Concur, P-Card, travel updates for summer 2024

May 9, 2024May 9, 2024

It’s been nearly a year since the introduction of the new travel policy and Concur to Clemson University. P-Card holders have been utilizing Concur for over a year now. Significant developments have occurred, and Procurement and Business Services is constantly refining the system and procedures for better efficiency. We’d like to provide you with some updates on Concur and the travel and expense protocols:

• On April 10, Concur released a brand-new visual design theme for all users. This update brought a refreshed, modern look and feel with inclusive accessible design for all. The functionality of Concur did not change, only the colors and visual layout. For more information, visit the Announcements page on the Procurement website.
• Updates to the Procedures: Employees traveling on Federal or Sponsored Awards should review the updated requirements in section 17 that specifically references meals and lodging requirements.
• Conference Agendas: High-level agendas are not required unless traveling on Federal or Sponsored Awards.
• ExpenseIt: Receipts uploaded manually, emailed, or uploaded via the Concur app will automatically be read and processed by Concur’s artificial intelligence (AI) software. ExpenseIt will take the charge/receipt details and attempt to fill in missing information such as expense type, total amount, vendor name, etc. Occasionally, the AI software can mislabel transactions, but this can be changed once the charge/receipt is added to a report. Users can disable this feature if desired in the expense preferences in their profile settings.
• New P-Card Contact: We are happy to announce that we have hired a new P-Card Coordinator, Katie Jennings, who will begin later this month. Please continue to send all P-Card related questions to disbursements@clemson.edu and we will provide updated contact information once it’s available.
• AI Functionality in Concur: The “External Validation” step that was built into Concur is currently turned off while we explore a new solution for monitoring receipts and transactions. In the interim, liaisons should be monitoring P-Card reports more closely for duplicate charges, unallowable, and unauthorized transactions. Once a new solution is put in place, we will send out updated information and what liaisons should be monitoring. The good news with this change is that Concur was now able to put a budget check step at the beginning of the approval workflow. We expect this to remain as the first step with any future tools we incorporate into the approval process.
• Anthony Travel: Certain airlines have begun offering discounted fares when booked directly through the airline. Specifically, American Airlines offers deeply discounted rates directly through their site. If you are booking flights in Concur and notice that prices are higher than on other sites, please provide screenshots to Anthony Travel so that they can secure the lesser fare option. If they cannot secure it for you, they will give you permission to book outside of the system. Anthony is a “preferred” travel agent for American and should be able to offer the cheapest pricing, but some hurdles are still being worked out with American throughout the industry. But overall, Concur should be offering the same pricing available on direct airline and hotel sites, so there is not a requirement to confirm all reservations. 
• Please continue to reach out and provide feedback to our team (clemsontravel@clemson.edu) about any questions or challenges you have with Concur or the travel policy. It’s the only way we can make it better. Also, know that we are more than happy to meet with your department to discuss how Concur is being used in your area specifically. We have found that these discussions at the department level are the most effective way to clarify misunderstandings where folks are doing unnecessary work as well as allowing us to suggest changes to the process to address what the department is currently seeing as hurdles within Concur.