2019 Review of SAP Concur Expense

[From the 2019 reviews of Expense Management systems.]

Concur Expense, from SAP Concur is well suited for businesses of any size, with two versions of the product available; the Standard edition, which helps businesses get up and running quickly with simple activation and expense processes, and the Professional edition, which offers more advanced functionality and more extensive integration options for businesses with complex needs.

Some of the latest features found in SAP Concur include the addition of Budget, which allows managers to better manage and track expenses, Concur Detect by AppZen, which automatically audits expense reports for fraud and compliance issues in real time and Concur Drive, which allows users to automatically use GPS to track travel distance on SAP Concur’s newly redesigned mobile app. Added recently is the Missing Receipt Declaration on mobile, which allows users to attach a missing receipt declaration to any expense report.

As a cloud-based solution, Concur Expense can be utilized on desktop systems, as well as smart phones and tablets. To easily manage receipts, users can quickly snap a photo and attach it directly to the appropriate expense report. All uploaded receipts are analyzed using optical recognition technology (OCR), and automatically itemized using the ExpenseIt feature which uses machine learning to automatically categorize all line item expenses on the receipt. Users can easily review the results and make any corrections prior to uploading the receipt. Concur Expense integrates with SAP Concur’s broader partner ecosystem to manage and store eReceipts. For example, Concur TripLink connects directly with partner suppliers including airlines, hotels, rental cars and more to automatically feed booking data and Invoice/Receipts made outside of traditional booking channels into Concur Expense.

Concur Expense offers multiple product access levels, with product administrators able to email an invitation to those they wish to sign up. Once a user signs up, they are assigned an appropriate system access level and corresponding capabilities, including the ability to submit an expense report, the ability to approve reports, and the ability to make changes in the system as needed.

Concur Expense offers both multi-currency and multi-language capability, with automatic calculations completed based on current exchange rates. It integrates with popular ERP applications such as QuickBooks, NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics, Intacct, SAP and Salesforce, as well as an ecosystem of more than 200 third-party apps like Taxback International and VAT IT to automate the value-added tax reclaim process, and MileIQ and TripLog to automatically expense mileage..

For additional spend management, Concur Invoice works in tandem with Concur Expense. Concur Invoice automates the accounts payable process to give small businesses visibility into cash flow while boosting employee productivity. It connects with POs, e-invoices, paper and e-mailed invoices and supplier networks to collect, manage and pay invoices, and creates pre-defined reports, dashboards and key metrics. Tapping into the SAP network, SAP Concur further integrates with SAP Ariba and SAP Fieldglass to provide end-to-end intelligent spend management across travel and expense, invoice, supplier and workforce management.

For businesses that need travel management capability, Concur Travel integrates with Concur Expense, automatically processing all travel related expenses, while also offering global travel booking solutions. There are also partner apps available that offer employee time tracking and timesheet capability. For small businesses specifically, Concur Hipmunk is an option for lightweight travel and expense management. Small businesses can book travel and manage travel-related expenses, which automatically flow into Concur Expense, and access discounts with airline, hotel or car-rental partners.

SAP Concur also offers the Concur Travel and Concur Expense bots on Slack so employees can book business travel and submit expenses directly within Slack. Powered by AI and natural language processing (NLP), users can upload receipts, generate and approve expense reports, search and book flights and retrieve itineraries through simple text commands.

Credit card expenses can be automatically uploaded into SAP Concur by simply adding credit card information during the product setup process, allowing SAP Concur to match credit card expenses against line item expenses and uploaded receipt images. The expense report approval process is also defined during product setup, with multiple approvers supported. Approvers can approve all expenses, all line by line expenses, sending the unapproved expenses back to the submitter for additional information.

Concur Expense also offers a good variety of expense related reports, including the Top Spenders Report, Top Vendors Report, Expenses by Type Report, and a Transaction Detail Report. Concur Travel also offers a variety of travel related reports that detail travel spending. A report training option is available in Concur Expense, where users can view all available reports and request help in accessing the reports if necessary. All SAP Concur reports can be viewed on screen, emailed directly to recipients, or exported as a CSV file or to Microsoft Excel for further customization if desired.

A variety of help and support options are available through Concur Support, where users can search a product knowledgebase, access the toll-free support number, or contact support via email. A training toolkit is also available which offers access to additional product resources such as getting started guides and report training guides.

Concur Expense is well suited for businesses of any size. Two product versions are currently available, Standard, which is a good starting point for smaller businesses, and Professional, which offers specialized plans that can include advanced expense policies, advanced approval workflows, and more integration options. The Standard edition typically runs around $8.00 per expense report processed, while those interested in the Professional version can obtain a pricing quote directly from SAP Concur. Those interested can request a free trial from SAP Concur to try out prior to purchasing.

2019 Rating: 5 Stars

 

 

 

2019 Rating: 5 Stars