New Integrations with SAP Concur Solutions and American Express Benefit Small Businesses

Two new integrations with SAP Concur solutions and American Express have recently been introduced to help automate invoice and expense processes. The integrations give small businesses a more efficient end-to-end spend management experience.

The first integration, which brings together American Express’ B2B payment capabilities and Concur Invoice, helps American Express Business or Corporate Card Members automate their invoice management process. By combining American Express’ B2B payment capabilities with Concur Invoice, finance and accounts payable departments can:

• Pay suppliers efficiently and securely. Businesses can pay eligible suppliers using American Express Business or Corporate Cards right from Concur Invoice. Each transaction utilizes a unique single-use virtual card number, which can help protect accounts from fraudulent charges.
• Simplify processes and save time. Concur Invoice digitizes the invoice capture and workflow process and streamlines the reconciliation process, helping minimize manual data input and errors, reducing processing times and costs, and avoiding late payments.
• Easily manage cash flow. Users can view transaction details and payment status in the American Express B2B Payments App while taking advantage of the benefits associated with their American Express Business or Corporate Card, as well as the flexibility of having more cash on hand until their American Express payment is due. Within Concur Invoice, businesses also have access to more in-depth spending data, allowing them to spot spending trends and cut unnecessary costs.

The next integration brings the American Express Business Card Program and Concur Expense together. The offering delivers a seamless, direct experience from the moment employees complete a transaction with their American Express card. Transactions flow automatically into their expense report through Concur Expense within 24 hours, which reduces time wasted completing expense reports and gives employees a better end-user experience.

Helping employees have positive interactions with day-to-day tasks like filing expenses is essential to keeping them happy and engaged with their work, which can have a positive impact on a business’s bottom line. A recent commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of the SAP Concur organization found that a focus on tools employees use on a regular basis is critical to enable good employee experiences. Over 60 percent of those surveyed named travel and expense (T&E) management software (63%) and accounts payable (AP) automation tools (68%) as two of the most important tools when it comes to good employee experience.

The American Express Business Card Program integration with Concur Expense offers the following benefits:

• Streamlines the expense report process. Often, the tools small businesses use to manage expense reports require employees deal with time-consuming, manual methods that inhibit productivity. Through this integration, expenses made with their business card move directly into employees’ expense reports, eliminating the need to remember to keep track of transactions for future submissions.
• Helps decrease errors. By automating the expense report process, small businesses can reduce data entry errors. Accidental fraud, such as credit card expenses entered twice, can be prevented, and employees automatically see expenses that need to be submitted, helping to ensure they don’t miss out on a reimbursement.
• Greater visibility and reporting. Data that is accessible, accurate, and comprehensive is essential to the success of any business. Through the American Express business card integration, business leaders receive detailed reporting of expenses incurred, which can be leveraged to improve overall spend management decisions.

The integration of American Express GoTM virtual cards with Concur Expense is also now available, helping corporate clients manage expenses incurred by contractors and employees on temporary virtual cards.

In addition, the SAP Concur organization and American Express recently extended their longstanding partnership. The collaboration allows the two market leaders to provide end-to-end management solutions that result in greater value to American Express and SAP Concur customers and an enhanced experience for their customers’ employees.

For more information about American Express and SAP Concur co-innovations, please visit https://www.concur.com/americanexpress.