The Unexpected Advice About Implementing SAP Concur

We recently hosted a webinar with three finance professionals running SAP Concur in small businesses in the US. The panelists shared their stories to help fellow small businesses learn from their successes and avoid their pitfalls, with some interesting lessons learned.

One of the themes was around implementation. What should people know about the process of implementing SAP Concur before they start? And how has it helped their business since? The replies were interesting – and probably not what you’d expect. Because the main focus was on people rather than the system itself.

Here are three highlights that may be interesting to you too if you’re considering implementing SAP Concur (or any cloud-based technology at that!).

The System Needs to Come After the People

One contributor had used Concur Expense in a previous role at a much larger company and seen how much value it added. He knew it would work just as well in a small business setting and was keen to implement it in his new role.

But before he did, he wanted to evaluate his team dynamics first. He considered their strengths and weaknesses and the roles that suited them best. He looked at what was best for the company and the people involved and moved them accordingly.

It was only when he had got the right people in the right places that he looked to implement SAP Concur. Because implementing a new system becomes a lot easier when you’re working with people who love what they’re doing.

Happy People Means a Better Business

The theme of a happy workforce extended beyond making the implementation of SAP Concur easier. Another contributor highlighted how implementing Concur Invoice had saved his business millions in office space because employees were able to work remotely. But more important than that was the evidence in the employee satisfaction surveys that showed employees were happier and more engaged with the business because they didn’t have lengthy commutes any longer. Suppliers were happier too because they were being paid faster.

Another highlight was the accountability that SAP Concur brings, which gives everyone a greater sense of involvement. Before, keeping on top of expenses was the responsibility of one person. They had very little visibility until an expense claim landed on their desk, sometimes weeks or even months after it had been spent. Now, expenses enter the system immediately and each person is accountable.

SAP Concur Is an Investment Not an Expense

Another contributor stressed it was important to remember that SAP Concur is infinitely customisable. It means you can have a system that is tailored to exactly the way your business runs.

At the same time, he highlighted the opportunity to revisit the way your processes work and not replicate inefficient paper processes in a digital environment. He recommended taking the advice of the implementation consultant you work with and looking at ways you can improve and streamline the way things work.

Overall, his advice to anyone considering SAP Concur was to think of it as an investment not an expense. Our own research shows what a difference it makes to productivity and the time and money saved – 500 hours a year per finance employee and average annual savings of £47,000 after implementing an expense, travel and invoice solution.

Automation as a Facilitator

What I find most interesting about these answers is the way they show how automation is a facilitator. If you embrace it, it will not only transform your processes it will transform your people too. It means automation is so much more than the sum of its parts.

If you’d like to get the full discussion and hear what else fellow small business owners had to say about SAP Concur, you can watch the webinar on demand here. And if you’d like to share your lessons when implementing SAP Concur, share on the social links on the top left of this article.