Customizing Expense Types and Categories in SAP Concur
Subject: SAP-Concur | SAP Domain
Expense management is at the heart of SAP Concur’s solution suite, helping organizations control costs, improve compliance, and streamline reporting. A critical aspect of this process is the customization of expense types and categories to match an organization's unique financial policies and operational requirements.
This article explores how to customize expense types and categories in SAP Concur to optimize expense tracking, reporting, and policy enforcement.
¶ Understanding Expense Types and Categories
- Expense Types: These represent the specific kinds of expenses that employees can submit, such as airfare, meals, lodging, or office supplies.
- Categories: Expense types are grouped into categories to organize expenses logically, such as Travel, Meals & Entertainment, or Administrative Costs.
Customization allows businesses to define these in a way that fits their accounting, reporting, and control needs.
¶ Why Customize Expense Types and Categories?
- Align with Internal Policies: Reflect company-specific rules and compliance requirements.
- Improve Reporting Accuracy: Tailor categories to support detailed financial analysis and budgeting.
- Enhance User Experience: Provide clear options that make expense entry intuitive for employees.
- Support Tax and Regulatory Compliance: Include tax codes, receipt requirements, and limits per expense type.
- Simplify Approval Workflows: Enable automatic routing based on expense types.
¶ Step-by-Step Guide to Customizing Expense Types and Categories
- Log in as an SAP Concur administrator.
- Navigate to Administration > Expense Configuration > Expense Types.
¶ 2. Review Existing Expense Types and Categories
- Audit the default list provided by SAP Concur.
- Identify which types/categories are relevant, need modification, or should be added or removed.
- Click Add New Expense Type to create a custom expense type.
- Define the name, description, and associated category.
- Set controls such as mandatory receipt upload, maximum allowed amount, and tax applicability.
- Assign GL (General Ledger) codes or integration-specific accounting codes.
- Group related expense types into logical categories.
- Rename or reorder categories for clarity.
- Enable or disable categories to control availability for users.
- Link expense types to corporate policies (e.g., allowable limits, pre-approval needs).
- Set flags for reimbursable vs. non-reimbursable expenses.
¶ 6. Test and Deploy
- Pilot the customized setup with a small user group.
- Collect feedback and make adjustments as needed.
- Roll out changes to all users with training and updated guidelines.
- Keep it Simple: Avoid overly complex categories that confuse users.
- Use Clear Naming Conventions: Names should be intuitive and consistent.
- Regularly Review: Periodically revisit expense types and categories to reflect evolving business needs.
- Leverage Analytics: Use SAP Concur’s reporting to identify frequently used expense types and adjust accordingly.
- Ensure Compliance: Integrate tax and legal requirements into expense definitions.
¶ Benefits of Customizing Expense Types and Categories
- Greater visibility into company spend patterns
- Improved policy adherence and fraud prevention
- Streamlined auditing and tax reporting processes
- Enhanced employee satisfaction with easier expense reporting
Customizing expense types and categories in SAP Concur empowers organizations to tailor their expense management processes for maximum efficiency, compliance, and insight. By aligning the system setup with corporate financial strategies and policies, companies can achieve better control over expenses and simplify the user experience.
For SAP Concur administrators, mastering these customizations is a crucial step toward unlocking the full potential of the platform.
Keywords: SAP Concur, Expense Types, Expense Categories, Expense Customization, Corporate Expense Policies, SAP Concur Administration, Expense Reporting, GL Coding