | Exhibit 2 §§3.1–3.2. Specified industry packages only. Nested under Professional. |
| 17 | SAP Platform User | SAP Platform User | User | Exhibit 2 §4.1. Use through a separate app via published SAP APIs. |
| 18 | SAP Business One Professional User | SAP Business One Professional User | User | Exhibit 6. System min 1 Starter or 1 Professional. Not Exhibit 2 Professional User. |
| 19 | SAP Business One Limited User | SAP Business One Limited User | User | Exhibit 6. Role requested as CRM, Financial, or Logistic. |
| 20 | SAP Business One Starter Package User | SAP Business One Starter Package User | User | Exhibit 6. Min 1, max 5. Cannot combine with other B1 user types except Indirect Access by non-employees. |
| 21 | SAP Business One Mobile Application User | SAP Business One Mobile Application User | User | Exhibit 6. Sales or Service mobile application only. |
| 22 | SAP Business One Indirect Access, user-based | SAP Business One Indirect Access, user-based | User | Exhibit 6. API only. Distinct from Indirect Access by non-employees (Instance). |
| 23 | SAP Digital Access | SAP Digital Access | Document | Exhibit 3 §4.4. Digital Access of ERP. Counted on Documents, not Named User of ERP. |
| 24 | SAP S/4HANA Digital Access | SAP S/4HANA Digital Access | Document | Exhibit 3 §2.36. Digital Access of S/4 EM. Distinct from ERP Digital Access. |
| 25 | S/4HANA Enterprise Management for Professional use | S/4HANA Enterprise Management for Professional use | User | Exhibit 3 §2.4. Package Use type (Licensed Level of individuals). Not Exhibit 2 Professional User, and not equivalent to FUE advanced use. |
| 26 | S/4HANA Enterprise Management for Functional use | S/4HANA Enterprise Management for Functional use | User | Exhibit 3 §2.5. Includes Productivity-use rights. Not equivalent to FUE core use. |
| 27 | S/4HANA Enterprise Management for Productivity use | S/4HANA Enterprise Management for Productivity use | User | Exhibit 3 §2.6. Narrower Solution Capabilities plus Display and Approval. Not equivalent to FUE self-service use. |
| 28 | S/4HANA Developer access | S/4HANA Developer access | User | Exhibit 3 §2.7. ABAP Modifications and/or Add-ons. Not Exhibit 2 Developer User, and not equivalent to the RISE Developer Access ratio (1 FUE = 0.50). |
| 29 | Full Use Equivalent (FUE) | Full Use Equivalent (FUE) | Other | RISE SDG enGLOBAL.v.3-2025. Cloud aggregation method. 1 FUE = 0.50 Developer Access; 1 advanced; 5 core; 30 self-service. Cannot be divided among use types. Not an on-prem Named User. |
The Exhibit 2 “Users” Package metric (§47.1) is distinct from Named User types in Exhibit 2 §§1–4. SUR states that metric does not replace the overall SAP Named User licensing requirement.
Counting / floors
Named User (effective v.4-2026). Customer needs to hold a Named User License for any individual accessing any Package; that license defines the extent to which the individual may Use the Package, such Use in all cases being further subject to the Package License. Use means to activate the processing capabilities of the Software, load, execute, access, employ the Software, or display information resulting from such capabilities, and may occur by way of an interface delivered with or as a part of the Software, a Customer or third-party interface, or another intermediary system.[1]
Transfer (SUR §5.1.1). A Named User License may be transferred from 1 individual to another only if the assigned individual: (a) is on vacation; (b) is absent due to sickness; (c) has their employment terminated; (d) is moved into a new job function which no longer requires them to Use any Packages; or (e) is subject to a condition otherwise agreed by SAP.[1]
Named User exceptions. SUR §2.2 carves out a scheduled predefined query export that does not update or trigger licensed Software. SUR §5.3 names package-specific exceptions for suppliers, certain Business Partners, employees on listed packages, appraisers, and consumers/constituents. The exceptions apply only to the packages SUR lists.[1] Catalog proof: Packages / parties that do not require a Named User (backs Packages / parties that do not require a Named User).
SAP Business One Starter Package floor/cap (Exhibit 6). System minimum is 1 SAP Business One Starter Package User or 1 SAP Business One Professional User. Starter Package Users: minimum 1, maximum 5 in total. If Customer needs more than 5, all Starter Package Users must be licensed as Professional or Limited Professional User. Starter Package User can only be combined with “SAP Business One Indirect Access by non-employees” and cannot be combined with any other B1 user type or product options. enGLOBAL.v.4-2026 dropped Customer Checkout from the cap sentence.[1] Catalog proof: SAP Business One Starter Package user floor/cap (backs SAP Business One Starter Package user floor/cap).
Measurement. Customer conducts measurement with unaltered SAP tools and self-declaration; SAP may audit. SUR §4 points to SAP’s standard procedures for verification of system measurement.[1][2]
Digital Access
The SAP S/4HANA Digital Access Package grants (a) humans a license to Use S/4HANA Enterprise Management (“S/4 EM”) through Non-SAP Application(s) that is/are directly integrated to S/4 EM without the need to be licensed as a “Named User” and/or “User” of S/4 EM; and (b) non-humans (e.g. bots, sensors, chips, devices, etc.) a license to Use S/4 EM directly or through such Non-SAP Application(s) without a Named User and/or User of S/4 EM (collectively, “Digital Access of S/4 EM”).[1]
All Digital Access of S/4 EM is licensed based exclusively upon the number of Documents created annually by such Digital Access of S/4 EM. Documents are unique records (unique digital line-items/objects) as defined under “Documents for SAP S/4HANA Digital Access” in Exhibit 2 §17.5. Each Document shall count as 1 Document, except for Material Documents and Financial Documents which shall each count as 0.2 of a Document. Where the automated processing in S/4 EM of a Document from 1 Document Type results in the subsequent creation in SAP S/4 EM of 1 or more additional Documents of different Document Type(s), such additional Documents shall not be counted.[1]
| Document Type | SUR Exhibit 2 | What counts (SUR) | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sales Document | §17.5.1 | Line item of material/service sold or quoted; and/or individual order/release against a scheduling agreement indicating material/service sold | 1.0 |
| Purchase Document | §17.5.2 | Line item of material/service ordered or requested; and/or release against a scheduling agreement indicating material/service procured | 1.0 |
| Invoice Document | §17.5.3 | Line item of material/service billed. For S/4HANA Digital Access only, also a line item describing material being purchased (name, number, quantity) | 1.0 |
| Manufacturing Document | §17.5.4 | Production-related details record and/or confirmation of manufacturing-order processing status | 1.0 |
| Material Document | §17.5.5 | Line item of a specific material received, issued or transferred to/from/within a storage location or plant | 0.2 |
| Quality Management Document | §17.5.6 | Nonconformance details and/or inspection results. For S/4HANA Digital Access only, also a record of nonconformance details | 1.0 |
| Service & Maintenance Document | §17.5.7 | Work-to-be-performed record; problem-report record; processing status of service/maintenance orders; and/or warranty claim record | 1.0 |
| Financial Document | §17.5.8 | Line item of accounting information in a financial journal | 0.2 |
| Time Management Document | §17.5.9 | Employee time worked assigned to business objects; and/or deviations from assigned work schedule and/or pay rate | 1.0 |
User Interfaces for S/4 EM are deemed part of S/4 EM, so human users Using S/4 EM via those User Interfaces still need a Named User and/or User license for S/4 EM. A Non-SAP Application connected to S/4 EM via a Connectivity App is still deemed directly integrated. For this Package, S/4 EM excludes SAP Business Warehouse Software and includes SAP ERP Foundation Starter S/4HANA Compatibility Pack while that pack remains usable.[1]
The SUR publishes no per-document list prices, no Digital Access Adoption Program discounts, and no “nine documents = nine licenses” rule. Only the 1.0 / 0.2 weighting and the subsequent-document exclusion are in the SUR. Other Exhibit 2 §17 “Documents” metrics (OpenText, EWM, Document and Reporting Compliance, and similar) share the word Documents and are not this metric. Catalog proof (SUR nine Document Types + 1.0 / 0.2 weights): SUR Digital Access document types and weights (backs SUR Digital Access document types and weights). The SUR is not a program.
Cores and Concurrent Sessions
Cores (Exhibit 2 §12.1). Cores are the number of cores in CPUs that are available for use by the licensed software. The number of Core licenses must be an integer. When counting physical Cores, each Core of a physical CPU that runs at least parts of the licensed software, including those that are temporarily assigned or scheduled to cover peak processing, is considered and counted. When counting virtual Cores, each virtual Core that runs at least parts of the licensed software, including those that are temporarily assigned or scheduled to cover peak processing, is counted. If the licensed Software will run in a pure virtual environment, physical Cores will not be counted. SUR states that Core as defined here is different from “core” as referenced in any CPU-basis metric.[1]
Concurrent Sessions (Exhibit 2 §39.1). Concurrent sessions are the aggregated numbers of sessions accessing the licensed Software at any 1 time. A session is the time between logon and logoff or time out where a unique user, application or platform accesses the licensed Software either directly or indirectly via a custom application. Sessions per Deployment must be limited by license key mechanisms; the maximum enabled on a Deployment may not exceed that Deployment’s Licensed Level; the aggregate enabled on all Deployments may not exceed the Licensed Level of Concurrent Sessions. There is no license limit on number of processors or servers used. Customer may not utilize any program or system to cache or queue report requests. Users in deployments with an unlimited number of sessions require a Named User License for the licensed Software product.[1]
For SAP Business Intelligence, Users identified at logon do not consume a Concurrent Session license; both can be purchased in combination for a Deployment (§47.1.2). Exhibit 3 package-specific Concurrent Session caps (for example on BI Edge) are package restrictions, not this metric definition, and do not apply generally.[1]
Virtualization
SUR Exhibit 2 §12.1 is the sourced virtualization rule for the Cores metric: count physical Cores, or virtual Cores; in a pure virtual environment, physical Cores will not be counted; temporarily assigned or peak cores still count. SUR does not publish a hard/soft partition policy analogous to Oracle’s Partitioning Policy. Third-party partition lists do not apply to SAP.
Cloud / BYOL / Hyperscalers
This page is primarily on-premise Software Use Rights. Adjacent cloud / IaaS overlays that are Cited in the LICENSEWARE Wiki:
FUE (RISE private edition). Full Use Equivalent (FUE) is catalogued from the RISE with SAP S/4HANA Cloud private edition Service Description Guide (enGLOBAL.v.3-2025). Related program: RISE with SAP. SDG §8.1 ratios SAP prints: 1 FUE = 0.50 Developer Access; 1 advanced use; 5 core use; 30 self-service use. A Full Usage Equivalent cannot be divided among use types. Customer may allocate each FUE to any one use type and may change allocation during the subscription term. FUE is not an on-premise Named User type in SUR v.4-2026 Exhibit 2. FUE use types do not map to Exhibit 2 Named Users or Exhibit 3 S/4 Use types, and SAP publishes no Named User Professional↔FUE conversion.[5] Catalog proof: FUE use-type ratios (RISE private edition) (backs FUE use-type ratios (RISE private edition)).
PCE Digital Access (Documents, not FUE). RISE SDG §10: PCE Digital Access Usage Metric = Document. Each Document counts as one (1) Document, except Material Documents and Financial Documents which each count as 0.2 of a Document; subsequent automated Documents of different Document Types from processing the first are not counted. Same 1.0 / 0.2 shape as on-prem SUR Digital Access — still not FUE.[5] Catalog proof: PCE Digital Access — Material/Financial Documents = 0.2 (backs PCE Digital Access — Material/Financial Documents = 0.2).
Hyperscalers / certified IaaS. SAP Support / CCoE “SAP and Hyperscalers” lists certified IaaS platforms for OLAP, OLTP, and SAP Business One (Alibaba, AWS, Google, Huawei, IBM Cloud, Azure, Open Telekom Cloud). Prerequisites include already licensed SAP software, sizing, permitted instance types, network, and virtualization/OS experience. Counting stays SUR Named User / Digital Access Documents / engine metrics (Cores, Concurrent Sessions) as licensed for on-prem Packages on certified IaaS. The page does not publish a Processor-style Named User↔vCPU mapping. Related program: SAP certified IaaS / Hyperscalers. Not FUE.[6] Catalog proof: Hyperscalers IaaS — counting stays SUR; no Named User↔vCPU (backs Hyperscalers IaaS — counting stays SUR; no Named User↔vCPU).
No SUR-published BYOL vCPU mapping for Named User or Documents is cited beyond that Hyperscalers gap statement.
Programs
Related programs: RISE with SAP (FUE ratios + PCE DA 0.2 proofs FUE use-type ratios (RISE private edition), PCE Digital Access — Material/Financial Documents = 0.2); SAP certified IaaS / Hyperscalers (Hyperscalers IaaS proof Hyperscalers IaaS — counting stays SUR; no Named User↔vCPU).
SUR is not a program. Software Use Rights enGLOBAL.v.4-2026 is the on-premise use-rights document that defines Named User, Digital Access Documents, Cores, and Concurrent Sessions. It is catalogued as a Cited Source, not a Vendor License Program.
Digital Access Adoption Program (DAAP). 2019–2020 DAAP PDFs are historical commercial programs, not current SUR terms. DAAP discounts are not current license rules; Document weights come from the SUR (and the RISE SDG for PCE).
ULA-style overlays are not named as Named User metrics in enGLOBAL.v.4-2026 Exhibit 2.
Out of scope
- SAPS / aSAPS. SAP Application Performance Standard is a hardware-sizing unit, not a SUR license metric. Official sap.com sizing definition: 100 SAPS = 2,000 fully business-processed order line items per hour (SD benchmark). There is no SAPS→Named User, Documents, or Cores conversion in the SUR. SAPS is not a license metric.[3][4]
- FUE mapped to on-prem Named Users. FUE is catalogued (row 29) from the RISE SDG. SAP prints only the four ratios in that SDG, and they do not apply to on-prem SUR types.
- Confidential SAP Price List. The public List of Prices and Conditions incorporates “SAP Price list (Part for SAP Applications and Technology Platform on-premise Solutions) (SAP Confidential).” List prices, volume-discount tables, and Digital Access document-tier prices are not public.
- SAP Retail User and SAP Limited Professional User are not in global SUR v.4-2026 Exhibit 2. They are not current global types.
- Other Exhibit 2 Package metrics (Assets, Devices, Memory, SAV/HSAV, Business Partners as a Package metric, and the remaining Exhibit 2 metrics list) are not expanded on this page.
- Existing LICENSEWARE Wiki SAP white papers (Quick guide to SAP Licensing, Quick guide to SAP S/4HANA Licensing, Quick guide to SAP Digital Access, and related galleries) are archives. This page sits alongside them and does not replace them.
Catalog rows
Sample catalog rows for this article, grouped by table.
- Metrics
- Rules
- FUE use-type ratios (RISE private edition)
- PCE Digital Access — Material/Financial Documents = 0.2
- SUR Digital Access document types and weights
- Hyperscalers IaaS — counting stays SUR; no Named User↔vCPU
- Packages / parties that do not require a Named User
- SAP Business One Starter Package user floor/cap
- Evidence
- FUE use-type ratios (RISE private edition)
- PCE Digital Access — Material/Financial Documents = 0.2
- SUR Digital Access document types and weights
- Hyperscalers IaaS — counting stays SUR; no Named User↔vCPU
- Packages / parties that do not require a Named User
- SAP Business One Starter Package user floor/cap
- Programs (SUR is not a program)
- Catalogs