travelnews: FW: Launch of Concur travel and expense management system

Tue Mar 20 16:05:43 PDT 2018

Good Afternoon UO Travel Coordinators -  This message was sent to campus travelers earlier this afternoon:

On Tuesday, March 27, the university will deploy the Concur travel and expense management system.  This launch is the culmination of a multi-year project to revise, refine, and improve the university's travel policies and processes.

Concur is a best-in-class solution that will automate travel requests, booking, receipt collection, and reimbursement.  A related Concur product was deployed in February for use by university procurement card custodians.

All employees will have access to the Concur and TripIt Pro<https://www.tripit.com/pro/features#sm.00013knd9ityodk9pw22pt0bcdp24> mobile apps to conveniently organize their travel info, capture receipts, and receive flight and traffic alerts.

To streamline travel administration, and maximize negotiated discounts and system efficiencies, the following four changes will take effect March 27, 2018:

1.       Regular travelers will be strongly encouraged to enroll in a new corporate travel card program, US Bank "One Card", for payment of travel-related expenses.  The One Card is a corporate travel card, not a personal-liability card, and will be paid directly by the university. Travelers won't have to "float" payments on the card while waiting for a travel reimbursement, and won't have to deal with interest charges.  The One Card will be linked to the traveler's Concur account, and posted transactions will automatically appear in their Concur expense reports.  Additionally, the One Card will eliminate the cumbersome travel advance process.

2.       Travelers and travel coordinators will submit a Concur Request with a rough itinerary and travel cost for budgetary and programmatic approval before travel bookings are ticketed.  The request can be submitted via computer or by using a mobile device app.  An approved Concur Request will launch the Concur Travel booking tool, populate the Concur expense report, provide a place for receipts to land, and inform Risk Services where and when university employees plan to travel (in case of health, weather, or other emergent situations).

3.       Travelers and travel coordinators will book air travel using Concur Travel (an online booking tool) or directly through their preferred university travel management company (TMC).  Concur Travel and TMC bookings take advantage of university-negotiated discounts and lower ticketing fees, limit the unintended purchase of basic economy fares (no-frills, unchangeable, non-refundable tickets), and ensure compliance with the Fly America Act (required for travel paid by federal grants).  Outside bookings will only be permitted if a university cost saving can be demonstrated in advance.

4.       All airfare booked through Concur Travel or a university TMC will be paid for using the university ghost card.  TMCs will no longer accept personal credit cards (which are not eligible for university-negotiated discounts and rebates) to pay for airline travel.  Travelers enrolled in frequent-flier programs will still earn air miles and status for their air travel, but not personal credit card rebates or rewards.

It is projected that the rebates and negotiated fare discounts will save the university between $200K and $300K per year.

Campus Travel Coordinators have been engaged in training sessions since mid-February and were recently invited to weekly drop in sessions to get hands-on experience.  We will be demonstrating the features of Concur for travelers in the Ford Alumni Ballroom: April 9 10-Noon, April 16 10-Noon, April 25 1-3, or April 30 1-3.  No registration is required.

We are excited to be implementing this new online travel management tool to expedite and streamline the university's travel reimbursement processes.

If you have any questions or concerns please contact Kelly B. Wolf, AVP for Business Affairs/Controller.

For more information about the project and these changes, see the Concur project webpage<https://ba.uoregon.edu/content/concur-project>.

Jamie Moffitt
Vice President for Finance & Administration and CFO

Kelly B. Wolf
AVP for Business Affairs/Controller

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