Product Updates

 At SAP Concur, we strive to anticipate our customers' needs and deliver innovative solutions that make managing travel and expenses simpler, more efficient, and effective. Today, we are excited to announce the latest advancements in our SAP Expense solution.AI-Powered Receipt ScanningOur new AI-powered receipt scanning feature transforms how employees manage their expenses. This cutting-edge functionality allows users to take a photo of their receipts, and our AI technology will automatically extract and categorize the relevant details, significantly reducing manual entry and errors.Smart receipt categorization for faster approvals. Automated data extraction reduces manual input by up to 85%. Enhanced accuracy ensuring financial integrity and compliance.“With AI-powered scanning, our goal is to alleviate the burdens of manual expense reporting,” said Chris Juneau, SVP and Head of Product Marketing at SAP Concur. “This feature provides an opportunity to enhance accuracy while saving time for everyone involved in the expense management process.”Enhanced Expense Policy ComplianceSAP Concur is enhancing expense policy compliance features within the SAP Expense solution to support more robust oversight and simplification of compliance checks.Real-time detection of non-compliant submissions. Automated flagging for out-of-policy expenses. Customizable compliance rules to align with company policies.These improvements are designed to help businesses maintain compliance effortlessly, reducing risk and improving transparency across the board.Mobile Expense ReportingKeeping pace with the mobile-first world, we’ve made significant enhancements to our mobile expense reporting capabilities. The SAP Concur mobile app now offers:Quick and easy expense submission on the go. Push notifications for reminders on pending submissions. Seamless integration with mobile receipt scanning. Real-time analytics to track expense trends and approvals.This allows employees to manage and submit expenses anytime, anywhere, ensuring timely reimbursement and expense tracking, all in the convenience of their mobile devices.Expense Analytics DashboardWe are also rolling out new enhancements to our Expense Analytics Dashboard. This refreshed dashboard provides a comprehensive, real-time view of spending and trends, giving finance teams the insights needed to make informed decisions.Detailed insights into spending patterns. Real-time data to monitor budget utilization. Customizable reports for different departments and projects. Interactive charts and graphs to visualize expense data effectively.Our improved analytics capabilities help organizations understand their expenses better and identify opportunities for cost savings and efficiency improvements.Simplified Approvals WorkflowTo streamline the expense approval process, we have introduced a simplified workflow that accelerates approvals while ensuring compliance.Single-click approvals for faster processing. Automated routing based on predefined rules. Detailed audit trails for compliance and reporting.This new workflow reduces bottlenecks and enhances productivity, making the approval process more efficient for managers and finance teams alike.At SAP Concur, we are committed to making business travel and expense management effortless for employees and organizations. These new features and enhancements are a testament to our dedication to continuous innovation, simplifying your complex, policy-driven processes.For more details on these exciting updates, visit our resource center here. 

Published today, the findings of the seventh annual SAP Concur Global Business Travel Survey suggest that business travel budgets may be on the rise this year. They also reveal complexities within the travel and expense (T&E) function, resulting in somewhat of a “yes—but” situation for organizations.“According to this year’s survey, travel budgets are increasing, employees are willing to travel for business, and they are open to chipping in for better travel experiences,” said Charlie Sultan, President of Concur Travel. “It may feel like business travel as usual, but there is more to the story. Travel policies are becoming stricter, travel frequency remains a pain point, and employers aren’t meeting their travelers’ expectations.”Below are some of the key findings from the Global Business Travel Survey, which surveyed 3,750 business travelers across 24 markets, 700 travel managers across seven markets, and—new this year—600 CFOs across six markets between April 30-May 12, 2025.Nearly all business travelers are willing to travel for business this year, but company leaders should watch for signs of discontent.•     Almost all business travelers globally (97%) say that they are at least somewhat willing to travel for business over the next 12 months—in contrast to travel manager and CFO perceptions that employee reluctance or refusal to travel is a top concern.•     Ninety-four percent of business travelers say that business travel is helpful (39%) or even essential (55%) for them to be successful in their role. Interestingly, more men (58%) say that it is essential for their work compared to women (49%).•     But leaders could still be on to something: Overall, 90% of business travelers say they would consider declining a business trip for certain reasons. Top reasons include:                o     Safety or social concerns for traveling to certain parts of the world (40%).                o     Health concerns with traveling to a destination (38%).                o     Feeling burnt out with travel and just needing a break (26%).•     Although 51% of business travelers say that the current frequency of their business travel is about right, around half of business travelers (49%) describe it as different than desired. Thirty percent of all travelers surveyed say that they currently travel more than they’d like, while 19% say that they currently travel less than they’d like. Those who work fully remote are more likely to say that their level of travel is different than they desire (64%), compared to those who work fully onsite (46%) or have a hybrid schedule (45%).•     Following incidents earlier in the year, a slight majority of business travelers (58%) have concerns about air travel safety, although 41% say that it’s not changing their travel plans.                o     Among those who are somewhat or less willing to travel for business over the next 12 months, 68% are concerned about air travel safety this year. Of those who are very willing to travel for business this year, 53% are also concerned—a bit less than the 58% average.Cuts are being made to allowable business travel expenses, even as companies’ travel budgets are expected to increase or stay the same in 2025.•     This survey was fielded during a period of high uncertainty associated with global trade, but 89% of business travelers, 93% of travel managers, and 90% of CFOs globally still say that they expect their organization’s travel budget to increase or stay the same this year.•     Yet, survey findings suggest that many travel budgets are still insufficient, regardless of increasing investment. Sixty-nine percent of travel managers agree that their company’s travel budget doesn’t reflect how important business travel is to its success, and 81% of CFOs agree that budget limitations at their company mean employees are unable to travel as much as needed to effectively perform their jobs.•     The majority of business travelers (60%), travel managers (59%), and CFOs (59%) say that cuts to their company’s travel budget typically show up as small changes to all trips—such as requiring choosing the lowest fares, no checked bags, or cuts to room or flight upgrades—versus larger, policy-level changes. They also confirm that cuts are being made:                 o     Eighty-seven percent of business travelers say that their company has cut back on things over the past 12 months that they previously allowed, including staying overnight to avoid a long day of travel for a day trip (30%), using business or premium class (30%), and traveling for non-client purposes (28%).                 o     Some companies are getting stricter about blended travel. Twenty-six percent of business travelers say that their company has cut back on allowing them to work remotely while traveling for pleasure—a travel perk that was particularly popular during the pandemic—and 25% say their company has cut back on allowing adding personal travel to a business trip.Employees are willing to spend their own money to make up the difference in their business travel experiences—which tend to be a bit more luxe than their personal travel.•     Most business travelers globally (84%) say that their habits during business travel differ from their habits during personal travel. Commonly cited business travel differences include:                o     Staying at higher-quality hotels or booking a premium room (34%).                o     Booking direct flights, even if more expensive (33%).                o     Taking private transportation, like Uber or a car service (32%).                o     Dining out at higher-quality restaurants or spending more on food and drinks (29%).                o     Ordering room service instead of dining out (26%).                o     Giving larger tips or tipping for services when it’s not typically required (22%).•     When not covered by company policies, 85% of business travelers say they would spend their own money on perks to enhance business travel, including higher-quality accommodations (38%), additional hotel nights to avoid a long day of travel (35%), and premium seating (30%).•     Simultaneously, most business travelers (84%) have recently started taking steps during business trips to save money or stretch their budgets. Popular choices include:                o     Eating cheaper meals to spend less than the per diem or travel allowance (36%).                o     Using a personal card or rewards programs to earn points or miles (34%).                o     Preparing meals to spend less on per diem or travel allowance (28%).                o     Bringing snacks or leftover food and drinks home (26%).                o     Bringing home amenities like hotel soap and conference swag (24%).•     Although a quarter of business travelers say their company has cut back on allowing adding personal travel to a business trip, 27% say they have recently started doing this to save on costs, suggesting that this remains a popular way to stretch personal travel budgets.The SAP Concur Global Business Traveler Survey was conducted by Wakefield Research between April 30 and May 12, 2025, among 3,750 business travelers in 24 markets: U.S., Canada, UK, Germany, France, Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg), Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Italy, Spain, ANZ (Australia, New Zealand), Middle East (UAE, Saudi Arabia), Japan, Korea, India, Mexico, Brazil, SEA (Singapore, Malaysia), South Africa, Portugal, Switzerland, and Austria.The SAP Concur Global Travel Manager Survey was conducted by Wakefield Research between April 30 and May 12, 2025, among 700 travel managers, defined as those who direct or administer travel programs for businesses, across seven markets: Germany, Italy, Canada, Japan, ANZ (Australia, New Zealand), UK, and U.S.The SAP Concur Global CFO Survey was conducted by Wakefield Research between April 30 and May 12, 2025, among 600 CFOs across six markets: Germany, Canada, Japan, ANZ (Australia, New Zealand), UK, and U.S.Company NewsStudy: Business Traveler, Travel Manager, CFO Comfort Levels with AITo understand how the industry is adapting, we queried business travelers, travel managers, and—for the first time—CFOs in our seventh annual SAP Concur Global Business Travel Survey. Here’s what we fKeep reading Company NewsSAP Concur Continues to Deliver Business Travel Innovation with Booking Agent, Consumer-Grade Travel Features at GBTA 2025Today, at the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) Convention in Denver, we’re announcing new milestones in this journey with new consumer-grade travel features that harness AI, help travelers eaKeep reading 

AI adoption is accelerating and, as a company that has been using AI in our travel and expense solutions for over a decade, we’re energized to see business travelers and travel managers take advantage of this emerging technology.But change rarely happens without some growing pains. We understand that AI adoption is a journey and not a one-stop destination, which is why we offer choice and support customers in determining where AI can be most beneficial.To understand how the industry is adapting, we queried business travelers, travel managers, and—for the first time—CFOs in our seventh annual SAP Concur Global Business Travel Survey. Here’s what we found:Nearly nine in 10 business travelers globally (88%) say they’d be comfortable using AI-powered automation for some elements of business travel, like booking, re-booking, or managing expenses—though there is a difference in comfort levels regarding when they use it.  From a regional perspective, even more U.S. business travelers (94%) are comfortable using AI-powered automation for some elements of business travel. Globally, comfort levels are highest with Gen Z (95%) and millennial (91%) travelers compared to Gen X (78%) and baby boomer (65%) travelers. More than two in five business travelers globally (44%) are comfortable using AI to re-book or make changes before a trip, and nearly as many (39%) are comfortable with AI curating travel options during the initial booking. Slightly fewer travelers globally (31%) are comfortable with using AI to re-book or make changes during a trip. Likewise, travel managers globally are also more at ease if travelers use AI prior to travel. Sixty-seven percent think it is fine for travelers to use it to re-book or make changes before the trip, compared to 57% who are comfortable with this during a trip.   A nearly equal percentage of business travelers (30%) and travel managers (28%) are comfortable with AI being used to complete expense reports after the trip. AI-enabled booking is still a new experience for business travelers, so it’s no surprise many lean toward using traditional options—but we expect this to change as employee enablement grows, and comfort levels increase.When asked about their preferred booking experience, 33% of business travelers globally say they prefer to sort through all available options manually to choose the ones they want. This practice is especially preferred by Gen X (40%) and baby boomer (42%) travelers. Twenty-nine percent would rather work with a travel agent and 21% prefer to select options based on a colleague’s recommendations. Seventeen percent prefer an AI-curated list of options based on their preferences and needs. This practice is more popular with Gen Z and millennial travelers (both 19%) compared to Gen X (13%) and baby boomer (5%) travelers. Travel managers are interested in having AI-enabled components incorporated into their booking tools as well. Nearly half (48%) would like to see AI automate repetitive tasks, but feel it shouldn’t be used for all tasks.As companies embrace AI, business travelers are looking for support to smooth the transition.  To feel comfortable using AI-enabled options for booking trips, travelers want assurances that their personal data will be protected (45%) and that the tools do not create potential bias (36%).   Nearly two in five (39%) want company-provided training on how to use it, while 29% want to be sure they won’t face repercussions if the AI-suggested bookings go against company policies. The need for AI training is evident in more than just travel booking—employees may need a reminder on responsible use when it comes to expenses.There’s a consensus among survey respondents that employees are likely using AI to attempt to falsify travel expenses or receipts. This belief is held by 67% of CFOs, 78% of travel managers, and 55% of business travelers. Some claim to know with certainty that this is happening, including 9% of CFOs, 10% of travel managers, and 10% of business travelers. Generationally, more Gen Z (11%) and millennial (12%) travelers know this is happening, compared to 8% of Gen X and 4% of baby boomer travelers. If AI were used to automate expense report approvals, more than half (55%) of CFOs would expect it to catch more errors and potential fraud than their teams currently do. However, 45% say they’d be concerned about more errors and undiscovered fraud slipping through undetected. CFOs’ concerns are valid, because although more business travelers globally (56%) say that it would be easier to deceive the approval team at their company with unallowed or “grey area” expenses, 44% feel it would be easier to deceive an AI-enabled approval platform.“Business travel is on the cusp of rapid transformation thanks to AI advancements,” said Chris Juneau, SVP and Head of Product Marketing at SAP Concur.  “We’re laying the groundwork with AI-powered solutions, built with the highest security and ethical standards, to make sure these tools are available to customers as comfort levels increase and they can realize the productivity benefits.” For more findings from this year’s Global Business Travel Survey, download the white paper here.  The SAP Concur Global Business Traveler Survey was conducted by Wakefield Research between April 30 and May 12, 2025, among 3,750 business travelers in 24 markets: U.S., Canada, UK, Germany, France, Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg), Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Italy, Spain, ANZ (Australia, New Zealand), Middle East (UAE, Saudi Arabia), Japan, Korea, India, Mexico, Brazil, SEA (Singapore, Malaysia), South Africa, Portugal, Switzerland, and Austria.  The SAP Concur Global Travel Manager Survey was conducted by Wakefield Research between April 30 and May 12, 2025, among 700 travel managers, defined as those who direct or administer travel programs for businesses, across seven markets: Germany, Italy, Canada, Japan, ANZ (Australia, New Zealand), UK, and U.S.  The SAP Concur Global CFO Survey was conducted by Wakefield Research between April 30 and May 12, 2025, among 600 CFOs across six markets: Germany, Canada, Japan, ANZ (Australia, New Zealand), UK, and U.S.   

At SAP Concur, we innovate continually to improve our customers’ experience—anticipating their needs and meeting them where they are—to help create a world where travel and expense tasks practically manage themselves.  Today, at the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) Convention in Denver, we’re announcing new milestones in this journey with new consumer-grade travel features that harness AI, help travelers easily book policy-compliant business trips, and receive important information instantly.New Booking AgentSAP Concur is transforming the planning and booking experience with the new Booking Agent solution. With this agent, travelers can book policy-compliant trips without needing to know the policy details. Plus, it is one of the many agents in the expanding network of Joule Agents from SAP, which will be able to reason and coordinate with other agents across business functions to execute tasks through multi-step, self-conceived workflows while involving a human.Booking Agent provides:Conversational booking guidance, making it easy for travelers to use natural language to ask for help booking a trip. With a simple query such as “book me a flight to Paris on Tuesday morning,” the agent will generate suggested, policy-compliant itineraries instantly.   Personalization with options that match traveler preferences while also adhering to company travel policies. Integrated expense context, surfacing real-time pricing breakdowns, travel class justifications, and spend estimates to eliminate surprises when it’s time for expense submission.Eighty-eight percent of global business travelers say they’d be comfortable using AI-powered automation for some elements of business travel, like booking, re-booking, or completing expense reports, according to the recently released seventh annual SAP Concur Global Business Travel Survey. The most popular uses were to support re-booking or making changes before the trip (44%) and curating travel options during the initial booking (39%).Booking Agent helps customers take advantage of the benefits of AI with these popular use cases in alignment with SAP Concur’s focus on meeting customers where they are on their AI adoption journeys. We offer choice, anticipate needs, and guide customers on where AI can be most beneficial.“We continue to enhance the new Concur Travel experience to better serve customers,” said Charlie Sultan, President of Concur Travel at SAP Concur. “With SAP Business AI, we’re innovating rapidly to transform the way companies manage business travel and improve the business traveler experience.”Customers participating in the SAP Early Adopter program will be able to book flights via Booking Agent starting in August with general availability planned for Q4 of this year.New Concur Request Features Help with Trip PlanningSAP Concur also is rolling out Concur Request enhancements that are now available to help with trip planning. First, a new budget authorization capability revolutionizes the way employees and managers use travel and expense budgets. This feature makes it possible to ask for budget that may apply to one or more participants during a defined period of time.Imagine an employee who visits a client site monthly. Instead of creating separate requests for each trip, the employee can now submit a single request that covers the budget for all trips over a select period. The capability can apply to one person with multiple trips, or teams and departments traveling together. For instance, a manager can request a total budget for a team attending a conference. The approved amount would then be assigned to multiple employees.Until now, users could only submit requests on their own behalf in Concur Request. With this new capability, the process is greatly simplified and grants flexibility for travelers and managers creating requests for multiple employees or trips.SAP Concur also continues to invest in consumer travel experiences for business trip planning. Similar to TripIt Pro’s Risk Alerts feature, Concur Request now offers travel advisories to business travelers, providing important information about potential  disruptions to their trip, such as airport strikes, natural disasters, or visa requirements. The travel advisory data powered by Riskline helps travelers assess risk about their destination when they make travel-related requests.Trip Extras to Easily Add Third-Party Travel Services and Guide Policy-aligned DecisionsConcur Travel offers customers a streamlined, secure, and user-friendly travel experience that is enhanced by integration with essential third-party services. SAP Concur is launching Trip Extras, a new Concur Travel feature that presents travelers with options to purchase relevant, vetted third-party travel services throughout the booking process. In addition, Trip Extras will provide travelers with timely information from trusted partners to help support decision making aligned with company policies, travel guidance, sustainability goals, and traveler wellbeing.With Trip Extras:Employees benefit from simplified bookings, reduced administrative tasks, and access to additional options from trusted providers, enhancing the overall experience. Customizable controls and real-time monitoring reduce fraud risk. Trip Extras also will display relevant information—such as tax compliance and carbon offsets—to help guide bookings and support policy-aligned decisions. With built-in duty of care features and verified partners, organizations can better protect travelers and respond swiftly in emergencies.Initially, Trip Extras will offer ground transportation options, in partnership with Groundspan, with plans to expand to other categories such as airport parking and visa processing, making business travel purchases easier. Trip Extras will be available as part of the SAP Early Adopter program in August 2025 with general availability planned for Q4 of this year.Managing business travel and expenses should feel effortless for employees, and with the right technology, it can be. At SAP Concur, we’re committed to making that experience a reality, continuously delivering features that simplify complex, policy-driven processes and bring our customers closer to a world where travel and expenses practically manage themselves.