March 2021 Expense Standard Edition Admin Summary
Initial Post
Release Note Summaries
Authentication
**Ongoing** Deprecation of HMAC and Migration to SAML v2 and the SSO Self-Service ToolThese changes are part of the SAP Concur continued commitment to maintaining secure authentication.
SAP Concur support for Hash-Based Message Authentication Code (HMAC) is being deprecated. Travel Management Companies (TMCs) and SAP Concur personnel are currently assisting customers who use HMAC to migrate to SAP Concur SAML v2 SSO (SAML v2).
SAP Concur provides a Single Sign-On self-service option that enables client admins to setup their SAML v2 connections without involving an SAP Concur support representative.
For more information about the Single Sign-On self-service option, refer to the Shared: Single Sign-On Overview (English Only) and the Shared: Single Sign-On Setup Guide (English Only).
The HMAC deprecation includes two phases:
PHASE I:
Clients must have an identity provider (IdP) or a custom SAML 2.0 compliant solution.
Clients begin testing authentication using SAML v2.
TMCs prepare to onboard new SAP Concur clients to SAML v2.
Customers will be notified via release notes about the official deprecation date of HMAC. As of the official deprecation date, no new clients can be onboarded using HMAC; new clients must be onboarded to SAML v2.
Existing clients using HMAC must migrate to SAML v2.
PHASE II:
TMCs have migrated all existing SAP Concur clients from the HMAC service to SAML v2.
The HMAC service is deprecated. Phase II is targeted to end mid-year in 2021.
Business Purpose / Client Benefit: This change provides better security and improved support for users logging in to SAP Concur products and services.
Expense Type Import
Automation EnhancementsNew and existing clients can perform bulk updates when entering expense types and account codes. Prior to this change, a client manually entered their organisation's expense types and account codes across multiple pages in Concur Expense. This time-consuming process was prone to data entry errors and increased configuration time. Now, clients can download, fill out and upload an Excel template that will be used to automatically import their organisation's expense types and account codes.
Business Purpose / Client Benefit: This feature will significantly improve the expense type import process for bulk updates, decrease configuration time, reduce the risk of data entry errors, align with the Concur Invoice expense type set-up and help users access the latest expense types quicker than if entered manually.
File Transfer Updates
**Ongoing** SAP Concur Legacy File Move MigrationThis Release Note is intended for the technical staff responsible for file transmissions with SAP Concur. For our customers and suppliers participating in data exchange, SAP Concur is maintaining our file transfer subsystem to provide greater security for those file transfers.
SAP Concur is in the process of migrating entities that currently use a legacy process for moving files to a more efficient and secure file routing process that relies on APIs.
Clients whose entities are currently configured to use the legacy process will be migrated to the more efficient process sometime between now and 31 July 2021. After they are migrated to the more efficient process, clients will see the following improvement:
With the legacy process, clients had to wait for the file move schedule to run at a specified time. With the more efficient and secure API-based process, extracts and other outbound files from SAP Concur will be available within the existing overnight processing period shortly after the files are created.
This announcement pertains to the following file transfer DNS endpoints:
st.concursolutions.com
Business Purpose / Client Benefit: These changes provide greater security and efficiency for file transfers.
Rotating PGP Key Available for File Transfers (15 Jan)Files transferred to SAP Concur solutions must be encrypted with the SAP Concur public PGP key, concursolutionsrotate.asc.
concursolutionsrotate.asc
Key file is available in client’s root folder
Key ID 40AC5D35
RSA 4096-bit signing and encryption subkey
Key expires every 2 years
Client is responsible for replacing the key before it expires
Next expiry date: 4 September 2022
SAP Concur plans to replace the current rotating public PGP key in the client’s root folder 90 days before the expiration date
The SAP Concur legacy PGP key (key ID D4D727C0) remains supported for existing clients but will be deprecated in the future.
SAP Concur strongly recommends that clients use the more secure rotating public PGP key for file transfers. To facilitate the use of the more secure rotating public PGP key for file transfers, SAP Concur added the key to existing client’s home folders on Friday 15 January 2021.
This announcement pertains to the following file transfer DNS endpoints:
st.concursolutions.com
mft-us.concursolutions.com
vs.concursolutions.com
st-eu.concursolutions.com
mft-eu.concursolutions.com
Business Purpose / Client Benefit: The rotating public PGP key provides greater security for file transfers.
Financial Integration
Other Current Liabilities QuickBooks Account Type Now SupportedThe Other Current Liabilities QuickBooks account type is now supported.
Business Purpose / Client Benefit: This change improves the functionality of the SAP Concur QuickBooks integration with Concur Expense and Concur Invoice.
Sage Intacct Integration (1 Mar) (US)SAP and Sage have partnered to make accounting for expenses in Sage Intacct easier.
Clients who purchase the Sage Intacct integration can import Sage Intacct data (source data) into Concur Expense and/or Concur Invoice standard edition. This data enables clients to utilise their unique accounting data when entering expenses and/or invoices. The data is updated in Concur Expense and/or Concur Invoice regularly. The source data export loads employee and invoice vendors/suppliers from Sage Intacct to Concur Expense and/or Concur Invoice during the implementation.
The financial posting process sends expense reports and invoices that are ready to be posted from SAP Concur solutions to Sage Intacct, utilising APIs from the SAP Concur platform. Concur Expense and/or Concur Invoice send the expense data as a vendor bill (for cash reimbursements) or as a credit card transaction (for credit card charges). The integration sends the invoice data as a supplier bill. The integration manages the transmission of expense and invoice data from SAP Concur solutions to Sage Intacct and the transmission of status information back to SAP Concur solutions. The financial posting happens as soon as the claim or invoice is approved for payment, without waiting for a batch schedule. The client sees financial posting status information in the audit trail of the expense claim or invoice. The expense or invoice processor can view problems with the posting, allowing them to correct errors and re-send the information quickly.
Business Purpose / Client Benefit: This integration makes it easier for clients to manage their accounting information in Concur Expense and/or Concur Invoice and Sage Intacct.
Help Menu
Service Description Guide Link Added to the Help MenuSAP Concur has added the Service Description Guide link to the Help menu on the SAP Concur home page. This change is provided in accordance with SAP Concur Legal requirements.
Business Purpose / Client Benefit: This update allows access to the Service Description guide from within SAP Concur products.
NextGen UI
**Ongoing** Updated User Interface (UI) for Concur Expense End UsersThe continued evolution of the Concur Expense solution user interface experience is the result of thoughtful design and research that provides a modern, intuitive and streamlined experience for creating and submitting expense claims.
Concur Expense customers have the ability to preview and then opt in to the NextGen UI before the mandatory move.
Business Purpose / Client Benefit: The result is the next generation of the Concur Expense user interface designed to provide a modern, consistent and streamlined user experience. This technology not only provides an enhanced user interface, but also allows us to react more quickly to customer requests to meet changing needs as they happen.
Product Settings
New Payment Types ModuleA new Payment Types module is now available in the Capturing Spend section in Product Settings. The Payment Types module includes settings and configuration for management of credit card programs and default payment types used to classify employee spending.
Currently, card programme settings and configuration are in multiple locations in Product Settings but are primarily located in the Credit Cards module in the Connections section. The new Payment Types module consolidates setup and configuration in one location to simplify card programme and payment type management, though the functionality fundamentally remains same.
The Payment Types module features:
Consolidated management of card programmes and system payment types in one module
Three enhanced credit card programme workflows with guided configuration for corporate, business and personal card accounts
Improved on-screen messages and prompts to help educate and guide administrators through card programme set-up
A Programme Types column to identify card programme types
A Show filter that displays all, active or inactive accounts
Up-front card Issue Identification Number (IIN) verification for Expense Pay
Self-service American Express Business Card integration activation
Business Purpose / Client Benefit: This change provides a streamlined approach for self-service set-up and management of card programmes. The new user interface design helps improve usability for administrators by providing on-screen messages and guided workflow options tailored for each card programme. Additionally, this new design consolidates set-up and configuration for company paid expenses in one location.
User Administration
**Ongoing** New User Administration PagesOn 11 February, SAP Concur made new Add User and Edit User pages available to all Standard edition clients. Clients were able to opt in to use the new pages and provide feedback on the pages through a survey.
The functionality of these pages is the same as the functionality of the pre-existing Create User and Edit User pages. The format of the pages has changed and the fields on these pages have been reorganised.
On 11 March 11 2021 the new Add User and Edit User pages became the default pages, and clients now have the option to revert to the current pages.
On 8 April the new Add User and Edit User pages will replace the current Create User and Edit User pages for all clients, and the option to revert to the current pages will be removed.
Business Purpose/Client Benefit: These changes provide a simpler, more efficient experience for user administrators.
Planned Change Summaries
The items in this section are summaries of the changes targeted for future releases. SAP Concur reserves the right to postpone implementation of – or completely remove – any enhancement/change mentioned here.
IMPORTANT: These Planned Changes may not be all of the upcoming enhancements and modifications that affect this SAP Concur product or service. The Planned Changes that apply to multiple SAP Concur products and/or services are in a consolidated document. Please review the additional Planned Changes admin summaries available in the March 2021 Shared Planned Changes Standard Edition Admin Summary.
Audit
**Planned Changes** Concur Verify Roles
In preparation for an upcoming release of new functionality in expense report auditing, three new roles will be added to the Roles section of the User Permissions > Expense tab under the Company Admin Home page. These roles currently have no impact on permissions but will be used in the future:
Verify Administrator: Allows users to configure Concur Verify. More information will be provided when Concur Verify is released.
Verify Reports Auditor: Allows users to audit Concur Verify policy and receipt issues as part of the audit process.
Verify Events Auditor: Allows users to audit Concur Verify anomaly and fraud events.
Business Purpose / Client Benefit: These roles will support a new functionality that will leverage artificial intelligence to identify exceptions for auditors to review. This will improve compliance and provide a more efficient and effective auditing experience.
Client Notifications
SAP Concur Non-Affiliated Subprocessors
The list of non-affiliated subprocessors is available here: SAP Concur list of Subprocessors (English Only)
Monthly Browser Certifications
Monthly browser certifications, both current and planned, are available with the other SAP Concur monthly release notes, accessible from What's New - Standard Edition
