Tips and Tricks: The Inside Track on SAP Concur solutions

Naomi Hamlin |

As far as the SAP Concur team is concerned, our job is to find new ways to make spend management easier for your business. With that in mind, we’ve created a Tips and Tricks eBook with no less than 187 nuggets of advice on getting the most out of SAP Concur solutions.

How many, you ask? Why the triple figures? Well, you know SAP Concur is an expense automation management solution but you might not know that there are (literally) hundreds of ways you can use our products to run your business at its best. We wouldn’t want you to miss them.

Want to cut your invoice processing time from two weeks to two days or run a training program for your team of administrators? We’ve found a way to do it. Here is just a taster – for the main course, head to the eBook.

Taster Topics

Roll out: We’ve got tips and tricks to tackle change management, admin knowledge transfer, executive sponsorship and setting up user profiles. We can guide you through adding in extra goodies, such as TripLink, so you can capture bookings made via Concur App Centre partners.

Training: Whether you want to throw yourself into a Concur Travel bootcamp or quietly join the SAP Concur community, knowing what training is available is crucial to success. We’ve got toolkits, videos and courses for everyone from Back Office administrators to Advanced Configurators.

Support: A problem that might seem overwhelming, or just plain annoying, can be solved easily with your Authorised Support Contacts. Help them out by checking Concur Open to see if your problem is a widespread issue and ensure you  include screenshots of the problem as well as browser and version info. If nothing else, set up a generic email alias for user queries.

Mobile: Our mobile app makes employees happy by turning laborious, desk-bound chores into quick on-the-go tasks. You probably won’t find it a hard sell – it’s so user-friendly – but for the users who might lag behind we’ve included tips on how to reinforce adoption, such as promoting the TripIt app which creates a dynamic master itinerary. Business travellers will be downloading the app in no time!

Policy: Let us help you shape a travel and expense policy that’s perfect for you, with tools such as Employee Exceptions – Details report and the Guest User feature, which allows guests to file their own expenses. We also offer topical Work From Home expenses advice.

Expense:  Did  you know you can edit expenses by timeframe, itemise hotel charges and edit multiple expenses at once? Learn how use Expense Pay to reimburse employees within days of expense claim approval and reimburse corporate credit card providers before incurring late payment fees. Don’t forget to use ExpenseIT to turn paper receipts into digital records with optical character recognition.

Invoice: Paper-based processes can cause headaches, right? Setting up recurring invoices or routing invoices to invoice owners based on a specific field can lighten the load. Why not use 3-way invoice matching to ensure you only pay for what you receive, or tap into our dashboards to obtain key metrics for the invoice process and its impact on cashflow?

Audit: Whether you’re auditing new employees for the first few months, or looking at out-of-pocket expenses, we recommend auditing 100 percent of expenses through automation. Be both a preventor and a detective, implementing custom audit rules and running reports such as “Reports approved, receipts not viewed”. Great for random auditing!

Mileage: Manual mileage claims can be another source of frustration, but Concur Drive automates the entire process. Did you know that Google Maps integration is possible? There are many other inside tips, including how to track people who regularly go over the desired number of miles.

Travel Management: Travel management and Duty of Care considerations are a serious business for both you and your employees. Get tips on accurate user profiles, correct visas, dynamic airport security information, preferred vendor rates and up-to-the-minute international travel rules – more important than ever in today’s world.

Requests and Budget: Get ahead of the game with Concur Request, which makes it easy for budget managers to review costs before purchases are made, resulting in fewer nasty surprises and greater spend control. Likewise, Budget gives managers a simple view of what’s been spent, what’s pending, and what’s planned.

Reporting: For visibility into spending, use Intelligence wisely with our tips and tricks to gaining actionable insights into employee spend. For a deeper dive, Consultative Intelligence gives access to expense analytics experts.

Try It for Yourself

As you can see, there is so much more to the SAP Concur platform than first meets the eye. Head to the eBook for more essential, bite-sized advice on the many clever ways SAP Concur solutions can automate tasks and solve problems quickly.

You’ll reap the rewards of greater efficiency and fewer challenges and you’ll get the most from your investment.

SAP Concur Tips & Tricks: 187 Best Practices, Industry Recommendations and Ah-Ha Moments