In modern enterprises, effective travel and expense (T&E) management is critical for controlling costs and ensuring compliance. SAP Concur offers robust dashboard capabilities that enable organizations to visualize, monitor, and analyze T&E data in real time. These dashboards empower finance, travel managers, and executives with actionable insights to optimize spend, enforce policies, and improve operational efficiency.
This article explores the process of configuring and managing travel and expense dashboards in SAP Concur, providing best practices to maximize their value within your organization.
Dashboards in SAP Concur serve as interactive visual interfaces displaying key metrics related to travel bookings, expense reports, policy compliance, and spend patterns. By consolidating diverse data streams into customizable widgets and reports, dashboards provide a comprehensive overview that supports informed decision-making.
Before configuring dashboards, it’s essential to identify the key performance indicators (KPIs) that align with your organization’s T&E goals. Typical KPIs include:
Clarifying these requirements will guide widget selection and dashboard layout.
SAP Concur provides an intuitive dashboard designer accessible via the Analytics or Reporting section in the platform. Authorized users with admin or analytics roles can create and modify dashboards based on organizational needs.
Choose from various widget types such as bar charts, pie charts, line graphs, and data tables. Customize each widget to display specific data sets, date ranges, and filters. For example, a pie chart widget might show travel spend by department, while a line graph tracks monthly expense submissions.
Organize widgets in a logical, user-friendly layout that highlights priority information at the top. Consider grouping related widgets to improve readability, such as clustering expense compliance metrics together.
Configure filters to allow users to segment data by criteria like department, region, or time period. Additionally, set role-based permissions to control dashboard access, ensuring sensitive financial data is visible only to authorized personnel.
Before rolling out the dashboard to end users, test it thoroughly to verify data accuracy and functionality. Solicit feedback from key stakeholders and make adjustments as necessary.
Business priorities evolve, and so should your dashboards. Schedule periodic reviews to update KPIs and widget configurations to keep dashboards aligned with organizational goals.
Provide training and documentation to ensure users understand how to interpret dashboard data and leverage features such as drill-downs and exports.
Leverage SAP Concur’s analytics tools to track how dashboards are being used. Low engagement might indicate a need to simplify layouts or enhance training.
For advanced analysis, consider integrating SAP Concur data with enterprise business intelligence platforms such as SAP Analytics Cloud or Tableau. This integration can provide deeper insights beyond standard dashboards.
Configuring and managing travel and expense dashboards in SAP Concur is a strategic initiative that drives better visibility, compliance, and cost control in corporate travel management. By carefully defining KPIs, customizing dashboards to user roles, and maintaining dashboards through continuous updates and training, organizations can unlock the full potential of their T&E data. SAP Concur’s powerful dashboard tools serve as a cornerstone for data-driven travel management, helping companies optimize spend and enhance traveler satisfaction.