The article recommends adopting online accounting, automated finance processes, digital distribution, supply chain optimization, cybersecurity, and IoT to improve productivity and resilience. These measures help navigate uncertain times.
SAP Concur blog notes 96% of businesses plan to grow, but manual AP processes can be a bottleneck. Finance teams spend 60% of time on day-to-day processes. 41% of finance leaders are concerned about staff productivity; 32% about turnover and low morale. Automation saves a five-person finance team 40 hours per week and $34,000 annually on average. More than two-thirds of finance leaders aren't completely confident their business is protected against fraud.
A SAP Concur blog post notes that many accounts payable processes appear automated but still rely on faxes, scanned images, and manual steps. It describes four common scenarios: centralized vs. decentralized capture, semi-automated approval workflows, ERP module limitations, and insufficient payment optimization. True AP automation should be entirely paperless, with all invoices received electronically and all communication around approvals or matching issues in a single system. The article recommends assessing automation levels and considering specialized solutions.
Taxback International, the first technology partner to integrate with SAP Concur to automate the entire VAT reclaim process, continues to innovate for efficiency, visibility, and regulatory compliance. The article highlights the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act limits on meals and entertainment deductions, post-Brexit uncertainty for UK VAT reclaim, and the EU's 2021 e-commerce VAT rules. Taxback International's cloud software adapts to changing rules, helping companies manage compliance risk and optimize reclaim.
SAP Concur lists five things AP teams didn't sign up for: tedious manual invoice processing, being overwhelmed by paper invoices, lacking authority to fix broken processes while being scapegoated, feeling ignored, and working weekends to approve invoices. The post states most SMBs have two to four AP professionals processing hundreds or thousands of paper invoices monthly. Manual processes cause difficulty tracking spending, incomplete documentation, duplicate data, poor cash flow visibility, and slow approvals. SAP Concur recommends invoice automation to cut processing time, free teams for spend analysis and cost-saving, and claims automation saves companies tens of thousands of dollars an…
A SAP Concur blog post notes that expense approval is both an administrative burden and a vital task. 5% of a typical organization's annual revenue is lost to fraud, and 10% of travelers have at least one duplicate expense averaging over $50. The article offers four tips: use automation to spot inconsistencies, train approvers, review the approval chain, and consider Concur Audit as a safety net. Placing automation at the heart of the approval process can reduce approver time and increase compliance confidence.
A SAP Concur blog post discusses the cost control and compliance pressures facing finance teams, as well as employee turnover risk. It notes that digital solutions such as automation, machine learning, AI, and ERP integration can improve employee experience and efficiency. Using SAP Concur solutions can reduce time to fill out an expense report by 43%, time to reimburse expenses by 50%, and increase employees following T&E policies by 32%. The post also poses five key questions to help finance leaders reimagine travel, invoice, and expense management.
SAP Concur article emphasizes the importance of automation and integration. Automation saves costs, but without integration with finance systems, efficiency is limited. SAP Concur offers pre-built connectors supporting various ERPs, automatically syncing data to reduce manual entry and errors.
SAP Concur states that according to the most recent global study on occupational fraud and abuse, the typical organization loses 5% of annual revenue to white-collar crimes. From 2018 to 2019, this included 2,504 fraud cases, 125 countries, $1.5 million average loss per case, and $3.6 billion total losses. ACFE President James D. Ratley says fraud rises during economic uncertainty. ACFE survey shows 55.4% of respondents said fraud levels increased in the past 12 months; nearly 60% of in-house CFEs reported layoffs, 35% of those companies eliminated some controls, and only 3.2% increased controls. SAP Concur recommends automated internal controls to supplement human oversight.
SAP Concur was ranked the #1 Leader in four of G2's Summer 2020 Grid Reports: Travel Management, Expense Management, Invoice Management, and Travel & Expense Management. More than 5,000 users provided reviews, with users especially appreciating compliance and expense automation features. G2 Director of Market Research Kara Kennedy said high market presence and strong user satisfaction ratings drove the top rankings.
SAP Concur published a blog post explaining how integrating accounts payable (AP) processes with enterprise ERP systems addresses three primary issues: siloed information, disparate systems, and error-prone manual processes. Citing an IDC report, the article notes that technologies like cloud, machine learning, and advanced analytics are transforming AP management, and positions SAP as a leader in worldwide cloud and SaaS ERP AR and AP applications. The integration enables near real-time data synchronization between SAP Concur and SAP systems with no manual interaction, improving visibility, reducing risk, and enhancing compliance.
A SAP Concur blog post states that business recovery requires accurate, real-time spending and budget data. A study found that 93% of global finance, IT, and operations executives agreed that maintaining organizational agility is the only way to navigate uncertainty, and 90% said a scalable, automated T&E management solution is key to controlling policy and protocol. The article emphasizes that digital and automated spend management can improve accuracy, control, and cost savings.
SAP Concur published an article recommending that businesses automate accounts payable invoice management to avoid cash-flow problems and achieve business growth. It cites a white paper by AMI-Partners in partnership with Concur, stating that automation tools enable businesses to save $1,100 for every 100 invoices and reduce invoice processing time by 16% a week. The article also uses baseball and toothpaste analogies to emphasize the importance of precisely understanding cash flow and controlling costs.
This SAP Concur blog post explores hidden costs in invoice processing. According to AIIM research, the average cost to process a single invoice is $12.90. A typical SMB processes 450 invoices per month with a duplication rate of 1.29%, and labor costs make up 62% of total AP costs. The article recommends reviewing AP systems, centralizing invoice submission, and adopting automation to reduce errors.
SAP Concur published a blog post discussing the financial risks and compliance issues of self-reported mileage reimbursement. The article notes that self-reported mileage relies on an honor system, making it prone to errors or exaggeration, which increases company costs and potential fraud. Without receipts, it is difficult to verify accuracy or ensure compliance with tax and regulatory requirements. The article recommends automated mileage tracking tools like Concur Drive to accurately capture distance and routes, reducing overstatement, improving audit readiness, and establishing a culture of compliance.
The article emphasizes the importance of recognizing accounts payable (AP) teams and offers various ways to show appreciation, such as providing automation tools, investing in career development, and offering leadership opportunities. Automating AP processes improves efficiency, reduces errors, and frees time for more valuable work.
SAP Concur blog states finance leaders can drive growth by providing real-time visibility, coaching on budgets, managing cash flow, and freeing finance staff. However, most finance departments still work manually, spending 60% to 70% of time gathering information. Without visibility and controls over discretionary spending like travel, expenses, and invoiced purchases, costs can spiral and fraud can occur. IT leaders can support intelligent finance by implementing automation that integrates travel, expense, and invoice management.
SAP Concur article notes that hybrid work accelerates digitalization needs, but manual processes and 'finance hacks' increase risk. 47% of finance and IT leaders agree remote work highlighted inefficient processes. Automated spend management reduces expense report time by 43%, increases policy compliance by 32%, reduces lost receipts by 43%, and reduces invoice processing time by 68%.
A SAP Concur blog post explores industry benchmarks for accounts payable efficiency, noting that delayed payments can lead to finance charges, poor vendor relations, credit rating downgrades, and supply chain disruptions, while paying too early impacts cash flow. It introduces the 'time-to-pay' metric and recommends keeping overall time-to-pay between two days to approve and three days to pay. It also lists best practices including configuring audit rules, integrating card feeds, automating receipt capture, and automating payment processes.
SAP Concur article outlines seven stages of business growth, from startup to international expansion, and references the Ansoff Matrix's four growth strategies. It emphasizes that manual processes become inefficient as businesses grow, and automated invoice management can help save money, improve efficiency, and support scaling.
SAP Concur blog highlights that increasing employee-initiated spend channels complicate compliance and fraud risks. ACFE data shows asset misappropriation occurs in over 86% of occupational fraud cases with a median loss of $100,000, while financial statement fraud accounts for 10% of cases but a median loss of $954,000. Travel and expense is a major fraud area, with schemes including mileage padding, fake expenses, and unused airline tickets. Proactive data monitoring can reduce fraud losses by 33%.
SAP Concur case study shows a U.S. state accounting office transformed its paper-based reimbursement process into an automated, integrated travel and spend management system using Concur Travel and Concur Expense. The state's 70,000 employees benefit from mobile receipt upload, automatic mileage reimbursement, and automatic per diem calculation. 86% of users found approving reports easy, with approval taking no more than three days. The state also gained greater visibility into hotel spend through enhanced reporting, supporting more informed negotiation decisions.
SAP Concur published an article noting that faculty and staff at colleges and universities are spending more of their institution's money across more spend categories and using more payment methods than ever before. For finance departments still struggling with manual processes, accurately tracking spending is challenging. The article recommends that institutions adopt modern spend management solutions to increase visibility, prevent duplicate payments, flag unusual transactions, and take advantage of discounted supplier rates. It also outlines critical steps such as automating all spending, embracing an open strategy, strategically managing spending, and reviewing spending.
A SAP Concur blog post discusses the importance of employee happiness amid the pandemic and Great Resignation, arguing that happiness breeds engagement, which in turn affects loyalty, productivity and profits. It says the issue is not money but frustrating, menial day-to-day tasks, especially travel and expense processes such as keeping paper receipts, filling out expense reports, and booking on a legacy travel program only to find the purchase falls outside a corporate rule they had never heard of. The post lists common employee complaints and suggests improving the experience with apps that automatically build expense reports, replace paper receipts with digital records, provide location-…
A SAP Concur blog post states that a typical organization loses about 5% of annual revenue to fraud each year, and employee expenses, especially travel, are both a large budget category and an opportunity for fraudulent claims. It recommends a corporate credit card program to tighten controls, with credit and transaction limits plus merchant and location controls, and data flowing directly to the company for monitoring suspicious spend. It also suggests integrating corporate cards with automated cloud-based expense solutions for visibility and reporting data.
A SAP Concur blog post highlights that AspireHR, an SAP Gold Partner, is helping State, Local, and Education (SLED) agencies in North America kickstart digital transformation with SAP Concur's automated, cloud-based expense management solutions. The article notes that with remote work as the new norm, SLED organizations face pressure to improve efficiency, eliminate manual processes, and make decisions based on complete and accurate data. SAP Concur can accelerate approvals and reimbursements, streamline workflows, enforce spending policies, eliminate manual processes and lost receipts, and enhance productivity and employee experience.
A SAP Concur blog post outlines six ways companies can save money by tapping into business expense data: avoiding emergency borrowing, negotiating better rates with commonly used suppliers, preventing rogue spending, preparing audits with ease and reclaiming VAT effectively, making cost-effective strategic decisions, and enjoying efficiency savings. The post emphasizes that accurate, actionable data from automated expense, travel, and invoice systems helps identify spend patterns, anomalies, and savings opportunities.
A SAP Concur blog post discusses the benefits of a cost-conscious spend management strategy for SMBs during growth. Citing an Oxford Economics survey of 500 decision makers at expanding companies, including 150 classified as 'cost-conscious' SMBs, it reports cost-conscious SMBs are more likely to spend time on cash flow and spending management (74% vs 45%), expense report processing (67% vs 55%), growth strategy alignment (70% vs 38%), FP&A (71% vs 55%), IT collaboration (70% vs 38%), and payroll (57% vs 41%). After expansion, cost-conscious SMBs report fewer administrative issues such as invoice reconciliation (10% vs 59%), onboarding and training (11% vs 48%), digital and cybersecurity ma…
SAP Concur blog cites a Forrester survey of nearly 400 decision makers: less than 45% were happy with travel and expense solution ease of use, and only 37% with invoicing. Automation, cloud, and mobile access improve efficiency; one company eliminated about 42% of human-engaged tasks and gained 46% efficiency.
A survey by SAP Concur and Kelton Global shows public sector organizations lose over 3,000 hours monthly processing expense reports and invoices manually, with higher education losing over 2,000 hours. The survey of 300 financial decision makers found about two-thirds still use at least partially manual systems. Manual systems add five hours per expense report and two hours per invoice. About one-third reported increased inaccurate submissions, and one-fourth had reported incorrect budget data due to errors. Automation improves efficiency and accuracy.
The article outlines strategies to improve business cash flow, including understanding money movement, cutting unnecessary costs, and streamlining payment processes. It recommends invoicing promptly, offering discounts for prompt payment, asking for deposits, controlling travel and expense spend, and using automation tools like Concur TripLink and Concur Expense to get expenses into the system faster, improving visibility and optimizing cash flow.
A SAP Concur blog post advises companies to establish a solid spend management process before incorporating artificial intelligence (AI). It offers four steps: understand the importance of spend management, get a 30,000-foot view of current processes, update processes with AI in mind, and get help from experts. SAP Concur CFO Jason Woods emphasizes that a spend management plan is critical to a company's financial health, regardless of industry or size.
The pandemic has brought new spending categories and compliance challenges to higher education. 42% of finance and admin leaders struggle with new spending categories, and 41% are unsure how to manage unexpected expenses. CARES Act funding comes with compliance requirements; automated expense and invoice management provides real-time visibility and ensures compliance.
SAP Concur's blog notes that state and local governments face declining tax revenues and remote-work pressures during the pandemic, with manual invoice processes exacerbating difficulties. An IDC white paper found that organizations using Concur Invoice achieved average annual benefits of $662,700 ($3,258 per 1,000 invoices) and a three-year ROI of 634%.
A SAP Concur blog post argues that automation alone does not capture the full value of spend management technology, and customers should focus on expense processing cycle efficiency from report submission and approval to payment. It cites IDC research finding accounts payable staff were 30% more efficient and audit staff 28% more efficient with an optimized SAP Concur solution. It also says optimization improves total spend visibility, increases corporate card rebates and reduces employee late fees.
This SAP Concur blog post emphasizes that even small businesses with fewer than 20 employees benefit significantly from having a formal employee expense policy. It cites that moving from manual to automated, cloud-based solutions can increase process efficiency by 42%. The policy should clearly outline rules, responsibilities, and expectations, and be reviewed regularly. Automation tools like Concur Expense streamline submissions and approvals, enhancing compliance and reducing risk.
A Vanson Bourne study shows 96% of finance leaders believe their team will become more important in driving growth strategy. Finance and IT leaders must collaborate, using integrated spend management solutions to automate manual tasks and control discretionary spending, freeing finance staff to focus on growth. AMI-Partners notes 64% of businesses consider reducing operating expenses a strategic goal.
This SAP Concur article offers three tech tips for school districts: prioritize resiliency, empower educators, and use anti-fraud technology. With nearly $300 billion in federal relief, districts must ensure transparent use of funds. Automating financial processes provides real-time cash flow views, and anti-fraud tech prevents misuse. SAP Concur expense and invoice tools help districts integrate data and assess budgets in real time.
A podcast series by SAP Concur in collaboration with The Wall Street Journal's Custom Studios explores how SMBs can gain a clear view of spend by automating travel, expense, and invoice management. Automation can help optimize cash flow, speed up expense approvals and reimbursements, and save costs through data insights. The five-part series aims to uncover how companies drive growth through spend management innovation.
Citing an AMI-Partners survey, SAP Concur says SMBs that keep managing travel, expenses, and vendor invoices with spreadsheets or pen and paper lose time and money to inefficient processes, a problem that becomes clearer beyond 50 employees. The survey found SMBs using T&E automation save over US$31,000 per year, with Concur Expense users saving an average of $40,000; firms adopting vendor invoice management saved nearly $34,000 annually, and Concur Invoice users saved over $42,000.