Navigating Concur at the University of Pennsylvania: Travel, Expense, and Reimbursement Management

The University of Pennsylvania (Penn) utilizes SAP Concur as its enterprise-wide travel and expense management platform to streamline booking business travel, managing corporate cards, and processing employee expense reimbursements in compliance with institutional policies.

Understanding the Role of SAP Concur at Penn

For faculty, staff, and authorized student travelers, navigating administrative travel and expense processes requires a solid grasp of institutional financial infrastructure. The University of Pennsylvania utilizes SAP Concur to centralize travel arrangements, expense report generation, and reimbursement workflows. By integrating booking, card feeds, and approval routing into a single browser and mobile-accessible interface, the system aims to reduce paperwork and enforce compliance with internal financial guidelines.

Managing travel and entertainment expenditures in higher education involves balancing institutional accountability with operational efficiency. Penn’s financial policies dictate strict guidelines regarding allowable expenses, per diem limits, receipt thresholds, and funding source allocations. SAP Concur acts as the technological enforcement and recording mechanism for these policies, ensuring that grant funds, departmental budgets, and restricted endowments are spent in alignment with both university rules and external sponsor requirements.

Eligibility, Access, and User Profiles

Access to Penn’s instance of SAP Concur is provisioned based on active affiliation with the university, employment status, and designated administrative roles. Understanding who can log in, what permissions they hold, and how profiles are established prevents common access roadblocks during time-sensitive travel planning.

PennKey Authentication and Initial Setup

Access to the platform requires an active PennKey and password, leveraging Penn’s Single Sign-On (SSO) infrastructure for secure authentication.

• New faculty, staff, and sponsored researchers automatically receive eligibility to claim a PennKey upon formal onboarding in the Human Capital Management (HCM) system.
• Once the PennKey is active, users can navigate directly to the university's designated procurement and travel portals to launch SAP Concur for the first time.

User Roles and Profile Delegation

Not all users interact with Concur in the exact same capacity. The platform supports distinct administrative roles to accommodate varying departmental workflows:

1. Standard Travelers: Faculty, staff, and approved students who travel or incur business expenses on behalf of the university. They create their own travel requests, book flights and lodging, and submit expense reports.
2. Delegates: Administrative coordinators, department business administrators, or research assistants assigned to prepare travel requests and expense reports on behalf of travelers. Delegates must be explicitly granted permission within the system settings by the traveler.
3. Approvers: Principal Investigators (PIs), business administrators, department chairs, or financial officers responsible for reviewing, verifying, and authorizing travel requests and expense reports against specific budget codes and grant restrictions.

Profile Maintenance and Personal Information

Maintaining accurate profile data within Concur is vital for seamless travel booking and reimbursement routing. Users must ensure that their legal name matches their government-issued identification used for air travel (Transportation Security Administration compliance). Additionally, travelers should link their frequent flyer numbers, hotel loyalty programs, and emergency contact details directly within their profile settings. Banking information for direct deposit reimbursements is typically synchronized through Penn's central financial systems (such as Workday or Accounts Payable records) rather than manually edited inside Concur.

Travel Booking: Concur Travel and Preferred Agencies

Booking official university travel can be executed directly within Concur Travel or through Penn’s designated travel management partners. Utilizing authorized booking channels ensures that reservations are automatically populated into the traveler's Concur profile, corporate card reconciliation is streamlined, and institutional duty of care protocols are maintained.

The Booking Workflow

When planning a trip, Penn policy generally encourages booking well in advance to secure cost-effective rates. The typical reservation sequence involves:

• Travel Request Creation: For certain travel types, international trips, or instances requiring cash advances, submitting a pre-trip Travel Request in Concur is mandatory before booking tickets.
• Searching and Selecting Inventory: Users search for flights, rail, rental cars, and hotels via the Concur interface, which filters options through contracted university rates and airline alliances.
• Checkout and Itinerary Synchronization: Bookings completed online or via a travel agent automatically generate an electronic itinerary inside the Concur dashboard, linking the anticipated expenses directly to the user's upcoming expense profile.

Preferred Travel Agencies and Corporate Card Integration

Penn partners with specialized corporate travel management companies to provide live agent assistance when complex itineraries or emergency re-bookings become necessary. When flights or hotels are booked through these channels, the charges flow automatically into the user's Concur "Available Expenses" section, usually within 24 to 48 hours of transaction clearing.

Expense Reports and Reimbursement Management

Once travel is completed or out-of-pocket business expenses are incurred, the primary task shifts to creating and submitting an expense report. This phase requires meticulous attention to detail, adherence to institutional limits, and proper documentation.

Creating and Itemizing Expenses

An expense report in Concur aggregates individual transactions into a cohesive reimbursement request assigned to a specific funding source (such as a 26-digit Penn accounting string or Workday worktag).

• Corporate Card Transactions: Charges incurred on a Penn Travel Card or Purchasing Card appear automatically. The user must assign each transaction to an appropriate expense type (e.g., lodging, registration fee, business meal) and provide mandatory business justification.
• Out-of-Pocket Expenses: Expenses paid via personal cash or credit cards are manually added. Users must input the exact transaction date, amount, currency, and business purpose.

Receipt Requirements and Documentation Standards

Penn financial policy strictly governs receipt compliance. Missing receipts can delay processing or result in personal absorption of the cost.

• Dollar Thresholds: Official, itemized receipts are generally required for any single expense exceeding institutional thresholds (typically $25 or more, though certain grants mandate receipts for every dollar).
• Itemized vs. Summary Receipts: For business meals, an itemized restaurant receipt showing exact food and beverage items—alongside the credit card signature slip showing the tip—is mandatory. A summary credit card receipt alone is insufficient for compliance.
• Digital Capture: The SAP Concur mobile application allows users to photograph paper receipts immediately using their smartphone camera, uploading them directly to the expense line item for audit readiness.

Funding Sources and Accounting Codes

A critical step in report submission is ensuring that expenses are charged to the correct financial account. Penn utilizes structured accounting strings or Workday financial dimensions. Employees must consult with their department business administrator to verify whether expenses should be allocated to unrestricted departmental operating budgets, restricted gifts, or federally funded sponsored research grants. Sponsored projects carry rigorous federal compliance rules (such as Uniform Guidance requirements), meaning that personal expenses, alcohol, or unallowable entertainment charges must never be charged to grant funds.

Workflow Approval and Audit Trails

After a traveler or delegate submits an expense report, the document enters a multi-tier routing and approval queue designed to maintain financial integrity and fiduciary oversight.

1. Expense Report Submitted by Traveler/Delegate
2. Automated System Policy & Compliance Check
3. Departmental Business Administrator Review
4. Principal Investigator / Budget Approver Authorization
5. Central Accounts Payable Final Audit & Disbursement

The Review Hierarchy

1. System Validations: Concur performs automated checks for duplicate submissions, missing business justifications, and obvious policy violations (such as exceeding daily per diem maximums).
2. Business Administrator (BA) Review: Departmental finance staff examine the accounting strings, ensure proper receipt documentation is attached, and verify that the expense aligns with local department practices.
3. Principal Investigator (PI) or Budget Holder Sign-Off: For research grants or specialized project codes, the designated PI or grant manager must explicitly approve the expenditure to confirm that the travel directly benefited the specific research scope.
4. Accounts Payable Final Audit: The central Penn Comptroller’s office performs final sampling audits and releases approved reimbursements for direct deposit payment via Accounts Payable cycles.

Common Challenges and Troubleshooting

Navigating enterprise financial software frequently presents operational hurdles. Recognizing common pitfalls and knowing how to resolve them saves valuable time for academic and administrative staff.

Common Operational Mistakes

• Delayed Submission Windows: Submitting expense reports months after travel occurs can violate university policy and tax compliance timelines, leading to rejected reimbursements. Best practice dictates submitting reports within 30 days of trip completion.
• Missing Itemized Proof of Purchase: Submitting a hotel folio that lacks itemized room charges, taxes, and incidental breakdowns often triggers an audit hold from Accounts Payable.
• Incorrect Account String Selection: Charging expenses to inactive or incorrect Workday worktags results in administrative rework and journal entries to reallocate funds.

Technical Troubleshooting and Support Channels

When technical issues arise—such as password synchronization errors, missing corporate card feeds, or frozen expense reports—users should utilize the proper institutional support framework:

• Penn ISC (Information Systems & Computing): For PennKey authentication, browser compatibility, and single sign-on issues.
• Penn Employee Solutions / Division of Finance: For policy clarification, missing card feeds, approver routing reassignments, and complex reimbursement status inquiries. Staff can submit inquiries through the official Penn Comptroller’s Office help channels or Financial Training portals.

Frequently Asked Questions

What should I do if my corporate card transactions do not appear in Concur?

Corporate card transactions typically populate in Concur within 48 hours of posting. If a transaction is missing, verify that the correct card is linked to your profile and that the charge has fully settled rather than remaining pending. If the issue persists, contact Penn's central financial card administration team to check bank feed connectivity.

Can I book personal travel using Penn’s Concur portal?

No. Concur Travel at the University of Pennsylvania is strictly designated for official university business. Booking personal travel, leisure extensions, or travel for non-employees using institutional contractual rates or corporate channels violates university policy and audit guidelines.

What happens if I lose a receipt for a business expense?

If an original itemized receipt is lost, travelers must complete a Missing Receipt Affidavit directly within the Concur platform, accompanied by a detailed written explanation justifying the expense and confirming that it has not been and will not be reimbursed from any other source. Note that heavy reliance on affidavits may trigger departmental audit scrutiny.

How long does it take to receive a reimbursement after submitting an expense report?

Once a fully completed and receipt-documented expense report clears all departmental approvals and the central Accounts Payable audit, direct deposit payments typically process within standard university disbursement cycles, generally taking between three to five business days to post to the traveler's linked bank account.

Who can serve as my expense delegate in Concur?

Any active Penn employee (such as a department coordinator or financial assistant) can be assigned as your delegate. You must add them via your Concur profile settings by navigating to "Expense Delegates" or "Travel Delegates" and granting them permission to create and view reports on your behalf.

Conclusion and Next Actions

Successfully managing travel and expenses at the University of Pennsylvania through SAP Concur relies on understanding profile setup, adhering to receipt and documentation rules, and selecting accurate funding sources. To ensure timely reimbursement and compliance, verify your profile details before booking travel, capture digital receipts in real time using the mobile application, and submit your expense reports promptly upon trip completion. For specific policy questions or financial coding assistance, consult your department’s business administrator or review the official guidelines provided by the Penn Division of Finance.