June 2019 Budget Standard Edition Admin Summary
Initial Post
Release Note Summaries
All Products
Budget Items: Manage Managers (Optional) Tab Name ChangeSAP Concur is renaming the Manage Managers (Optional) tab to Filter by Managers (optional) in the Add Budget Item and Modify Budget Item windows in Budget Items. In addition, the Enable Budget Item Manager Tab option in Budget Settings will be renamed to Enable filtering by Budget Manager. The Filter by Manager functionality is intended for smaller companies that do not have departments or cost centers defined in SAP Concur and very large companies that do not assign cost centers to middle and lower management.
Business Purpose / Client Benefit: This enhancement will make it clearer for clients when to use this feature.
Message When Budget Approver Step Is SkippedWith this release, when a budget workflow step is skipped because the submitter or approver is also the budget approver or when no budgets or no budgets with approvers are matched, the Approval Flow window will display a message for why the budget approval step was skipped for the shown approver.
Business Purpose / Client Benefit: This enhancement makes it easier to understand why a budget approval step is skipped.
Product Settings: Cost Tracking Link Renamed to Custom FieldsWith this release, the Cost Tracking link in the Capturing Spend section in Product Settings has been renamed to Custom Fields. The new link name now matches the name of the Manage Custom Fields page. The on-page text under this link in the Capturing Spend section has also been updated.
The existing Shared: Cost Tracking Setup Guide for Concur Standard Edition has been renamed to Shared: Custom Fields Setup Guide for Concur Standard Edition to coincide with recent updates to this feature. In addition, the existing file name SG_Shr_Cost_Tracking.pdf has been renamed to SG_Shr_Custom_Fields.pdf.
Business Purpose / Client Benefit: This update improves custom field management by providing a better end user experience.
Concur Administration: SAP Concur Product Access ChangesWith this release, clients must access SAP Concur products and services via the following domains:
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*.concursolutions.com
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*.concurcdc.cn
SAP Concur recommends clients migrate to the one of the domains at their earliest convenience, if they are not already using one of them.
Please contact appsec@sap.com for any questions regarding this change.
Business Purpose / Client Benefit: This change allows clients to access SAP Concur services in a consistent, secure manner.
**Ongoing** Email Infrastructure Change - Add IP Addresses to Safe Sender ListSAP Concur is transitioning to a new email infrastructure for outbound email from our services to SAP Concur users. Because of this, companies who filter inbound email based on the sending IP address must add new IP addresses to their Safe Sender list to ensure that their users receive email from SAP Concur.
Initially, the issue described here affected only companies that use Concur Expense. Starting in January, email from other SAP Concur services (such as Concur Travel and Concur Pay) will move to the new email infrastructure.
We will continue to add other services. Please monitor the release notes for more information about the timing of the additional changes.
Concur Request
Budget Categories: Parent Expense Types Available When Request is EnabledConcur Request clients will now be able to select parent expense types when Concur Request is enabled. This will make it easier when, for example, clients travel somewhere for a few days and do not know how many lunches and dinners they will eat. Instead of specifying several lunches and dinners, they can select the parent expense type (Meals).
Business Purpose / Client Benefit: This feature makes it easier for clients to select an appropriate expense type when they do not have all the expense details.
Planned Change Summaries
All Products
**Planned Changes** Budget v4 API Available Soon AvailableSAP Concur will be releasing the Budget v4 API for partner and client use in a future release. Budget v4 provides the following features:
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Fiscal Calendar: This API can GET, POST, and DELETE fiscal years and periods similar to the Fiscal Calendar UI in Budget Configuration.
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Budget Category: This API can GET, POST, and DELETE budget categories, and GET all expense types of a budget category.
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Budget Items: This API can GET, POST, and DELETE budget items including details such as period amounts, budget item tracking fields (cost objects), budget viewers, managers, and approvers.
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Budget Tracking Field: This API can GET all budget tracking fields.
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Budget Adjustment: This API can POST budget adjustments.
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Global availability: Budget v4 API is supported in all SAP Concur data centers.
Business Purpose / Client Benefit: This new budget API enables clients (and partners) to integrate Budget with their ERP and HR systems to automate budget configuration and maintenance as well as importing external transactions not captured via SAP Concur through budget adjustments.
**Planned Changes** Change in IP RestrictionsThese changes are part of the SAP Concur continued commitment to maintaining secure authentication.
When a user signs in to SAP Concur, one of the validation processes includes checking for and adhering to any IP Restrictions (IPRs). IPRs are specific IPs or IP ranges that are defined by a company to restrict the IPs from which their users can sign in to SAP Concur. An IPR can be a string that contains a list of acceptable IP addresses and/or IP address patterns, for example: "170.242.6.43;170.243.70.42;170.243.70.43;171.159.*.*".
Currently, IPRs are set for each of a company's travel configurations, which creates maintenance issues for companies with many travel configurations and provides opportunities for errors. In addition, new travel configurations are not automatically included and can easily be forgotten.
Targeted for the August release, SAP Concur will change this setting from a configuration-level setting to a company-level setting. With this change, one set of IPRs will apply to the entire company.
Very few clients will be affected by this change. In addition, all of the affected clients will be contacted individually – in advance – by SAP Concur to make any required settings changes.
Business Purpose / Client Benefit: Clients who use IPRs can be assured that the IPRs apply to the entire company.
**Planned Changes** Source IP Checking (EMEA)Beginning July 15, 2019, SAP Concur will implement source Internet Protocol (IP) checking for all Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) file transfer accounts.
NEW CLIENTS
During new client implementation, SAP Concur will add IP addresses for new clients to the SAP Concur access control list (ACL).
EXISTING CLIENTS
Please contact SAP Concur support by July 1, 2019 to have your source IP addresses added to the SAP Concur access control list (ACL).
Business Purpose / Client Benefit: These changes provide greater security for file transfers.
**Planned Changes** Mandatory SFTP with SSH Key AuthenticationNon-SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol) protocols and password authentication will eventually be deprecated.
NEW CLIENTS
New file transfer accounts must use SFTP with Secure Shell (SSH) Key Authentication.
EXISTING CLIENTS
Existing non-SFTP file transfer accounts will be required to switch to SFTP with SSH Key Authentication.
Business Purpose / Client Benefit: These changes provide greater security for file transfers.
**Planned Changes** Single Sign-On (SSO) Self-Service Option Coming to SAP ConcurThese changes are part of the SAP Concur continued commitment to maintaining secure authentication.
Single 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 organization.
SAP Concur is planning to add a Manage Single Sign-On (SSO) feature to SAP Concur products which provides clients with a self-service option for setting up SSO for their organization. SSO is currently supported for Concur Expense, Invoice, Request, and Travel.
The new Manage Single Sign-On (SSO) feature is a replacement tool for clients using existing SSO configuration and a new tool for clients that now want to implement SSO at their organization. Existing SSO configuration and the new SSO Self-Service tool will both be available until everyone has migrated to the new SSO Self-Service tool.
Other SAP Concur products and services are outside the scope of this initial release.
Business Purpose / Client Benefit: This feature provides SAP Concur clients with a self-service option for setting up SSO.
**Planned Changes** New SAP Concur Sign In PageThese changes are part of the SAP Concur continued commitment to maintaining secure authentication.
SAP Concur is planning to add a new Sign In page, providing an updated login experience for users who log in with user name and password credentials. Current Single Sign-On (SSO) users will be able to start the SSO login process at www.concursolutions.com. This feature is planned for 2019.
The new Sign In page feature includes the following:
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Two-step login: provides enhanced security, meets current industry standards, and provides a better log in success rate
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Multi-account login: allows administrators to log in with multiple accounts (planned for a future release)
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User avatar: enhances the user experience (planned for a future release)
Business Purpose / Client Benefit: This feature provides better security and a faster, more convenient experience for users logging in to SAP Concur products and services.
Concur Expense and Concur Invoice
**Planned Changes** Workflow Steps RenamedWith this release, SAP Concur will rename two terms in Workflows for clarification.
For Budget, the "Budget Owner" in the Role column on the Workflows page will be renamed "Budget Approver".
Business Purpose / Client Benefit: This enhancement makes it easier for clients to see what product they use and what role they should use.
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
