SAP Concur and TransferMate discuss cross-border payment challenges, including manual processes, high fees, and compliance issues. TransferMate's automation solution reduces labor and improves efficiency, supporting 162 countries and 134 currencies. Transaction volumes rose over 800% in 2021.
An SAP Concur blog post notes that utility and energy companies must comply with municipal, state, and federal regulations, including those of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), yet many still rely on multiple outdated, on-premises legacy financial systems to maintain and audit employee spend data. This makes it hard to see how money is spent and by whom, review and control spend before it happens, enforce compliance with spend policies and financial regulations, spot data patterns hidden across channels or systems, and actively identify and mitigate spend fraud, waste, and abuse. The post recommends modernizing and automating systems to insert controls at the point of purchas…
An SAP Concur blog post notes that higher education institutions and K12 schools must comply with a variety of government laws, regulations, and oversight, yet many have multiple outdated, on-premises legacy finance systems containing faculty, staff, and sometimes student spending data. Before this data can be used, it often must be manually combined in a spreadsheet, making it hard for schools to see how money is spent and by whom, review and control spend before it happens, enforce spend policy compliance, spot data patterns hidden across channels or systems, and actively identify and mitigate spend fraud, abuse, and waste. The post recommends modernizing and automating systems to insert…
An SAP Concur blog post notes that city and county finance teams must comply with various government laws and regulations, yet many state and local government organizations have multiple outdated, on-premises legacy finance systems containing employee spend data. Before this data can be used, it often must be manually combined in a spreadsheet, making it hard for organizations to see how money is spent and by whom, review and control spend before it happens, enforce spend policy compliance, spot data patterns hidden across channels or systems, and actively identify and mitigate spend fraud, abuse, and waste. The post recommends that state and local government organizations modernize and aut…
SAP Concur published spend management guidance for aerospace, defense, and government contractors, noting they must achieve and maintain DCAA compliance but outdated legacy financial systems make spend visibility, pre-spend control, and compliance enforcement difficult. It recommends modernizing and automating systems, inserting controls at the point of purchase, using AI and machine learning to review expense data, and adopting best practices such as clear T&E policies, ongoing training, pre-spend authorization, policy-built-in online booking tools, and mobile receipt capture.
SAP Concur article discusses how remote and hybrid work have expanded employee benefits, requiring businesses to manage tax compliance for taxable benefits. Travel spending dropped from 65% in 2019 to 33%, while miscellaneous spending rose. Blue dot analysis found 10-20% of transactions may include taxable benefits. Businesses need automated systems to accurately report taxable benefits and avoid audits and penalties. SAP Concur partners with Blue dot for Concur Benefits Assurance.
SAP Concur article emphasizes the importance of accounts payable (AP) automation. Businesses spend an average of 13 hours per week processing invoices; automation can reduce misplaced invoices by 22%, save 12 hours weekly, and save approximately $44,000 annually. It recommends cloud solutions integrated with ERP and mobile access.
SAP Concur article notes that manual invoice management leads to duplicate payments, missed deadlines, and other issues. Nearly a third of companies see duplicate invoices as a top financial challenge, and 43% lack cash flow visibility. Automated invoice management can save 122 hours per week and $44,000 annually.
SAP Concur article emphasizes integrating travel, expense, and invoice management. Through automated compliance checks, mobile access, and comprehensive reporting, businesses can improve efficiency, reduce costs, enhance compliance, and leverage data-driven decisions.
A SAP Concur blog post examines how companies handle invoices that fall outside their procurement system, such as those from utility providers, marketing, catering, and events. It recommends capabilities including pre-spend authorization, automated invoice scanning, automated early payment to capture supplier discounts, and mobile approval to control costs, ensure compliance, and improve cash flow.
A SAP Concur blog post notes that remote work and disrupted travel led companies to shift spending policies, while supply-chain chaos and inflation further clouded the policy picture. SAP Concur research shows the spending violation rate increased last year and excessive personal expenses jumped nearly 22%. The post recommends automation, AI, and machine learning to strengthen auditing, guide employee compliance, and adapt to policy changes.
A SAP Concur blog post argues that employee spending decisions are both moments of risk and moments of opportunity. It identifies four key moments: turning confusing processes into moments of clarity with intelligent tech, turning regulatory shifts into moments of certainty with spend management solutions, turning spending decisions into moments of accuracy with precise data, and turning frustrating invoices into moments of confidence by simplifying invoice management.
A SAP Concur podcast conversation with Dr. Mark Stirling of Blue dot discusses the complexity of domestic and foreign VAT reclaim. Blue dot finds 23% of expense reports have incorrect tax information, and about 100 VAT rule changes occurred across multiple countries. The discussion also covers the post-pandemic rise of non-trip spend from under 5% to 25%, and the tax treatment of taxable employee benefits and bleisure travel.
This SAP Concur blog post argues that accounts payable (AP) automation doesn't have to be a big-bang project. Companies can start from their current state and take small steps to gradually transition to full automation. The article outlines three common stages: manual paper-based processes, some automation, and full automation. Benefits include greater visibility into spend, improved payment strategy, faster reimbursements, and better cash flow.
A SAP Concur blog post shares a podcast conversation with Lyndon Group about optimizing T&E management during disruption. Lyndon Group won the SAP Concur Partner Growth award for helping customers optimize platforms. The conversation covers ERP transitions, automation, policy creation, auditing, and regulatory changes. Key advice includes early involvement in ERP planning, leveraging automation, clear policies, and healthy auditing.
An SAP Concur blog post cites GBTA data to highlight the high cost of manual expense report processing, with an average cost of $58 per report and 19% of reports containing errors. The article recommends automating workflows, integrating with accounting systems, and implementing corporate card policies to reduce manual effort, improve data accuracy, lower costs, and increase employee satisfaction.
SAP Concur published a case study on how investment advisory firm Mairs & Power automated its accounts payable processes by implementing Concur Invoice. The firm, with over $9.5 billion in managed assets, previously had its finance team bogged down by administrative tasks. After implementing Concur Invoice, Accountant and Financial Analyst Luke Odegaard gained an entire day every week back to focus on strategic growth. The company also gained better visibility into invoicing and expenses to support business decisions.
This SAP Concur blog post stresses that while pursuing growth, companies must adhere to expense policies and regulations. Compliance is not a necessary evil but essential to protect against overspending, fraud, and fines. It recommends using automation for real-time reviews, intelligent flagging, and analytics to build a culture of compliance, making compliant spending easier than non-compliant.
SAP Concur blog and WSJ podcast discuss T&E compliance. T&E fraud is a human problem; when employees book and expense themselves, they can easily fall outside policy accidentally or purposely. Random audits are like looking for a needle in a haystack. AI and machine learning can help build a culture of compliance, automatically auditing every transaction and detecting fraud, errors, and misuse.
A SAP Concur blog post explores how businesses can control costs and drive savings by gaining a holistic view of spend data. It notes that employee-initiated spend is difficult to control and fragmented across channels, and timely consolidated reporting to departmental managers is crucial for managing actual spend against budget. Automating travel and expense processes is a critical first step but not the only action. Integrating all employee spending, from p-cards to invoices, helps align spending with strategic priorities, stay nimble, and redirect funds. SAP Concur solutions capture and consolidate all travel, expense, and invoice data, providing real-time transparency to forecast costs,…
A SAP Concur blog post notes that the integration of purchasing cards (p-cards) has freed organizations across industries from paper-based purchase orders. As p-card transaction volumes continue to grow, healthcare organizations are seeking more efficient ways to increase control and visibility over this spend category. Manually managing p-cards slows down the AP process, causes missed rebates, and can lead to waste, out-of-policy spending, and fraudulent activity. SAP Concur's Company Bill Statements solution simplifies and centralizes the p-card process, enabling purchase-to-general-ledger completion in days rather than weeks.
The article emphasizes the need for flexible processes and sufficient cash flow to handle sudden changes. SAP Concur offers a checklist of seven best practices, including identifying critical processes, automating spend management, cloud access, and data analytics to build resilience.
A SAP Concur blog post notes that business travel has long faced challenges including logistics, expense compliance decisions, and expense report submission. It introduces how SAP Concur solutions use AI to simplify travel and expense experiences, citing a Forbes article showing how AI assistants help business travelers plan trips and offload financial decision-makers' busywork. Using fictional VP of Procurement Judy as an example, it shows AI can automatically develop itineraries, recommend hotels, provide built-in compliance policy queries, and AI-assisted auditing of 100% of expenses to speed up reimbursement.
The SAP Concur blog discusses challenges faced by higher education finance departments in remote work environments, including unexpected expenses, a surge in invoices and reimbursement requests, and traditional policies that don't fit. The article emphasizes automation, integration, and digitization as key solutions, enabling streamlined workflows, AI-driven auditing, and real-time visibility to control costs and improve compliance.
SAP Concur has released a new eBook, "Why SAP Concur? And the Cost of Doing Nothing," discussing the risks of not investing in automated expense, travel, and invoice management. The article states that 75% of finance leaders say their business often exceeds expense, travel, and invoice budgets; manual processes and siloed data can lead to wasted time, lost productivity, unclaimed VAT, and spiraling costs. SAP Concur says its cloud-based and mobile-optimized tools can help automate processes, increase compliance, and reduce fraud risk.
A SAP Concur blog post advises small and medium-sized businesses to create or update expense policies to streamline reporting, reviewing, and approval processes. It emphasizes that policies should be clear, easy to find, and highlight benefits, and recommends supplementing policies with automation tools like Concur Expense.
A SAP Concur blog post notes that according to Aberdeen Group, SMBs spend an average of $35.02 to process one expense report. Manual expense reports involve employees sorting receipts, entering data, making copies, following up on missing documentation, and obtaining approvals, which is time-consuming and error-prone. Finance teams also review and reconcile. The article provides a formula: annual hours spent on expense reports multiplied by average hourly rate divided by number of expense reports per year equals cost per report. It recommends automated cloud solutions like Concur Expense, which allows mobile receipt capture, reduces human error, provides near real-time visibility, and scale…
SAP Concur blog post discusses workplace stress, citing American Psychological Association data: 61% of Americans cite work as a significant stressor. It notes 44% of working adults say their job affects overall health, and 36% of workers suffer from work-related stress costing U.S. businesses $30 billion a year in lost workdays. The article suggests assessing stressors, managing health, creating a positive work environment, and mentions automating expense processes to reduce finance team stress.
SAP Concur published an article discussing how city governments can improve efficiency through automated expense and accounts payable management. The article notes that remote work and paper invoice backlogs increase management challenges, and recommends integrated expense and AP systems to control costs, track employee spending, and simplify budget management. Automation can increase productivity, reduce errors, improve cash flow, enhance compliance, and reduce fraud risk.
SAP Concur published a blog post discussing how technology can help businesses prevent fraud and save money. The article cites a report from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) estimating $7.1 billion in annual losses due to internal fraud, with the average organization losing 5% of its annual revenue. It notes that small and mid-size businesses face higher risks of duplicate invoices and recommends preventing fraud through automated expense management, mobile solutions, and clear policies.
SAP Concur published an article on how companies can strengthen T&E spend oversight without adding headcount. T&E can account for as much as 10% of a company's budget, and greater employee spending power raises risks of fraud, compliance breaches and traveler safety. SAP Concur offers mobile tools that help write expense reports, automatically applies spending controls and targeted audit rules, and Concur Audit uses objective experts to review reports against internal policies and regulatory requirements. An IDC infographic shows that after implementing SAP Concur, 62% more employees followed T&E policies, lost receipts fell 67%, auditing staff was 28% more efficient, and businesses saw ave…
In an AP Recognition Week post, SAP Concur notes that accounts payable (AP) is often the last line of defense for small and midsize businesses (SMBs) managing cash flow. Many AP teams still handle paper invoices with convoluted workflows and non-disaster-proof storage. The post states that most SMBs it works with process around 600 invoices per month, at least half arriving as paper, causing heavy manual data entry, approvals, and reconciliation. SAP Concur recommends cloud-based AP tools such as Concur Invoice to automate invoice receipt, processing, payment management, and settlement, enabling faster audits, better cash flow management, and increased spend visibility.
A SAP Concur blog post argues that many corporate expense and invoice processes were originally quick fixes and may no longer be fit for purpose as businesses grow. It recommends automation, cloud-based tools, and customizable integrated solutions to improve scalability. A customer case notes invoice approvals taking days and high paper and storage costs. A study cited found finance teams using automated T&E solutions saw a 15% reduction in time spent processing expense reports, while invoice management users saw a 16% reduction.
SAP Concur's blog notes that finance departments often scramble to account for employee expenses during year-end reporting. It recommends reviewing the end-to-end expense process, clarifying responsibilities, and adopting automation to increase visibility. An automated system can track expenses in real time and support mobile receipt submission, speeding up reimbursement and reducing non-compliance and fraud risks.
SAP Concur suggests finance managers improve team efficiency with three steps: ensure members understand team and corporate goals, provide tools like automated AP and expense software, and play to members' strengths. Automation streamlines processes, increases spend visibility, and supports remote work.
A SAP Concur blog post opens with the idea that doing the same thing repeatedly while expecting different results is futile, arguing that companies relying on manual processes and outdated systems will not see unexpected spend, poor productivity and employee dissatisfaction resolve themselves. It says travel and expense is often the second-largest spend for businesses, and that Concur Expense and Concur Travel help review consolidated reliable data, spot cost-saving opportunities, and improve policy compliance, productivity and employee satisfaction.
This SAP Concur blog post emphasizes that moving from manual expense management to automated, cloud-based solutions saves time and improves competitiveness. Automation allows teams to spend less time on expense reports and invoice reconciliation, focusing on strategic matters. Mobile capabilities further boost productivity, with 57% of SMBs reporting over 50% of employees using mobile devices for business.
A SAP Concur podcast features TCG Consulting experts discussing three priorities for organizations preparing for financial disruption: spend category management, mobile adoption and new employee spend behaviors. The discussion covers gift card spend auditing, mobile-first strategies, receipt thresholds and travel policy automation.
The pandemic has caused state and local governments to face unexpected expenses and new spending categories, with 68% of decision makers citing this as a major challenge. CARES Act funding comes with compliance requirements; automating expense and invoice management provides real-time visibility, ensures compliance, and adapts to change.
A SAP Concur blog post argues that small businesses still tracking expenses manually may miss opportunities due to poor visibility and inefficient processes. It recommends cloud-based automated spend management so employees can file expenses on the road and managers can see up-to-date data in real time. The post suggests estimating manual-process cost as hours spent multiplied by employee hourly wage, and stresses that automation enhances existing processes, so companies should first fix or create an expense policy before automating.