Hybrid work has multiplied the number of situations where employees spend company money, and most finance teams are absorbing that extra volume with the same headcount. Receipts go missing, busy managers approve reports without spotting gaps, and accounts payable and accounting staff end up cleaning it all up through tedious audits. If you're considering replacing that process with expense management software, this buyer's guide from SAP Concur helps you decide what to look for and how to roll it out without disrupting the people who depend on it.
It's written for finance leaders, controllers and the staff who handle expense processing every day. It's also useful for the IT and procurement colleagues who will have a say in the purchase. The guide treats automation as a business decision. It sets the effort of switching against the costs of staying manual: lost time and productivity, missed opportunities, and the talent you risk losing to a frustrating employee experience.
What full expense automation looks like for accounts payable and finance teams
Plenty of companies believe they are already "automated enough" because employees photograph receipts or approvals arrive by email. The guide explains why that falls short when every other step still depends on someone's manual effort. It then sketches what an automated process involves, from capturing out-of-pocket and corporate card spending through approval, audit and reimbursement.
You'll see how the benefits land differently across the business. Employees spend less time on paperwork. Managers get more complete information to approve. Finance teams spend less time auditing and chasing missing details. Leaders see employee spending in the context of the overall financials, which is where integration with your ERP comes in. The guide also covers how AI and machine learning pick up spending patterns and flag potential misuse or fraud.
To ground the case, it draws on a 2022 Analysys Mason study of travel, expense and vendor invoice management, contrasting conditions at businesses before and after automating. Finance and operations staff at SAP Concur customers also describe the change in their own words.
How to evaluate expense management software before you commit
The core of the guide is a set of capabilities to weigh when comparing solutions. Among them:
- Automated capture of receipts and card transactions, and what drives its accuracy
- Workflows, spending policies and approval routing your finance team can adjust as needs change
- Ready-made reporting for a near real-time view of company spend
- Mobile apps that let employees submit and managers approve from anywhere
- Integration with the ERP, CRM and accounting systems you use now and may add later
For each area, the guide explains what good looks like and why it matters to employees, approvers or the finance team. It also looks at how a solution should handle new expense types and purchases from outside your approved vendors without piling extra work on reviewers.
One of the most practical sections is a list of ten questions to put to solution providers. They range from how receipts become expense items to the support you'll get during implementation and how your expense data is protected. Bring them to vendor meetings and you'll have a consistent way to compare answers.
Planning a rollout your team will actually adopt
Picking software is only half the work. A six-step approach covers the decisions that come before and after the purchase, starting with which people to involve first and ending with how to keep improving once the system is live. Along the way it addresses understanding your current workflows, anticipating what could go wrong, gathering requirements and managing change.
This is especially helpful if you need to build internal support before asking for budget. The guidance on who to consult, and why finance and accounting should be your first stop, gives you a sensible order for those conversations. It also explains how training, support and an experienced partner reduce the risk of disruption while new users come on board.
Download the full guide to get the capability criteria, the before-and-after research findings, the six-step rollout plan and the ten vendor questions in one place. It's a short read, and you can take it straight into your next planning meeting or vendor call.