October 2018 Expense Standard Edition Admin Summary
Initial Post
Admin
Updated Email FormatSAP Concur is in the process of updating the format of all email notifications. These changes will provide a fresher, consistent look and feel across all SAP Concur services. The change will be introduced gradually. Some users will see the updated format immediately; some will see it over the next few months.
Be aware that the email content has not changed – just the look and feel.
Business Purpose / Client Benefit: The intent is to provide a consistent, updated look for users.
Email Infrastructure Change
Whitelist IP AddressesSAP Concur is transitioning to a new email infrastructure for outbound emails from our products to SAP Concur users. Because of this, companies who filter inbound email based on the sending IP address must whitelist new IP addresses to ensure that their users receive email from SAP Concur.
The new IP addresses are not published publicly but they are available by contacting SAP Concur support. Please work with your email server management team to ensure any required whitelists for IP addresses are updated so that your users continue to receive SAP Concur emails without interruptions.
Japan Public Transportation (JPT)
Jorudan MaintenanceThe Japan Public Transportation (JPT) database of stations and lines received routine maintenance changes such as additions, name changes and removals.
Business Purpose / Client Benefit: Lists in Expense continue to reflect JPT's current stations and lines.
Mileage Rates
(UK) HMRC Advisory Electricity RateEffective 1 September 2018, SAP Concur has added an advisory electricity rate of 4 pence per mile for fully electric company cars in accordance with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HRMC).
Business Purpose / Client Benefit: Businesses maintain best-practice tax compliance.
Next Generation (NextGen) Expense
**Ongoing** New User Interface for Concur Expense End UsersUpdate: In order to respond to and take advantage of feedback from customers, and to align with SAP Concur’s commitment to ensure a smooth and successful transition, we are working on a revised deployment strategy for Next Generation Expense.
SAP Concur is dedicated to the consistent improvement of our products, not only the features they provide, but also the experience of using those features. How users interact with technology changes over time, along with needs and expectations. We are constantly listening to our customers and soliciting feedback on how we can improve the user experience.
NextGen Expense is the continued evolution of the SAP Concur user experience. It was built from extensive user research and data analytics that include 680 1:1 conversations, 58 usability studies, 3,000+ survey responses and 1.3B monthly user actions.
Customers will have the ability to preview and then opt in to NextGen Expense before the mandatory cutover.
Business Purpose / Client Benefit: The result is the next generation of the Expense user interface designed to provide a modern, consistent and streamlined user experience. This technology not only provides an enhanced UI, but also allows SAP Concur to react more quickly to customer requests to meet changing needs as they happen.
Receipts API
New MapUrl Field Added to Receipts v4 APIA new field, MapUrl, has been added to the Ground Transportation Receipt schema of the Receipts v4 API. This field contains a link to an image on Google Maps of the trip, if provided by the ground transportation supplier.
WHAT THE USER SEES
If the ground transportation provider sends the MapUrl to SAP Concur, the user will see a map image of the trip in the e-receipt window in Concur Expense.
Business Purpose / Client Benefit: The new MapUrl field provides additional information about the ground transportation trip.
Planned Changes
The items in this section are targeted for future releases. Concur reserves the right to postpone implementation of – or completely remove – any enhancement/change mentioned here.
**Planned Changes** Archive Deactivated User DataAs SAP Concur continues to grow, steps must be taken to enhance and improve the performance of our system so that we can meet customer expectations and the needs of their business.
Our overall goal is to significantly improve the performance of SAP Concur services by reducing the amount of data that is stored in our Production datastore. By reducing the data in the Production system, we can use server memory much more efficiently, which reduces processing time for transactions. For this reason, SAP Concur is developing an archive process for users who have been deactivated by their employers for at least three years. The archive process moves this "deactivated" user data from our Production datastore to a separate Reporting datastore.
User / Customer Benefit: Moving deactivated user data will provide faster processing time for transactions. In addition, it provides a more secure environment for inactive users' personal information.
IMPORTANT!
We are currently piloting the process and evaluating the results. Our goal is to ensure that customers are not negatively affected, that we have considered all pertinent scenarios and that the archiving process provides the desired results.
There is no target date for the implementation of this new process. We will announce via release notes well ahead of time.
**Planned Changes** Expense Assistant Can Create Trip-based Expense ClaimsAdmins can now pre-configure Expense Assistant options.
Expense Assistant can automatically create trip-based expense claims and add trip-based expenses to these expense claims. Currently, Expense Assistant automatically creates monthly expense claims as a client's expenses flow into Concur. This is known as creating a calendar-based expense claim.
With this enhancement, Expense Assistant can create either of two types of expense claims: calendar-based and trip-based. When Expense Assistant creates a trip-based expense claim, Expense Assistant will automatically create an expense claim based on a specific trip booked in Concur Travel, and will populate the expense claim with the client's expenses that occur between the trip's start and end dates.
Users using Expense Assistant will only be able to have Expense Assistant automatically create calendar-based or trip-based expense claims, not both types of expense claims.
Business Purpose / Client Benefit: This feature automates more of the expense reporting process, to provide an easier end user experience.
**Planned Changes** Cost Tracking to Have New Look, New NameThe Cost Tracking page in Product Settings will soon have a new look and flow, and a new name. All existing functionality will remain with improved usability for field setup and management.
The new enhancements include the following:
The Cost Tracking page will be renamed Manage Custom Fields. The new Manage Custom Fields page will allow client admins to manage custom fields starting from one page. Linked List will be renamed Multilevel list.
A new Add New Field page will also be accessible from the Manage Custom Fields page. The Add New Field page will allow client admins to create fields by selecting the field's type and then selecting field options. Client admins can then opt to add list items for the new field, add another field or return to the Manage Custom Fields page.
Business Purpose / Client Benefit: This feature improves custom field management by providing a better end user experience.
**Planned Changes** Single Sign-On (SSO) Self-Service Option Coming to ConcurSingle Sign-On allows users to access multiple applications using one set of login credentials. Currently, SAP Concur has two methods for signing in: with a user name and password or using SSO with identity provider (IdP) credentials, such as a user's login credentials for their organisation.
SAP Concur is planning to add a Manage Single Sign-On (SSO) feature to SAP Concur Standard Editions of Expense, Invoice, Travel and Request to provide clients with a self-service option for setting up SSO for their organisation.
The new Manage Single Sign-On (SSO) feature will be accessible from the Access To Concur section of Product Settings.
Other SAP Concur products and services are outside the scope of this initial release.
Business Purpose / Client Benefit: This feature provides clients with a self-service option for setting up SSO.
**Planned Changes** (USA) New Mileage ConfigurationSAP Concur Standard Editions of Expense, Invoice, Travel and Request will soon have a new Mileage Configuration page that provides automated updates for government mileage rates. This feature will replace the existing Mileage Rates page.
The Mileage Configuration feature has two key benefits:
- • For a client using government rates, the new mileage service will keep these updated, resulting in reduced effort on the client's part to maintain and manage the rates.
- • For taxability purposes, the system will record the claimed amount difference between the amount paid using the client rate and the amount based on the government rate.
Business Purpose / Client Benefit: This feature reduces the client admins' effort to maintain and manage mileage rates.
Client Notifications
SAP Concur Non-Affiliated SubprocessorsThe list of non-affiliated subprocessors is available here: SAP Concur list of Subprocessors (English Only)
Monthly Browser CertificationsMonthly browser certifications, both current and planned, are available with the other SAP Concur monthly release notes, accessible from What's New - Standard Edition
