Concur - Just Go For It!
Updated March 19, 2015
Concur - Just Go For It!
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Software Version
Professional
Modules Used
- Travel
- Expense Pay
- Expense
Overall Satisfaction with Concur
We currently use Concur Travel, Request and Expense for all US and Canadian businesses. We will be rolling out Concur Expense to EMEA next month. Prior to Concur most business units were processing expense reports manually - from creation to manager review/approval, Finance review/approval to final reimbursement could take weeks. Implementing Concur Travel and Expense has not only cut the processing time way down, but has streamlined the process from beginning to end. It has also opened Headquarter Finance to a whole new world of data they never had their hand on before.
Having one system that allows every employee the same access to book travel (which automatically generates a Travel Request for approval) and process their expense reports from anywhere in the world is a major plus in this day and age. We are looking forward to rolling this out globally so we can streamline and standardize across the board. One company, one policy, one expense report product is our eventual goal and Concur helps in making that happen.
Not only does Concur have a website, they've gone mobile. Combining the Concur mobile app with ExpenseIt and TripIt (as well as others) allows for a much better travel experience for our employees and that's added value.
Having one system that allows every employee the same access to book travel (which automatically generates a Travel Request for approval) and process their expense reports from anywhere in the world is a major plus in this day and age. We are looking forward to rolling this out globally so we can streamline and standardize across the board. One company, one policy, one expense report product is our eventual goal and Concur helps in making that happen.
Not only does Concur have a website, they've gone mobile. Combining the Concur mobile app with ExpenseIt and TripIt (as well as others) allows for a much better travel experience for our employees and that's added value.
Pros
- With Concur, travel and expense has gone mobile. No more waiting in between trips to book additional travel or work on expense reports.
- Their open platform environment allows other business to partner with them easily.
- Once you learn who your Concur team is you can eventually accomplish just about anything you need to do in and with Concur in regards to booking travel and creating expense reports.
Cons
- While Travel Request is a good idea and Concur mobile is fantastic, the two are not working together yet. If your company requires the use of Request, it cannot be generated when booking travel in the Concur app, therefore our employees have actually had to step backwards since we implemented Request. They can no longer book airfare from the app, only from the website as that's where a Request is generated from.
- Sales to Implementation has some major room of improvement. Unfortunately you often don't know what you truly need until you're into implementation and by then it's too late as you've already signed a contract. So be as specific as possible when asking questions, even if you think it's something minor...it may turn into something major that costs extra.
- Increased efficiency with the overall expense reporting process.
- Faster workflow and processing of expenses from report submission to reimbursement.
- The only negative impact I can think of is all on the administrative side, so nothing that end users would notice.
Using Concur
400 - Employees that use Concur cover a wide variety of functions - from service technicians to Sales to Finance to executives.
4 - We have a System/User Administrator, a corporate Travel Manager and two backups with overall access to Concur backoffice to address various needs. The System Admin is in Concur on a daily basis and supports all of the Expense Processor at each site as a backup.
- Data Data Data
- Expense report processing
- Mobility
- Provide an Expense Dashboard to upper management
- Automated reports to end users reminding them of unsubmitted expenses they need to address.
- We will be rolling out Concur Expense first globally, then will follow that with Concur Travel
Concur Implementation
- Implemented in-house
Yes - Phase 1 and 2 - We implemented Concur Travel and Expense simultaneously, but with different Concur implementation teams, in the US and Canada.
Phase 3 - Currently in the process of implementing Concur Expense and Request to EMEA
Phase 4 - Will implement the remaining countries for Concur Expense
Phase 5 - Will implement Concur Travel globally
Phase 3 - Currently in the process of implementing Concur Expense and Request to EMEA
Phase 4 - Will implement the remaining countries for Concur Expense
Phase 5 - Will implement Concur Travel globally
Change management was a small part of the implementation and was well-handled - Be willing to spend extra time with "non-computer" people. Depending on the type of business you are in you may have employees with just some basic understandings of computers and SaaS type products. Use this opportunity to explore your patience, slow down and take the time to train everyone at each level. Meet them where they are.
- What you buy from the Sales department is not always what you get come implementation time. The contracts are too vague, so ask for specifics on absolutely everything.
- Participation in training sessions, or lack there of really.
- Travel and Expense have separate implementation teams, but we didn't learn this until after we started with implementation
- Each department at Concur is separate from the next. They are still working on cross-training: Expense, Travel, Request, Mobile, Invoice, Reporting Services, Audit Services.....they are all separate from each other
Concur Support
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Quick Resolution Problems get solved Kept well informed Immediate help available Support understands my problem Support cares about my success Quick Initial Response | None |
Yes - We pay extra for the End User Support Desk so employees have one number at Concur to call for help. The USD can't always assist, but they can help with the basics.
Yes - The bugs we have reported have a had a mixed bag of resolutions. Some were fairly quick, one has been open for a year and a half and another for 3 months. The last two still sit with R&D.
I had an immediate need earlier this year where I pulled in our Account Manager. She quickly found the right person at Concur who no longer works cases, but still dropped what he was doing to help us correct an issue. After our issue was resolved he gave me his contact information in case I ever needed him again. Service like that from some Concur employees is what I choose to focus on more often than the occasional dropped ball.
Using Concur
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Like to use Relatively simple Easy to use Technical support not required Well integrated Consistent Quick to learn Convenient Feel confident using Familiar | None |
- Booking travel is as easy as going onto any travel booing site.
- Concur mobile is super easy to use as it's what multiple generations use for every day life anyway.
- The ExpenseIt app for US/Canada is pretty slick. Our employees are liking this one. Just waiting for advances in other languages.
- Having to wait for everything to pull into Concur so an employee can do an expense report - they wait on cc charges to import, they wait on e-receipts, they wait on other smart expense items. In this instant gratification world we live in these days, it's hard for the end user to wait so they end up submitting expense reports without all the pieces
- Reporting. If you want something other than the canned, standard reports, you pretty much have to pay extra for Concur Reporting services.
Yes - Love it!
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