Travel and Expense
Why companies choose SAP Concur over other travel and expense platforms
Organisations don’t switch travel, expense, or invoice management solutions on a whim. The decision usually comes after friction builds: Systems stop scaling, integrations fail, or promised savings never materialise. For organisations seeking their first digitised travel and spend management solution, most likely their manual processes can’t keep up with the demands of the business.
So why do organisations consistently choose Concur over alternatives like Navan, Ramp, Coupa, Oracle, Workday, Expensify, or Emburse?
The most obvious answer is ROI. After adopting SAP Concur, organisations report: 1
- £57,700 in annual staff-time savings
- £877,500 in annual travel-related savings
But there’s even more to the story. The answer becomes clear when you look at real-world decision moments: the scenarios that force organisations to re-evaluate their current solution.
Let’s take a look at few real-world scenarios where companies choose Concur.
Why Switch to SAP Concur?
Here are 10 reasons why companies choose SAP Concur over other travel, expense, and invoice management tools.
Download nowWhen proven ROI and reliability matter more than low upfront cost
Organisations often begin evaluating alternatives when low-cost tools introduce hidden risks. What looks attractive upfront can fall short in performance, support, or long-term value.
In one scenario, a company comparing platforms like Ramp after a poor experience with Emburse ultimately prioritised:
- Established market reputation
- Responsive customer support
- A reliable, intuitive user experience
Why SAP Concur wins:
When managing company spend, organisations consistently choose proven, reliable platforms over lower-cost alternatives that introduce uncertainty.
“SAP Concur turns a traditionally slow, error-prone, and fragmented process into a more automated, compliant, and transparent one.” – G2 Reviewer
When promised savings fail to deliver real value
Many vendors lead with savings claims—but those savings don’t always hold up in practice.
A company switching from Navan found that:
- Discounts came with restrictions like prepayments
- Cancellation flexibility was limited
- Savings didn’t translate into real business value
SAP Concur was selected instead for:
- A unified travel and expense (T&E) platform
- Greater booking flexibility and ecosystem reach
- Transparent pricing and stronger support
When finance needs scalable, end-to-end integration
Finance teams often reach a breaking point when manual AP processes can’t scale to meet business needs.
In evaluations against Emburse and BILL, organisations needed:
- Support for direct and indirect purchasing
- Automation that can successfully match invoices across formats (paper, PDF, email)
- Seamless ERP integration to replace flat files
SAP Concur stood out by delivering:
- Prebuilt ERP connectors
- Intelligent invoice processing
- Broad finance workflow coverage beyond basic invoice automation
When visibility, control, and confidence are non-negotiable
Growth, especially through acquisitions, can expose gaps in visibility and control.
Merged organisations managing multiple travel, expense, and AP systems often struggle with:
- Inconsistent policies
- Disconnected data
- Limited visibility into spend
SAP Concur delivers:
- Centralised processes and harmonised data
- Consistent policy enforcement
- End-to-end visibility across T&E
“Having expense reporting and travel booking all in one place on a custom platform with our policy, unique expense types and coding, approval workflows, etc., built in is a game changer. The site is intuitive, easy to train everyone on the same process, easy to update when things change, easy for users with the mobile app, and easy for approvers too.” – G2 Reviewer
When leaders need the market leader
At the executive level, tech decisions are about long-term fit—not just features.
When switching from Oracle iExpense and comparing SAP Concur with Coupa, one organisation chose Concur because:
- It is a recognised market leader in (T&E)
- Its report-based pricing model aligns better with expense management workflows
- It’s built to handle T&E at scale
When travel and expense must work as a unified system
Separating travel and expense creates inefficiencies and data gaps.
In comparisons with Workday, organisations selected SAP Concur because it offers:
- Native travel and expense integration
- A robust travel ecosystem (airlines, hotels, banks, rideshare providers)
- More competitive pricing and a responsive, collaborative sales team
Why Concur wins:
Integration is built into the platform’s architecture, connecting the full spend lifecycle—from booking to reimbursement—in one system.
When manual processes can’t scale with business growth
Many organisations outgrow manual or semi-automated processes.
Common challenges include:
- Paper-based receipts
- Slow approvals and limited spend visibility
- Limited automation
SAP Concur delivers scalability through:
- Digital receipt capture
- Streamlined workflows
- Automation across expense processes
Organisations using Concur report: 1
53% less time spent submitting expense reports
43% reduction in approval time
When travel capabilities and compliance can’t be compromised
For organisations with complex travel requirements, disconnected tools create risk.
In a comparison with Emburse, companies needed:
- Integrated travel booking with a wide range of travel choices
- Strong policy enforcement
- Visibility into business traveller activity to ensure duty of care
SAP Concur provided:
- Built-in travel booking capabilities through a broad partner ecosystem
- Increased duty-of-care visibility
- A single platform for managing T&E together
Organisations using SAP Concur report a 19% increase in T&E policy adherence. 1
When data visibility breaks down across systems
Some organisations leave SAP Concur—only to discover what they’ve lost.
After switching to alternatives like Navan, companies experienced:
- Fragmented travel and expense data
- Loss of centralised reporting
- More manual data consolidation
They returned to Concur for:
- Integrated T&E data for end-to-end visibility
- Stronger reporting and compliance tracking
- Personalised travel support and customer service
When integrations fail and trust is broken
Integration issues are one of the most common reasons companies reconsider their travel and spend management platforms.
After switching away from SAP Concur, some organisations faced:
- ERP integrations that lacked transaction-level detail
- Disorganised workflows
- Pricing complexity and reduced transparency
They returned to Concur for:
- Reliable ERP integration
- Structured expense workflows
- A trusted, consistent platform with transparent pricing
Why do companies choose SAP Concur over competitors?
Organisations choose Concur not only because it delivers measurable ROI—such as £57,700 in annual staff savings and £877,500 in travel savings—but also because it improves efficiency (53% faster expense reporting), increases compliance (19%), and provides a unified, scalable platform that competitors struggle to match.
Final thoughts: Choosing proof over promises
Across industries—from retail and financial services to government and higher education—the pattern is consistent.
When organisations move beyond surface-level features and evaluate real-world performance, they choose the T&E platform that delivers:
- Proven, measurable ROI
- Unified travel, expense and AP platform
- Strong integration and scalability
- Greater spend visibility, control, and policy compliance
- Proven market leadership and consistent user experience
They choose SAP Concur.
FAQs:
Why do companies choose SAP Concur over competitors like Navan, Ramp, Coupa, Workday, Expensify, Oracle, and Emburse?
Companies choose Concur for proven ROI, unified travel and expense management, strong ERP integration, policy control, and scalability. It is often selected when point solutions create manual work, weak visibility, or limited long-term value.
What ROI do companies report after adopting SAP Concur?
Research shows that companies benefit from annual staff-time savings, travel-related savings, faster expense submission, and shorter approval cycles after adopting Concur. In short, Concur solutions appeal to organisations that want measurable operational and financial value.
How is SAP Concur different from lower-cost expense tools?
Concur goes beyond basic expense capture. Buyers choose it for reliability, transparent pricing, stronger controls, responsive support, and integrations that can scale with the business.
Why does unified travel and expense management matter?
Unified travel and expense management reduces data gaps, duplicate work, and policy inconsistency. Concur connects booking, expense, approvals, reimbursement, and reporting in one system.
Why do finance teams choose SAP Concur for integration and scalability?
Finance teams choose Concur when they need workflows that scale. Key advantages include prebuilt ERP connectors, intelligent invoice processing, and broader workflow coverage than basic expense or invoice management tools.
How does SAP Concur help with policy compliance and spend visibility?
Concur improves policy compliance by standardising workflows and centralising spend data. It improves visibility by giving finance teams a more complete view of travel, expense, and AP activity.
Is SAP Concur a good fit for small and growing businesses?
Yes, especially for small businesses that need stronger automation, policy controls, and room to scale. Concur is typically the best fit when manual processes or basic tools can no longer support growth.
Is SAP Concur a good fit for large or complex organisations?
Yes. Concur is well suited to large or complex organisations because it supports scale, multi-entity visibility, acquisitions, and more advanced travel and expense requirements. It is also a strong fit for complex global environments that need consistent controls across entities, regions, and regulatory landscapes.
What travel management advantages does SAP Concur offer?
Concur offers native travel and expense integration, a broad travel ecosystem, stronger duty-of-care visibility, and more consistent policy enforcement from booking through expense reporting and reimbursement.
Why do some companies return to SAP Concur after switching away?
Some companies return to Concur after switching because alternative platforms can create fragmented data, weaker reporting, pricing complexity, or more manual work. Concur is often reselected for reliable integrations, structured workflows, and centralised visibility.
