Maintenance programs create and maintain basic codes such as customers, inventory items, GL accounts, currencies, and other data. They are also used to record data that initializes business activity in a module such as sales orders and purchase orders. Most maintenance programs update static data, which is changed infrequently.

Entering data in a maintenance program creates a record in one or more tables controlled by the maintenance program. For example, item records are stored in the Item Master table controlled by Item Master Maintenance.

With non-component maintenance programs, all changes to the record are made in the same maintenance screen In component-based maintenance programs, changes are made in separate Create, Modify, or Delete functions.