Introduction to SAP Concur: The Modules (2/3)

This article is the second part of the presentation of the SAP Concur solution modules. You can find the first article introducing the 4 main modules here.

As a reminder, the information presented comes from our knowledge of the solution but does not necessarily provide an exhaustive list of products and services that are constantly evolving.

SAP Concur offers complementary modules to its main offering, designed to work in interaction with the main modules (Expense, Request, Travel and/or Invoice). The offering can be grouped into 3 main categories:

• Modules for Concur Expense
• Reporting modules
• Extensions (SolEx)

This article presents the modules developed and maintained by SAP Concur, namely the first 2 categories above. The "Solution Extensions" (SolEx) will be covered in a future article.

Modules for Concur Expense

Budget

As its name suggests, this module allows budgets to be managed by comparing, by period, projected expenses against actual expenses.

For example, if each department has a training budget and the corresponding expenses are entered in Concur Expense, the budget defined at the start of the fiscal year is automatically updated with each new expense.

The budget owner can then track training expenses via a dashboard and instantly view the remaining budget:

Key features of Concur Budget:

• Budget management by team or organizational structure (company, department, division, cost center, etc.)
• Budget period (monthly, quarterly or annual) by fiscal or calendar year
• Automatic budget control (ability to block the approval workflow or trigger an additional step if the budget exceeds X%)
• Possible permission segregation with multiple roles: budget owner, budget approver, budget viewer and module administrator
• Loading budgets via flat file or API

The module works with data from Concur Expense, Concur Request and Concur Invoice.

Central Reconciliation

The Central Reconciliation module of SAP Concur allows a processor to reconcile and compare invoices generated by a lodge card with the pre-approved expenses appearing in a Travel Request associated with the employee.

This centralized approach to managing and paying business expenses provides a method for controlling and validating expenses. Approvers can use the Central Reconciliation features to perform automatic reconciliation of transactions, analyze discrepancies and ensure that expenses match the initial authorizations.

Key features of Central Reconciliation:

• Centralize the processing of expenses related to lodge cards (airlines, hotels, travel agencies, etc.)
• Secure the payment process through systematic reconciliation with approved travel requests
• Improve financial visibility and control of travel expenses
• Strengthen compliance with internal policies and audit requirements
• Obtain the total cost of a mission

The module works essentially with data from Concur Request.

Expense Pay

The Expense Pay feature of SAP Concur allows the generation and execution of payments related to expense reports to be automated, ensuring secure, centralized processing that complies with the company's financial policies.

With Expense Pay, payments are automatically generated after expense validation and electronically transmitted to recipients, thus reducing manual interventions and the risk of errors.

Expense Pay in SAP Concur notably allows the automation of:

• the reimbursement of expenses advanced by employees (cash or out-of-pocket expenses), from the company to the employee
• the reimbursement or settlement of expenses paid with a compatible corporate credit card (IBIP or IBCP programs)
• the distribution of approved cash advances, paid by the company to the employee before a business trip

This automation ensures efficient management of financial flows related to business expenses, while improving traceability and payment speed.

Payments generated by Expense Pay are grouped into payment batches, that is, sets of payment instructions organized according to predefined rules (batch definitions).

This mechanism allows:

• centralizing expense report payments
• ensuring secure and automated execution of transfers
• simplifying integration with financial and banking systems
• improving control and visibility over payments made

Reporting Modules

The Analysis and Intelligence modules of SAP Concur form the foundation for reporting and analyzing business expense data. They allow Finance teams and decision-makers to access reliable, actionable and real-time information to improve cost management, strengthen compliance and support decision-making.

These tools transform data from expense reports, travel and corporate cards into performance indicators, dashboards and detailed analyses, essential for modern expense management.

SAP Concur Analysis

The Analysis module of SAP Concur offers a library of standard reports to quickly visualize business expenses, identify trends and track key performance indicators (KPIs).

It is an accessible reporting tool, immediately operational, without specific development.

SAP Concur Analysis notably allows you to:

• access standard reports on expense reports and travel expenses
• track expenses by entity, department, employee or expense category
• analyze spending trends over time
• identify deviations from internal policies
• improve financial visibility for Finance teams and managers

This module is particularly suitable for organizations that want to quickly obtain a consolidated view of expenses, without complex configuration.

Typical use cases:

• Monthly tracking of expenses by entity, cost center, etc.
• Analysis of travel expenses by country or supplier
• Monitoring compliance with expense policies
• Preparation of periodic financial reporting

SAP Concur Intelligence

The Intelligence module of SAP Concur is an advanced reporting solution. It allows you to create custom reports, interactive dashboards and complex analyses tailored to the company's specific needs.

Unlike Analysis, which provides standard reports, Intelligence offers total flexibility to leverage expense data.

SAP Concur Intelligence notably allows you to:

• create custom and dynamic reports
• build interactive dashboards for the Finance Department
• consolidate data from multiple entities or systems
• analyze expenses at a very fine level of detail
• automate the production of complex reports
• meet audit and compliance requirements

This module is particularly relevant for organizations with advanced needs in business intelligence, financial governance or strategic expense management.

Typical use cases:

• Consolidated multi-entity or international reporting
• Detailed analysis of expenses by policy or category
• Monitoring compliance and fraud indicators
• Production of dashboards for the Finance Department (CFO)
• Data analysis to optimize Travel & Expense budgets

Analysis versus Intelligence Comparison

Cognos roles explained:

• Cognos Consumer: this role allows the execution of predefined queries and reports provided by SAP Concur, as well as reports saved by users with the Business Author role.
• Cognos Business Author: this role provides access to reporting tools (Query Studio for building simple reports) as well as standard reports.
• Cognos Professional Author: this role provides access to reporting tools (Report Studio for building advanced reports and dashboards) as well as standard reports (with the ability to modify them).

The third part of this series covers the Solution Extensions (SOLEX) and Endorsed Apps that extend SAP Concur even further.

Thank you for reading and do not hesitate to contact us to learn more or react.