Admin Training: Addressing Employee FAQs

Key Takeaways: Admin Training: Addressing Employee FAQs - Session 1

Executive Summary

This webinar is led by Terry Siegel, Senior Content Manager at SAP Concur, and aims to answer admins common questions from employees. The goal is to enhance the admin experience, minimise errors, and increase user adoption of SAP Concur tools. Topics include automating processes to save time, itemising expenses, using the Merchant Code Mapping tool, enabling the Missing Receipt Declaration, and setting up audit rules and compliance controls. Concur training, webinars, and the SAP Concur community are provided as resources for ongoing learning and efficiency.

Speakers

Terri Sigal, Senior Content Manager, SAP Concur

Key Takeaways

1. Automate SAP Efficiency: Automating processes in SAP Concur significantly reduces errors and saves time, boosting overall efficiency.

2. Streamline Expense Categorisation: Utilising tools like Merchant Code Mapping and itemising expenses can streamline expense categorisation and improve accuracy.

3. Maintain Expense Reporting: Enabling features such as the missing receipt declaration can help maintain smooth expense reporting even when receipts are lost.

4. Ensure Policy Compliance: Setting up audit rules and compliance controls ensures adherence to travel and expense policies, preventing unauthorised or duplicate expenses.

5. Improve User Adoption: Providing comprehensive training resources and leveraging the SAP Concur community can improve user adoption and support, leading to better employee experiences.

Key Quote

The employee experience. It is inextricably linked to and enabled by technology. 64% of organisations surveyed by Forrester Consulting said employee experience is one of the most important factors considered when purchasing technology.

Webinar

Watch Full Webinar here.

Streamlining Expense Management with SAP Concur: Enhancing Accuracy and Compliance

In today's fast-paced business environment, ensuring the accuracy and compliance of expense reporting is crucial for maintaining financial integrity and operational efficiency. Companies increasingly rely on technology to streamline operations, and SAP Concur stands out as a comprehensive solution for expense management. Designed to minimize human error, automate processes, and improve overall productivity, SAP Concur provides robust tools for audit roles and compliance controls. This blog will explore how SAP Concur can optimize expense management, offering a seamless experience for both administrators and end users while enforcing travel and expense policies effectively.

Enhancing Expense Management with SAP Concur

Minimizing human error is crucial for any business operation, as errors can lead to financial discrepancies, compliance issues, and wasted time. SAP Concur addresses this by offering tools like Merchant Code Mapping, which allows administrators to assign merchant category codes to standard industry codes to ensure correct expense categorization. For example, charges at Wendy's and Starbucks can be categorized under food and beverage, while Home Depot expenses can be classified under retail. This automation reduces the likelihood of misclassification and ensures accurate recording of expenses. Administrators can adjust these mappings anytime, providing flexibility to accommodate changes in spending patterns.

Another powerful feature of SAP Concur is the ability to itemize expenses, useful for handling complex invoices or bills, such as hotel receipts with varying room rates. The itemization tool allows users to break down expenses into detailed line items, ensuring each charge is accounted for correctly. For instance, if a user accidentally charges a personal Uber ride to the corporate card, they can mark it as a personal expense, preventing it from being included in the reimbursement request. This level of detail improves accuracy and simplifies the expense reporting process, making it easier for end users to comply with company policies.

The missing receipt declaration enhances the employee experience by allowing users to submit expenses without the actual receipt if they lose or forget to obtain one. Administrators can enable this feature and set limits on its usage to prevent abuse. This flexibility ensures employees can still be reimbursed for legitimate expenses, even if they encounter issues with receipts. Administrators can run reports to identify repeat offenders, maintaining control over the process while providing a safety net for employees.

User adoption is vital for the success of any technology implementation. SAP Concur offers resources to help administrators train and guide end users, including links to training videos and documentation. This proactive approach to training improves user adoption and reduces the number of questions and support requests administrators need to handle. A well-trained workforce is more likely to use the system correctly, leading to higher productivity and better overall results for the organization.

Audit roles and compliance controls within SAP Concur guide users to follow written policies by setting up rules that match organizational standards. These roles notify end users, approvers, and processors if the data entered violates the company's travel and expense policy. Administrators must ensure that any policy changes are reflected within the SAP Concur site to keep audit roles up to date. The Professional and Standard editions of SAP Concur offer different levels of complexity in setting up these controls, with the Professional edition providing more involved configurations.

Administrators may have varying permissions to use audit roles, affecting their ability to create or edit these rules. If an admin lacks the necessary permissions, they should reach out to customer support or another Concur admin within their organization. Audit roles prevent users from booking outside of the policy, with provided roles that can be activated and edited. Custom audit roles can be created for more specific needs, ensuring all possible scenarios are covered. These roles trigger warning messages when users attempt actions that may violate the policy, helping them adhere to the guidelines.

Compliance controls in the Standard edition of SAP Concur are found under Expense Compliance and are designed to be more plug-and-play compared to the Professional edition. These controls flag potential duplicate expenses and add exceptions to reports that fail the test. For example, if an end user submits the same dinner receipt twice, the compliance control will flag the receipt, preventing reimbursement for the duplicate expense. Custom audit roles can also be set up for an additional cost, providing tailored solutions to meet specific organizational needs.

Delegates ensure that work continues smoothly in the absence of key personnel. A delegate is a user granted permission to perform tasks on behalf of another Concur expense user, such as creating and submitting expense reports, viewing receipts, and approving reports. This feature is particularly useful for executives with assistants or managers on extended leave, ensuring that employee reimbursement processes are not delayed. Delegates cannot submit missing receipt declarations or approve reports they submitted themselves, maintaining the integrity of the approval process.

Effective use of SAP Concur requires knowledgeable admins and well-trained end users. Training resources such as concurtraining.com provide valuable tools, including videos and PDFs, to help users adopt the solutions quickly and easily. The SAP Concur community offers a platform for engagement and discussion, where admins can find help, updates, and conversations with other users. Additionally, the App Center within the Concur site features partners that can enhance efficiency, compliance, and visibility. By leveraging these resources, organizations can ensure a smooth and efficient expense management process, improving the overall employee experience.

SAP Concur is a valuable tool that significantly enhances expense management for businesses. By automating processes and minimizing human error, it boosts both accuracy and efficiency. The system's detailed itemization and receipt management further streamline operations. Emphasizing user adoption and training ensures employees can quickly become proficient, leading to improved organizational performance. Additionally, implementing robust audit roles and compliance controls within SAP Concur is crucial for effective expense management. Accurate policy reflection and adequate training for admins and end-users prevent errors and fraud. Features like delegates and the App Center support operational efficiency, making SAP Concur indispensable for managing travel and expenses in today's business landscape.