Update #1: Wednesday, November 15, 2:00 PM PT
The following is a summary of the features and enhancements for this month's release.
Spend Categories
Spend Categories Now Available
Already available for Expense, Spend Categories is now also available for Invoice clients.
A spend category allows clients to define the overall category of spend with which the expense type is associated. In other words, a spend category consists of a group of expense types. The main purpose of spend categories is to categorize expense types in order to generate reports on these (the reporting part is scheduled for a future release).
Apart from being added manually, spend categories can also be imported through an expense type import spreadsheet in the Expense Type step of Setup.
November 2017
Client Admin Release Summary
Concur Invoice – Standard Edition
Invoice/Invoice Pay
Page 2 of 10
Purchase Requests and Purchase Orders
Vendor Name Available as Default in Email Subject in PO Configuration
Invoice now provides an additional token, Vendor Name, for the default subject of the purchase order email transmitted to the vendor.
BUSINESS PURPOSE/CLIENT BENEFIT
This feature makes it easier for clients to see the vendor of the purchase order when they go through their emails.
Simplified Way of Entering Ship-To and Bill-To Addresses
With this release, when clients have filled in the company address details in the PO Configuration step of Setup, this address information will automatically populate the bill-to and/or ship-to address in the Company Locations step of Setup.
NOTE: Invoice will only create a bill-to or ship-to address automatically if no bill-to or ship-to address exist.
BUSINESS PURPOSE/CLIENT BENEFIT
This enhancement reduces the steps the clients need to take when configuring purchase orders.
Invoice Pay
Multiple Funding Accounts
Already existing in the Invoice Professional Edition, the Multiple Funding Accounts feature is now available for Invoice Standard Edition clients. Invoice Pay will support the use of more than one funding account to disburse payments to suppliers. While many clients elect to fund from a single funding account, there are cases where multiple funding accounts are desirable.
Common scenarios supporting multiple funding accounts include:
Merger and acquisitions: A company is merged into or acquired by the client company and the different companies use different funding accounts
Universities: A university has multiple schools within their system, each of which is funded from a different source
BUSINESS PURPOSE/CLIENT BENEFIT
This feature gives clients the flexibility needed when more than one funding account is needed to pay suppliers.
In-Product Messaging (IPM)
In-Product Messaging for Europe
For quite some time, In-Product Messaging (IPM) within Concur products has been available for US customers.
Page 4 of 10
The messaging that is presented to each US user is based on data provided by a well-known US-based "recommendation" engine. That engine, however, is not the best fit for the stricter laws in the European Union (EU). So, in an effort to comply with the EU laws, Concur developed its own recommendation engine for its In- Product Messaging System.
In mid-November, IPM will be enabled for all EU customers, using Concur's In- Product Messaging System. Also, since the new system provides a better all-around IPM experience, US customers will soon see IPM using the new system.
Just like today for US users – the content, timing, location, and frequency of a message are all defined by each message campaign and by the characteristics of each company and each user.
Setup
Setup Has New Look and Improved Navigation
Concur has reorganized the Setup navigation links that appeared on each of the Setup pages into a central Product Settings page. The page is organized into sections, defined by business purpose, which contain links and brief descriptions for the Setup pages, to help administrators understand the purpose of each feature. On clicking a link, for example Users, you go to the existing Users page that you use today. A navigation breadcrumb trail provides a path back to the central Product Settings page.
Page 6 of 10
NOTE: The underlying Setup pages, like Accounting and Cost Tracking, remain the same. Only the method for accessing the pages is different. In addition, this update does not affect the Travel settings.
BUSINESS PURPOSE/CLIENT BENEFIT
This enhancement will help improve the Setup feature navigation, and make it easier for new administrators to understand the settings available to them.
Self-Education Options for Administrators
Administrators can see a new question mark option, , on the Setup pages for accessing the new self-education pane. The self-education pane is also be available on a number of pages outside of Setup. On the self-education pane, administrators can search a catalog of interactive training flows, find links to administrator training videos and documents, and start a chat conversation with a Concur Coach.
NOTE: Chat availability is limited by volume and staffing hours. Chat will be available between 5:30 AM EST to 2:30 AM EST.
The self-education pane is available on each of the Setup pages you can access from the new Product Settings page.
NOTE: Initially, the self-education pane is not be available on the new Product Settings page itself.
For more information about the new Product Settings page, refer to Setup Has New Look and Improved Navigation in these release notes.The self-education pane will also be available on the following pages:
Processor (Expense > Process Reports)
Admin Tools - (Administration > Company > Tools)
Monitor Batches (Administration > Company > Tools > Monitor Batches)
Monitor Payees (Administration > Company > Tools > Monitor Payees)
Company Card (Card Admin) (Administration > Company > Tools >
Company Card)
In the future, the self-education pane may be added to additional pages.
BUSINESS PURPOSE/CLIENT BENEFIT
This enhancement makes it easier for administrators to learn about the Expense, Request, and Invoice settings and get their questions answered.
Overview Tab Removed from Policy Groups
The Overview tab on the Policy Groups page (Administration > Invoice Settings or Expense & Invoice Settings > Policy Groups) in Product Settings has been removed.
A policy group is a group of users that have a different expense policy. These users may need different expense types to choose from, or may have different expense limits.
BUSINESS PURPOSE/CLIENT BENEFIT
This update simplifies the Policy Groups page navigation.
QuickBooks
QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop Disconnect Button Now Available
Concur has added a button to disconnect a QuickBooks Desktop or QuickBooks Online client from integration with Concur. The button is labeled Disconnect From Financial System, and is available on the Accounting page of Product Settings.
BUSINESS PURPOSE/CLIENT BENEFIT
This button allows clients to manage their connection with QuickBooks without contacting Concur Support.
Page 8 of 10
Release Calendar
2018 Release Calendar
The 2018 release calendar is available. The release calendar shows all of the monthly releases for 2018 as well as the release note schedule, Travel client presentations, and tradeshows.
Access the calendar here:
http://www.concurtraining.com/customers/tech_pubs/ReleaseCalendar/_ReleaseCale ndar_client.htm
Capture Processing
Vendor Match: Use Purchase Order Data to Match to Vendor
With this release, Capture Processing will now attempt to match a purchase order (PO) to a vendor automatically, using data included in the PO and the original invoice. This systematic matching is performed whenever a PO:
Is found to match the wrong vendor
Is found to match no vendor at all
Has its number, and thus its vendor match, changed in the system BUSINESS PURPOSE/CLIENT BENEFIT
This enhancement speeds the matching of the correct vendor to the purchase order.
Reprocessing Batches on Verification Page Now Available
With this release, the admin working with either the Client-Managed or the Concur- Managed version of Capture Processing can now perform the reprocess and recover tasks directly from the Verification page. This feature saves the admin time moving from the Verification page in order to perform this action, instead providing two familiar commands, Reprocess all Requests and Recover all Requests, in the Actions menu of the Verification page.
BUSINESS PURPOSE/CLIENT BENEFIT
This enhancement saves time when working with batch reprocess functionality.
Planned Changes
**Planned Change** Support for Plain Text FTP to End on May 15th, 2018
Concur is announcing the End of Support for plain text FTP as a means to transfer data to and from Concur.
Plain text FTP is not a secured protocol and has inherent security vulnerabilities. On May 15th, 2018, Concur Operations will apply a security update to our File Transfer infrastructure, restricting the use of plain text FTP as a part of our ongoing
commitment to securing our customers’ data and meeting the audited security requirements of the "Concur Trust Platform".
**Planned Change** Check for Missing Account Code Later in Workflow
Employees will be able to save, submit, and approve a payment request even if one or more account codes are missing for expenses in the payment request.
Currently, whenever an expense is saved, the system validates that an account code has been provided for the related expense type and adds that account code to the expense (a process not visible through the UI). If there is no account code
associated with the expense, the expense cannot be saved.
With this update, the payment request can be submitted and approved. However the system will block the expense data from being extracted or posted to your financial system until your Concur company administrator provides an account code mapping for the expense type in Setup.
BUSINESS PURPOSE/CLIENT BENEFIT
Employees are no longer prevented from completing their payment requests when an account code is missing in the expense type configuration. Account codes are now populated at a single, consistent point in the workflow.
Client Notifications
Page 10 of 10
Monthly Browser Certifications
The Concur Release Notes – Monthly Browser Certifications document lists current and planned browser certifications. The document is available with the other Concur monthly release notes.
For more information about any of these topics, refer to this month's release notes.
