What Does Infotype Mean?
An infotype is an information unit used to maintain master data related to SAP human resource management systems (HRMS). An infotypes contains a four-digit code with a related name and is capable of maintaining employee data. In SAP, infotypes are capable of handling human resource (HR) information, which is often time-sensitive.
Infotypes allow users to conveniently maintain and retrieve HR information, while providing the consistency check required for a HRMS by auto-checking entries with preset values and conditions.
Techopedia Explains Infotype
Transaction PA20 may be used to view infotype information.
The following are infotype characteristics:
- Comprehensive structure to cover all HR information attributes. The structure also may be enhanced to suit different customers, based on requirements.
- Time-dependent data storage
- Data entry classification
- Access authorization, which may be defined at the infotype level
A SAP infotype has data entry fields that are classified as mandatory or optional. When an employee record is updated, old data is automatically time-delimited, and each infotype record is provided with a validity period. One can define the interaction of an infotype’s data records based on validity periods.
Some infotypes may be further categorized to different groups known as subtypes, which are based on themes.