Concur - Just Go For It!
Updated March 19, 2015

Concur - Just Go For It!

Carol Monk, CPP | TrustRadius Reviewer
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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
The size of the company, travel spend and what the end use need are all things to take into consideration. Smaller/simpler companies that just want a nice online expense reporting system to capture data and reimburse employees would probably just want to use Concur Expense. Larger companies looking for a "one stop shop" will want to ask every question they can possibly think of in regards to each module Concur offers before making any decisions.

Also, while Concur is pretty much tops in the US for travel and expense they are still pretty new at the game in most other companies. They are still in the learning phases, but are gaining ground. I believe they will have a lot to offer globally within 5 years.

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
Since we are only just branching out into rolling Concur out globally we will continue our partnership with Concur for a few years at the least so we can have a true view of what all they can do for us.

Concur Implementation

There are different implementation teams for each module of the product you purchase, so implementation is not a 'one size fits all' environment. Also, the different implementation teams have different ways of doing things, so Concur could stand some standardization and streamlining in this area.
A Project Manager can make or break an implementation so don't be scared to ask for a new one if things are rocky.
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
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

If I were being asked to rate each section of support, different department would get different ratings. My Service Administrator is the best - always fairly quick to respond to my cases and for pressing matters I can contact him directly.
It is my understanding that some of the User Support Desk employees do not have the level of knowledge needed for some the calls and questions they receive. Clients look forward to improvements in this area by Concur.
ProsCons
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

Patiently waiting for Concur to roll out their new End User Experience - hoping this will increase the rating of overall usability to a 9 or 10.
ProsCons
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.

Concur Reliability

In prior years I would have given them a 9.5 for availability. Unfortunately in 2015 so far this rating has dropped to a 7 overall.
We have experienced far too many interruptions - from admins to employees who rely on it for day to day booking of travel and submission of expense reports. Server errors, slow system response time and spinning wheels are too common place. Those things should be a rare occurrence, not a daily interruption.

While Conur still has great product offerings overall, they are currently not offering world class or best in class product (and customer service) availability. Remaining hopeful they step up and get their A game going again soon.