SAP Concur blog emphasizes that small businesses need year-round financial visibility, not just at year-end. It highlights common pitfalls: neglecting cash flow, not chasing late payments, assuming data accuracy, failing to review prices, and compliance risks. Automating financial processes reduces errors, improves compliance, and enhances cash flow management.
SAP Concur blog provides a three-step process for creating a risk management plan: identify potential risks, conduct risk analysis, and identify the fix. The article emphasizes involving the whole team and considering internal and external risks, such as supplier failure or loss of key customers.
SAP Concur cites AMI-Partners research showing that SMBs using Concur Expense save an average of $39,000 annually, and outlines the current state of SMBs still relying on spreadsheets and handwritten records to manage expenses and the associated costs.
IDC survey shows 85% of SMBs prioritize digital transformation, but only 26% have the capabilities. The article discusses challenges for IT leaders, including executive buy-in, cloud migration, workforce changes, and remote work security, and suggests automation as a solution.
A SAP Concur blog post cites a CFO paper stating that successful growth requires a strategic and smart approach rather than a scattershot one. Dr. Christian Campagna, senior managing director for CFO and enterprise value at Accenture Strategy, says it is a delicate balancing act of reallocating spending to fund the new business while maintaining the established business. Citing Aberdeen Group's 2018 T&E Expense Trends and Benchmarking Spending report, the article says 60% of small and midsize businesses still use spreadsheets and other manual systems to track spending, leaving most finance leaders without the real-time visibility, insights, and controls they need. It recommends a unified sy…
SAP and Oxford Economics surveyed 352 finance and IT decision-makers from small and midsize companies globally, finding that most leaders want employees back in the office full time but more than half see a hybrid work model as unavoidable over the next two years. The survey also shows few companies use formal surveys to understand employees, and processes such as travel and expense management are not optimized for working from anywhere.
A SAP Concur blog post outlines three key steps for businesses to improve cash flow: evaluate finances to improve cash flow visibility, including reviewing AR and AP processes and 30-, 60-, and 90-day projections; diversify revenue streams to strengthen cash flow stability; and manage vendor payments through accounts payable automation. The article notes that a healthy business is not just about profits but about maintaining steady, predictable cash flow, without which bills go unpaid, payroll gets delayed, and growth grinds to a halt.
SAP Concur blog shares two customer cases: The Tech Interactive, a San Jose science museum, used Concur Expense and Concur Invoice to automate approval workflows, saving manual processing time and improving spend visibility; Wisconsin manufacturer WB Manufacturing, anticipating doubling sales in three years, deployed Concur Travel and Concur Expense in under three months, with sales team submitting expense reports after one day of training.
A SAP Concur blog post for SMB finance leaders discusses spend management best practices for maintaining business resilience in uncertain economic conditions. Citing an Oxford Economics survey of small businesses, it notes many SMBs adopted some form of digitization, but some remain on manual paper processes or partial automation, leading to workflow roadblocks, spend visibility gaps, and compliance issues. Suggested building blocks of resilience include streamlined processes, clear policies, up-to-date spend visibility, employee support, and cost control. The post states automating expense and AP processes can deliver real-time spend views, eliminate paper receipts, auto-populate expense r…
SAP and Oxford Economics surveyed 500 finance and IT leaders from SMBs on digital transformation and company culture. 47% saw their role grow in strategic importance over the past year; 57% anticipate an even greater role. 47% found the pandemic brought inefficient business processes to light. Fewer than half named the other as a key strategic partner. 27% are assessing whether spend management digitalization is permanent; 25% plan to revert to manual processes within two years. 42% of companies that digitalized expense management report increased productivity.
AMI Partners surveyed over 400 SMBs and found that businesses automating expense, travel, and invoice management saw the greatest performance boost. Key trends include mobile workforce, multi-supplier invoice processing, and cost reduction pressures. Automation reduces invoice processing time and frees finance staff. 64% of businesses cite reducing operating expenses as a strategic goal.
A SAP Concur blog post cites an Oxford Economics study: cost-conscious SMB finance leaders achieve better outcomes while keeping expansion costs in line. The study reports 93% of cost-conscious SMB executives agree they have the right platforms and systems to adapt to their growing organization, versus 79% of less cost-conscious executives. The post notes that as companies grow, discretionary expenses such as travel, expenses, marketing, and office supplies can add up quickly, and intelligent automated technologies can help finance leaders proactively control costs and optimize cash flow.
A SAP Concur blog post argues manual and spreadsheet-driven processes are costly and inefficient at any scale, with an even bigger impact on resource-constrained SMBs. It cites data: 26% use spreadsheets to manage expenses, 49% of small businesses still use handwritten records to track spend, accounting and finance staff spend 14% of their time each week processing invoices, 50% of SMBs say manual processes hinder cash flow visibility, 42% report invoice reconciliation errors, and 75% of finance leaders say their business often exceeds expense, travel, and invoice budgets. It groups reasons SMBs haven't automated into four categories and cites AMI-Partners data showing automation yields ave…
SAP Concur published an article noting that small and midsize businesses, despite limited budgets, can achieve travel management through appropriate technology. It describes a seven-step process: employees book freely, the system captures itinerary details, data flows into the system, expense reports auto-populate with categorized charges, employees avoid receipts and reports, and businesses gain spend visibility and employee location information. The article emphasizes savings in work hours, reduced paperwork, and lower hard costs.
A SAP Concur blog post describes how the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) in Salem, Mass., closed in mid-March during COVID-19 and needed to offer a museum experience online. PEM's decision three years earlier to digitize back-office operations using SAP Concur solutions for travel, expense, and invoice processes reduced administrative burdens and made vendor onboarding and payment faster and easier. Valerie Blatt, who heads SAP Concur global SMB, said that without automated processes and data visibility, organizations cannot pinpoint discount or cost-saving opportunities. She noted that more SMBs are turning to automation software to protect cash flow, improve efficiency, and control costs.
A SAP Concur blog post cites an Oxford Economics report finding that 74% of small and midsize businesses said emerging technology is increasing the finance function's complexity, compared with 58% of larger companies. It outlines three ways emerging technology benefits finance leadership: scaling, replacing legacy systems and improving collaboration and visibility.
A SAP Concur blog case study describes how RXBAR, a whole-food protein bar company, needed more transparent expense data to support agile decisions during rapid growth. RXBAR implemented Concur Expense, a cloud-based automated employee expense solution. Kelsey Letizia, VP of Finance & Global Controller, said the tool makes it easy for employees and finance to track spending and includes a mobile app for on-the-go expense tracking. Better expense visibility let her make more informed business decisions quickly.
The article highlights SMB contributions to the U.S. economy: between 1993 and 2011, small businesses accounted for 64% of new jobs created; high-patenting small firms had 16 times more patents per employee than larger counterparts; locally owned businesses boost community economies more than national chains; and the share of women-, Latino-, African-American-, and Asian-owned businesses increased. It calls for celebrating SMBs on Small Business Saturday and every day.
A SAP Concur blog post highlights three tools for small businesses: Audit Services, which combines human auditors and AI to identify misuse, waste and noncompliant spend; reporting solutions that draw on discretionary spend data held on one platform for easy access and visualization; and App Center connections linking employees to popular enterprise applications, travel brands and rewards programs. The post says these tools help control cash flow, ensure compliance, reduce costs and mitigate fraud risk.
SAP Concur blog cites an AMI Partners survey of over 400 financial decision-makers at SMBs, identifying barriers to automation such as lack of IT expertise, cost, and resources. However, automation delivers time savings (15% decrease in expense report processing time, 16% decrease in invoice processing time), cost savings (average annual savings of $30,000 for T&E automation and nearly $34,000 for invoice automation), improved employee satisfaction (up to 80% reduction in reimbursement time), and better compliance.
A SAP Concur blog post states that cloud technologies are bringing world-class software solutions to small and midsize companies, and automating invoice processing can significantly improve efficiency, visibility, and scalability. According to AMI Partners, 82% of firms that have automated invoice processing are already using cloud solutions. A typical small to midsize business processes 450 invoices a month with a duplication rate of 1.29%, and labor costs typically make up 62% of total accounts payable costs. Automation can largely eliminate these labor costs, enabling intelligent matching of invoice line items with purchase orders, built-in approval policies, reduced duplicate invoices,…
A SAP Concur blog post aimed at SMBs argues the question is not how much a travel and expense management solution costs but how much it saves. Citing IDC MarketScape, it recommends moving from spreadsheets and manual expense reports to cloud-based T&E management software. The article stresses that employee safety is paramount: without visibility into itineraries and credit card spend, it is difficult to locate, reach, and if necessary retrieve employees, making duty of care hard to fulfill. Real-time T&E data viewable by category, vendor, cost center, team, and employee helps cut costs, spot savings, expose hidden spending, and strengthen supplier negotiations. Automation and analytics also…
The article discusses how SMBs often rely on non-finance employees for credit card reconciliation, which becomes messy when multiple employees use multiple cards. Concur Expense and Concur Invoice can automate the entire credit card reconciliation process, importing transaction data from almost any source and automatically comparing it against card statements, receipts, and other internal data. This speeds up reconciliation, eliminates manual matching, and immediately spots errors, discrepancies, and unusual transactions.
A SAP Concur blog post examines the potential benefits of invoice management automation for small-to-midsize businesses (SMBs) in accounts payable (AP). Citing AMI-Partners, it notes the typical SMB works with 190 suppliers and vendors, generating 2,280 checks annually if one check per vendor per month; 42% of surveyed SMBs report invoice reconciliation errors; and accounting/finance staff spend 14% of their time each week processing invoices. The post states automated invoicing solutions yield average annual savings of US$34,000 and US$11 per invoice, and promotes Concur Invoice and its ROI calculator.
A SAP Concur blog post argues that controlling spend and optimizing cash flow can help companies of all sizes be more resilient, but manual expense management processes make that elusive. It cites a 2020 Oxford Economics survey of 2,000 small and midsize businesses: almost all respondents plan to shift manual finance processes into the digital realm over the next few years; 45% expect to increase efficiency by minimizing error, risk, and cost, 43% expect to boost productivity via transformation and intelligent process automation, and 40% expect to free up employees for higher-level tasks. The post promotes Concur Expense features such as customizable expense policies, expense visibility, an…
A SAP Concur blog post notes that SMB growth brings more employee spending and expense reports, while manual processes are inefficient and risky. Studies show automated travel and expense users save an average of US$30,000 annually, or about $600 per year per employee using the application, and $20 per expense report. The post recommends choosing cloud expense management solutions with automation, spend visibility, data consolidation, and scalability.
A SAP Concur blog post cites Gallup data that only 15% of full-time employees are highly engaged, while 85% are not engaged or actively disengaged. AMI-Partners research shows 93% of SMBs have employees who travel for work regularly, but only 21% use a dedicated travel and expense solution, and more than half lack well-defined travel and expense policies. The article says SAP Concur customers save on average US$23 per expense report.
AMI Partners surveyed more than 400 financial decision makers at small and medium-sized businesses across five industries, identifying four common spend management pain points: 69% found manual expense, travel, and invoice processes inefficient and laborious; 60% struggled to track spending trends; 56% faced missing documentation; and more than half reported protracted approval and reimbursement cycles. The research found that businesses adopting automated expense, travel, and invoice management had the highest employee satisfaction, saved key roles hundreds of hours, and reduced costs by thousands of dollars per year.
SAP Concur offers integrated travel solutions for small businesses to streamline travel and expense management. The mobile app and TripIt Pro enable travelers to book flights and hotels, track loyalty programs, and automatically sync receipts to Concur Expense. Companies can choose from lightly managed options like TripLink or fully managed programs with Concur Travel and a TMC.
This SAP Concur blog post discusses how businesses can use time efficiently, emphasizing the importance of digital technology for SME growth. It cites research that 53-60% of SMEs say new technology solutions have improved workflows. The article recommends investing in digital tools like automated travel and expense management to save time and boost productivity.
An SAP Concur blog post states that in an uncertain business environment, automated spend management is crucial for companies to stay flexible and profitable. Citing an AMI Research survey, 59% of SMB financial decision-makers say automation improves spend visibility. The article recommends using mobile apps and automated workflows to approve invoices and manage expenses anytime, anywhere, and leveraging AI and machine learning for data accuracy, thereby enhancing compliance, controlling costs, and optimizing cash flow.
A SAP Concur blog post discusses common budgeting and cash flow challenges for business owners, including surprise employee expenses, late payments, and travel spend control. It recommends expense report automation, invoice process automation, and automated travel solutions to improve financial visibility, avoid late fees, maintain credit scores, and better manage employee travel and duty of care. It cites Statista data that 43% of US business travel managers expect an increase in business travel this year.
A whitepaper published by BTN Group reveals that 54% of small to midsize business leaders are concerned about traveler safety, well-being, and satisfaction. Executives cited cyber threats, trade conflicts, and terrorism as chief concerns impeding travel, along with fears of infection and economic downturn. The whitepaper also notes that most executives found the following cost-avoidance methods highly effective: reviewing regular travel budget reports (77%), enforcing travel policy compliance (72%), proactively educating travelers about preferred suppliers (70%), and using a pre-trip approval system (70%).
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…
SAP Concur blog cites an Oxford Economics report: 82% of businesses with 1,000 or fewer employees identified new gaps in cash flow management tools and finance processes due to COVID-19. 53% say the pace of digital transformation is speeding up. Among those who digitized invoice management, 43% saw increased organizational agility and resiliency, and 25% saw increased visibility into spending and reduced costs. The article recommends AP automation via solutions like Concur Invoice to gain real-time spend visibility, reduce manual errors, and optimize cash flow.
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.
A SAP Concur blog post highlights the impact of the pandemic on SMBs and their resilience. According to an Aberdeen report, 24% of SMBs expect to remain in survival mode in 2021, 29% expect revenue growth, and 57% plan to resume business travel. SAP Concur's expense management solutions helped customers like CAF America and Genevant Sciences adapt to remote work. The article also mentions resources for SMBs, including free trials and partner integrations.
A SAP Concur blog post notes that small businesses are actively adopting mobile business solutions due to their agility. An SMB Group report shows that 67% of SMBs agree that mobile solutions are changing how they work and collaborate, with top benefits including improved employee productivity, better access to information, and time savings. Mobility also expands the talent pool and attracts younger workers. The article cites Concur Expense and Concur Invoice as examples of mobile spend management enabling real-time tracking, approvals, and receipt capture, saving time and costs.
SAP Concur joins American Express's 'Stand for Small' initiative, offering SMBs free trials of Concur Expense and Concur Invoice, helping them gain spend visibility and automate invoice processes.
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…