Navigating The SAP Concur System At Penn State: Complete Guide For 2026

Pennsylvania State University utilizes SAP Concur as its enterprise-wide travel and expense management platform. Faculty, staff, and authorized researchers use this system to book business travel, manage corporate card transactions, and submit reimbursement reports. Managing travel expenses within a massive public university setting requires adherence to strict institutional policies, state regulations, and federal guidelines. This guide outlines how to navigate the SAP Concur platform effectively at Penn State for the 2026 fiscal year, highlighting updated workflows, policy compliance, and technical troubleshooting.

Operational Notice for Penn State Travelers: All travel arrangements funded by University resources, grants, or external sponsors must comply with the updated 2026 Penn State Travel Policy. Submissions failing to attach mandatory itemized receipts within the 30-day window following trip completion will trigger automated compliance flags and potential personal financial liability.

Understanding the Penn State SAP Concur Ecosystem

The integration of SAP Concur at Penn State streamlines a traditionally decentralized administrative task into a single cloud-based dashboard. The platform bridges the gap between the administrative travel agency booking tool (Corporate Travel Planners or CTP) and the financial ledger systems managed by the Office of the Corporate Controller.

Faculty and staff interact with two primary modules within the system:

• Travel Module: Used for booking airfare, rail, lodging, and car rentals while automatically enforcing university travel maximums and preferred vendor discounts.
• Expense Module: Used for reconciling corporate credit card charges (such as the Penn State Corporate Travel Card), claiming out-of-pocket per diem or mileage expenses, and routing reports through hierarchical approval workflows.

Key Stakeholders and Administrative Roles

Navigating expenses successfully requires understanding who touches your report after you hit submit. The review hierarchy typically follows this structure:

1. The Traveler / Delegate: Initiates the travel request or expense report. Delegates must be formally assigned within the profile settings.
2. Business Area Financial Officer (BAFO) / Approver: Departmental approvers review the business purpose, grant compliance, and budgetary allocation.
3. Central Travel Office: Audits high-risk reports, international travel clearances, and exceptions to standard university policy.

Step-by-Step Workflow: From Booking to Reimbursement in 2026

Mastering the lifecycle of a Penn State business trip ensures timely reimbursement and zero audit delays. Follow this structured process for every institutional journey.

Step 1: Pre-Trip Authorization and Booking

Before incurring any expenses, verify whether a Travel Request is required for your specific funding source. International travel and trips using restricted federal grant funds require pre-approval within Concur before booking.

• Log into the Penn State Concur portal via WebAccess using your Access Account credentials.
• Navigate to the Travel tab to search for flights, hotels, and car rentals. Using the official booking tool ensures automatic population of your itinerary into the expense module.
• Select preferred vendors (such as contracted airlines and hotel chains) to maximize institutional cost savings.

Step 2: Capturing Receipts and Managing Expenses

During the trip, operational efficiency relies on digital record-keeping.

• Download the SAP Concur mobile app and log in using your Penn State credentials.
• Photograph paper receipts immediately using the built-in Receipt Image Assistant. The optical character recognition (OCR) technology will parse the vendor, date, and amount.
• Ensure all itemized receipts—especially for lodging and business meals—are preserved. Credit card charge slips alone do not satisfy university or IRS substantiation rules.

Step 3: Creating and Submitting the Expense Report

Upon returning, reconcile your trip within 30 days.

• Open your pre-populated itinerary in the Expense module and click "Create Expense Report."
• Attach the corresponding Corporate Travel Card transactions and out-of-pocket expenses to the report header.
• Assign the correct General Ledger (GL) accounts or budget allocation strings (Cost Center or Internal Order) provided by your department's finance team.
• Certify and submit the report for departmental review.

Evaluating Travel and Expense Options: Concur vs. Legacy Methods

Essential Policy Guidelines and Compliance Guardrails

Penn State enforces strict compliance parameters to maintain institutional accountability and tax compliance under IRS accountable plan rules.

• Per Diem vs. Actuals: Meals are reimbursed using standard per diem rates based on the destination city, eliminating the need to itemize individual meal receipts unless entertaining business guests. Business meal reimbursement requires an itemized receipt, attendee list, and a documented business justification.
• Lodging Caps: Conference hotel rates exceeding standard regional caps require documentation of the official conference hotel brochure attached directly to the expense line item.
• Personal Travel Extensions: When combining personal travel with business, a comparative airfare quote must be captured on the exact day of booking to isolate and exclude personal costs from university reimbursement.

Troubleshooting Common Technical and Workflow Issues

Users frequently encounter specific roadblocks while navigating SAP Concur at Penn State. Addressing these proactively prevents processing bottlenecks.

Issue 1: Missing Corporate Card Transactions

• Cause: Transactions typically take 3 to 5 business days to feed from the banking partner into Concur after the vendor settles the charge.
• Remedy: Do not create manual out-of-pocket expenses for items charged to your Penn State Corporate Travel Card. Wait for the feed, or verify that your card profile is properly linked to your Concur account.

Issue 2: Workflow Routing Errors

• Cause: An incorrect cost center or grant fund was selected, routing the report to an unintended approver.
• Remedy: Recall the expense report before it reaches central auditing, update the accounting string with guidance from your unit's financial officer, and re-submit.

Issue 3: Single Sign-On (SSO) Lockouts

• Cause: Browser cookie corruption or expired WebAccess sessions.
• Remedy: Clear your browser cache, use an incognito window, or access Concur directly through the Penn State WorkLion portal.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I delegate someone else to submit expenses on my behalf in Penn State Concur?

You can assign a delegate by navigating to your Profile Settings, selecting "Expense Delegates," and adding your authorized departmental administrative assistant. You must grant them permission to "Prepare" and, if applicable, "View Receipts" on your behalf.

What is the strict deadline for submitting an expense report after a trip ends?

Penn State policy mandates that expense reports and travel reconciliations must be submitted within 30 days of the trip's completion or the transaction date. Delays beyond 60 days may result in taxable imputed income reported on your W-2.

Are receipts required for all expenses charged through Concur?

Itemized receipts are strictly required for all lodging, car rentals, airfare, and any miscellaneous expense exceeding $75. While credit card statements show total amounts, university policy and federal audit standards require itemized proof of purchase.

Can I use personal rewards programs (like airline frequent flyer miles) when booking through Concur?

Yes, travelers may accrue personal loyalty points and frequent flyer miles on university-funded business travel, provided the booking was made through the official CTP channel or Concur tool and did not incur higher costs for the university.

Who should I contact if my expense report is stuck in approval routing?

First, check the "Audit Trail" or "Approval Flow" tab within your expense report in Concur to identify the specific approver currently holding the document. If intervention is required, contact your unit's BAFO or the Central Travel Office help desk.

Optimizing Your Travel Management Experience

Effectively utilizing SAP Concur at Penn State ensures smooth financial operations and prevents reimbursement delays. By keeping profiles updated, leveraging the mobile application for real-time receipt capture, and adhering strictly to institutional travel thresholds, researchers, faculty, and staff can navigate administrative requirements efficiently. For specialized technical assistance or policy interpretations, consult the official Penn State Corporate Controller travel resources via WorkLion.