August 2021 Concur Expense Standard Edition Admin Summary
Initial Post
Release Note Summaries
API
Changes to API Deprecation PolicyOur API deprecation policy has changed to further align with SAP.
For more information, refer to the SAP Concur Developer Centre release notes.
App Centre
Amazon Business IntegrationWith this release, SAP Concur solutions is excited to announce that Amazon Business is now integrated with SAP Concur. With this integration, companies are now able to offer their employees, who purchase items through Amazon Business, the ability to add their expenses to an expense claim, view the e-receipt and then submit, rather than needing to import receipts or filling out forms for each expense.
Business Purpose/Client Benefit: This integration allows employees to easily purchase items through Amazon Business and then submit their expenses in Concur Expense.
Authentication
Support for HMAC Now DeprecatedThese changes are part of the SAP Concur continued commitment to maintaining secure authentication.
SAP Concur support for Hash-Based Message Authentication Code (HMAC) has been deprecated.
SAP Concur provides a Single Sign-On self-service option that enables client admins to set up 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).
Business Purpose/Client Benefit: This change provides better security and improved support for users logging in to SAP Concur products and services.
Authentication Administration
New Company Request Token Self-Service ToolIn late August, a new Company Request Token self-service tool will be available to SAP Concur admins who have been assigned the Company Admin or Web Services Admin role.
The Company Request Token self-service tool enables clients to generate the Company Request Token that is required to request a JSON web token (JWT) when connecting to APIs on the SAP Concur platform.
Business Purpose/Client Benefit: The Company Request Token self-service tool enables clients to generate Company Request Tokens without contacting SAP Concur support. This tool also enables clients to generate a replacement Company Request Token without assistance from SAP Concur support if their Company Request Token expires or is lost.
Client Web Services
Register Partner Application Page No Longer ActiveOn 21 August, the Register Partner Application page will no longer be active and all new authentication applications must use the new application management self-service tool.
The new application management self-service tool replaces the Register Partner Application page.
For more information, refer to the Self-Service Tool for Application Management (English only) release note.
Business Purpose/Client Benefit: The new application management tool enables clients who have SAP Concur Client Web Services to generate Client IDs (App IDs) and Client Secrets without contacting SAP Concur support.
The new self-service tool for application management also enables clients to create OAuth 2.0 compliant applications.
OAuth 1.0 was deprecated on 4 February 2017. Refer to the SAP Concur Developer Portal for more information.
Self-Service Tool for Application ManagementBeginning in late August, clients who have SAP Concur Client Web Services can request access to a new application management self-service tool. The application management self-service tool can be enabled by the Client Web Services team for SAP Concur Web Services clients who request it.
When enabled, the tool will be available in the SAP Concur web UI to admin users who have been assigned the Web Services Admin role.
Business Purpose/Client Benefit: The application management tool enables clients to generate Client IDs (App IDs) and Client Secrets without contacting SAP Concur support.
Expense Pay
Expense PayInstances of partner have been updated to use the term provider.
Business Purpose/Client Benefit: This change aligns with planned changes for richer integration.
File Transfer Updates
**Ongoing** Mandatory SFTP with SSH Key AuthenticationThis release note is intended for technical staff responsible for file transmissions with SAP Concur products. For SAP Concur customers and suppliers participating in data exchange through various secure file transfer protocols, SAP is making changes that provide greater security for those file transfers.
As of 10 April, 2021, non-SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol) protocols and SFTP password authentication are not allowed to connect to SAP Concur for file transfers:
Non-SFTP file transfer accounts must switch to SFTP with SSH Key Authentication.
SFTP file transfer accounts that use password authentication must switch to SSH key authentication.
SFTP password reset requests require the client to provide an SSH key for authentication.
On 12 April 2021, SAP started disabling non-compliant file transfer connections. The process of disabling non-compliant accounts will continue throughout 2021. If you have multiple file transfer connections configured, this change applies to all of your file transfer connections.
This announcement pertains to the following file transfer DNS endpoints:
st.concursolutions.com
st-eu.concursolutions.com
vs.concursolutions.com
vs.concurcdc.cn
Business Purpose / Client Benefit: These changes provide greater security for file transfers.
**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 24 January 2022. 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 TransfersFiles transferred to SAP Concur products 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.
Miscellaneous
5-Star Rating Replaced with New SurveyAs of 1 August 2021, Concur Expense end users who are using the NextGen UI see a new survey when submitting expense claims. As of 19 August, all Concur Expense end users will see the new survey. The short survey appears intermittently and it enables the user to provide feedback on their experience with Concur Expense.
Previously, after submitting an expense claim, a message appeared intermittently asking the user to rate their experience from 1 to 5 stars.
Business Purpose/Client Benefit: The new survey collects more actionable feedback that can be used by the SAP Concur product teams to prioritise and improve the features they deliver.
Customer Privacy Statement Link AvailableBeginning with the August release, clients can configure a link to their company’s privacy statement. The link will appear in the footer of their SAP Concur site with the text “Customer Privacy Statement”.
Business Purpose/Client Benefit: This change enables clients to meet GDPR and other legal requirements to provide their privacy statement to their customers.
NextGen UI
(Japan) JPT on NextGen UIThese changes are part of the NextGen UI experience.
Net-new customers that use NextGen Expense and Japan Public Transportation (JPT) users can leverage the features of the JPT on NextGen UI feature for a modern, consistent, streamlined user experience for JPT expenses incurred in Japan.
Business Purpose/Client Benefit: JPT on NextGen UI allows users to expense JPT using robust route searches to search for and select their applicable journeys for reimbursement, add a commuter pass to their profile and create and save a regular journey for easier searching when creating and submitting a JPT expense.
**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.
Profile
(India) Changes for Bank InformationFor users receiving Expense Pay reimbursements in Indian Rupees (INR), the SWIFT/BIC field is now required. Users who enter or update their Bank Information page in Profile will need to provide this information moving forward. This change is required for future provider-based pay solutions for this currency and compliance with local banking regulations.
The following field is impacted by this change:
SWIFT/BIC (required, masked and encrypted)
Business Purpose/Client Benefit: Concur Expense must contain all information that may be required for payment processing.
Mobile Number Validation on UI and in Employee Import FileSAP Concur has updated the Mobile Phone field in the Profile > Personal Information user interface to contain only digits, dashes, spaces and brackets (released July 2021). Previously, brackets were not allowed and resulted in an error. No other phone number fields, such as Work Phone and Home Phone, have been modified in this manner.
The same modification has been made in the Cell Phone field in the 350 Travel Addendum import file. Specifically, when saving information to the database, SAP Concur will strip out any unallowed characters (i.e. anything that is not a digit, space, dash or bracket).
Clients do NOT need to make any changes to their import files. Everything that is currently in the import file itself will continue to be allowed. However, the information saved on import in the SAP Concur database, which is returned in subsequent API calls and displayed to the user, will only include allowed characters in the Cell Phone field.
Business Purpose/Client Benefit: SAP Concur is taking steps to standardise customer data to help reduce errors.
(Singapore) Changes for Bank InformationFor users receiving Expense Pay reimbursements in Singapore Dollars (SGD), the SWIFT/BIC field is now required. Users who enter or update their Bank Information page in Profile will need to provide this information moving forward. This change is required for future provider-based pay solutions for this currency and compliance with local banking regulations.
The following field is impacted by this change:
SWIFT/BIC (required, masked and encrypted)
Business Purpose/Client Benefit: Concur Expense must contain all information that may be required for payment processing.
SAP Concur User Assistance
Online Help Now Available on SAP Help PortalSAP is now publishing the SAP Concur solutions’ online help information on SAP Help Portal (http://help.sap.com). SAP Help Portal has a new look and feel for the help, and additional functionality. The content remains the same.
New functionality:
Search with advanced options
Provide feedback on each page
Change the font size
Create a custom PDF by selecting a subset of pages in the help
Share a page via link, email or social media
Mark pages as favourites, and limit search to only those pages (if logged in to SAP Help Portal, available for free)
Customers can view SAP Concur online help and links to all documentation by accessing the product pages for the relevant product.
Concur Expense:
https://help.sap.com/viewer/product/CONCUR_EXPENSE/LATEST/en-USConcur Invoice:
https://help.sap.com/viewer/product/CONCUR_INVOICE/LATEST/en-USConcur Request:
https://help.sap.com/viewer/product/CONCUR_REQUEST/LATEST/en-USConcur Travel:
https://help.sap.com/viewer/product/CONCUR_TRAVEL/LATEST/en-USBusiness Purpose/Client Benefit: This update increases the functionality available in the online help, and consolidates the SAP Concur solutions documentation with other SAP products on the central SAP Help Portal.
Supported Configurations
Supported BrowsersBecause web browsers are frequently updated, for ease of maintenance and to ensure that our documented supported browser information does not become out of date, we no longer publish the specific version data for supported browsers in the Concur Travel & Expense Supported Configurations Guide (English only). In addition, the Monthly Browser Certifications (English only) document is now retired and will no longer be updated with supported browser version information each month.
For the most responsive, reliable and secure user experience with our products, SAP Concur recommends that users implement the most recent technology that is compliant with manufacturer's distribution and your company’s support and security policies.
For more supported browser information, refer to the Concur Travel & Expense Supported Configurations Guide (English only).
Business Purpose/Client Benefit: This change helps to ensure that the supported browser information in the Concur Travel & Expense Supported Configurations Guide (English only) remains up to date.
Providing up-to-date supported browser information to users ensures that they have a better user experience while accessing the web version of SAP Concur.
Web Services Administration
**Ongoing** Application Connector Username and Password Length Requirements UpdatedStarting 04 October 2021, the length of the username and password associated with an application connector must be at least 10 characters long and not more than 50 characters long. To avoid disruption of callouts through application connections, usernames and passwords that do not meet these requirements must be updated before 04 October 2021.
Application connection usernames and passwords can be updated by an administrator with the Company Admin or Web Services Admin role.
Business Purpose / Client Benefit: Enforcing password and username length restrictions improves the security standards for callouts made through the application connector.
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 August 2021 Shared Planned Changes Standard Edition Admin Summary.
Employee Import
**Planned Changes** EFT Supplemental Detail Bank Account Import Added as 820A new employee import record set, EFT Supplemental Detail Bank Account Import, will be added to the overnight employee import job. This new record set is at the 820-record level, and includes identical records to those found in the 810-level records, with the addition of fields and validations for information that will be required in the future.
The following are the supplemental fields found only in the 820 record:
Field 20: Phone Number (optional)
Field 21: Date of Birth (optional)
Field 22: Bank Branch Postal Address Line 1 (optional)
Field 23: Bank Branch Postal Address Line 2 (optional)
Field 24: Bank Branch Postal Address City (optional)
Field 25: Bank Branch Postal Address Region (optional)
Field 26: Bank Branch Postal Code (optional)
The following additional currency-specific validations will be added for Canadian Dollar (CAD), Indian Rupee (INR), Mexico Nuevo Peso (MXN), Singapore Dollar (SDG) and Japanese Yen (JPY):
Personal Address (Fields 11-15) will be required for CAD
Bank Account Secondary Routing Number (Field 18) will be required for INR and SDG, and should be populated with the bank’s Swift/BIC
Bank Identification Number (BIN) (Field 4) and TAXID (Field 17) will be required and must be provided for MXN, where BIN is 8- or 11-characters; SWIFT code and the Tax ID are either the RFC code (13 characters – example: MALA780724988) or the CURP code (18 characters – example: GOJO601228HVZRML07).
SWIFT/BIC (Field 4), Personal Address (Fields 11-15) and Bank Branch Address (Field 6) will be required for JPY.
Business Purpose/Client Benefit: Concur Expense must contain all information that may be required for payment processing.
For more information, refer to the Shared: Employee Import Specification (English Only).
Expense Pay Classic
**Planned Changes** Decommission of All CurrenciesSAP Concur has been pursuing a multi-year effort to transition our portfolio of payment solutions to payment-provider-enabled solutions. This is evidenced by our existing Expense Pay Global solution with Bambora and planned Expense Pay Flex solution with Western Union Business Solutions.
Currently, SAP Concur is planning to decommission the legacy Expense Pay classic solution effective 31 December 2021. As we move into the next phase of our pay strategy via payment provider solutions, this decommission will require customers using Expense Pay classic to enable alternative solutions. Payments for Expense Pay classic for all currencies will discontinue to employees and credit card providers as of 1 January 2022. Customers using Expense Pay classic have been communicated with directly regarding this change.
Business Purpose/Client Benefit: This change is part of a transition to payment-provider-enabled solutions to support future product enhancements and richer integration.
Financial Integration
**Planned Changes** Default VAT Reclaim Codes Removed When Connecting an ERPWith the September release, when a client first connects SAP Concur to their ERP accounting software, the default reclaim codes in SAP Concur will be removed and must be remapped.
Business Purpose/Client Benefit: This change helps to ensure that the correct VAT reclaim codes are associated with expense types in Concur Expense.
Product Settings
**Planned Changes** Activation WizardBeginning with the October release, SAP Concur plans to offer an Activation Wizard for some new clients who are implementing Concur Expense Standard Edition. SAP Concur plans to implement the Activation Wizard for all new clients in November 2021.
The Activation Wizard is an in-product, self-service guidance system that enables these clients to implement the core features of Concur Expense without the assistance of an SAP Concur activation coach.
Business Purpose/Client Benefit: This feature enables clients to configure the core features of Concur Expense Standard Edition at their company without requiring the assistance of an SAP Concur activation coach.
Client Notifications
Accessibility Updates
SAP implements changes to better meet current Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). Information about accessibility-related changes made to SAP Concur solutions is published on a quarterly basis. You can review the quarterly updates on the Accessibility Updates (English only) page.
SAP Concur Non-Affiliated Subprocessors
The list of non-affiliated subprocessors is available here: SAP Concur list of Subprocessors (English Only)
Supported Browsers
Supported browsers are available with the other SAP Concur monthly release notes, accessible from What's New - Standard Edition
