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Travel & Expense System (Concur)
Authorized UB faculty and staff use Concur, the travel and expense reimbursement system, to book business travel, and to submit business travel and non-travel expenses for reimbursement.
UBITName and Password are required
Check System Status
The status of the travel and expense system and all its related services are continously monitored. If there are any interruptions in service, a note will be posted here > Check the Concur Service Status Dashboard
Get Travel and Expense Reimbursement System (Concur) Training
Learn how to use UB's Travel and Expense Reimbursement System (Concur) to book business travel, and submit business travel and non-travel expenses for reimbursements.
Preapproval is Required for All UB Faculty and Staff Travel
University faculty and staff must get preapproval from their supervisor before traveling overnight. A new electronic preapproval request system through Concur replaces the old paper form, making the process more efficient for both travelers and units.
Getting Started in the Travel and Expense System
Follow these steps to get started using the travel and expense reimbursement system.
1. Review System Eligibility
Authorized Users:
UB faculty, staff and students with active, paid employment appointments are authorized to use the system.
- Your profile is set up with your UBITName and password.
Unauthorized Users:
- Guests and non-employees of UB are not authorized to use the system
- Continue to submit paper reimbursements for guests and non-employees as you currently do.
- Terminated employees will remain active and able to log into the system for 4 weeks after their appointment end date.
- After 4 weeks, terminated employees become inactive and unable to log into the system and have to submit paper reimbursements as non-employees.
2. Follow Getting Started Guide
To get started using the system, follow the getting started guide for your role for detailed instructions to:
- Watch system training videos
- Complete and update your system profile
- Learn about your role in the system
- Review instructional tip sheets and videos
- Get help using the system
There are three modules in the travel and expense system that you will use to complete your work:
Expense Module
Use the Expense module to submit your business travel and non-travel expenses for reimbursement.
- An expense report is used to process reimbursements and will result in reimbursement.
- Create an expense report to submit your actual expenses for reimbursement.
- All individuals are required to use this module to submit expense reports.
Request Module
Use the Request module to request preapproval for your estimated business travel expenses before you make your travel reservations.
- A request is used for budgetary and travel preapproval purposes only and will not result in reimbursement.
- Travel reservations requested in this module are monitored by Duty of Care, the system’s travel risk management program.
Travel Module
Use the optional Travel module to book your business travel reservations.
- Booking travel reservations in this module is optional, but highly recommended.
- The travel booking tool is contracted through The Travel Team Inc. and there are no service fees charged for bookings.
- Travel reservations booked in this module are monitored by Duty of Care, the system’s travel risk management program.
Roles in the Travel and Expense System
The travel and expense system workflow process by role:
- The traveler or non-traveler creates and submits an expense report for reimbursement.
- The supervisor reviews and approves the expense report.
- The cost approver allocates expenses on the report to the correct account.
- If the expenses on the report are being charged to a sponsored Research Foundation (RF) grant, the Sponsored Projects Services (SPS) approver reviews and approves the report.
- The processor in the Travel office reviews and approves the report for reimbursement.
Travel Preparers are individuals who are authorized to complete work on another user's behalf in the travel and expense system. However, first be sure to confirm with your department that this is allowed. Refer to the following detailed instructions for how to use delegates in the system:
The cost approver role in the travel and expense system is assigned to individuals officially designated as authorized approvers on accounts. Cost approvers are responsible for allocating expenses to the correct accounts and approving reports in the system.
Follow Getting Started Guide
For detailed instructions to get started using the system, refer to the Getting Started Guide for Supervisors and Cost Approvers.
1. Receive Email Notification
- Cost approvers will receive email notifications from the travel and expense system when employee expense reports are submitted or forwarded to them for approval.
- Click the link in the email notification to log in to the system to allocate and approve the expense report.
2. Go to Required Approvals
To view and allocate employee expense reports submitted or forwarded to you for approval, go to your Required Approvals. There are several ways to go to your Required Approvals from the home page:
- Click Required Approvals in the Quick Task bar.
- Click Required Approvals in My Tasks.
- Click Approvals in the top menu bar.
3. Review Reports Pending Your Approval
- Select a report pending your approval and click on the Report Name to open it.
- Review the report header to confirm or change the funding source account information.
- Review exceptions for errors on the report.
4. Allocate All Expenses
- Cost approvers are responsible for allocating the expenses on reports to the correct accounts.
- To allocate the expenses on a report:
- At the top of the report click Details, then click Allocations.
- Select the checkboxes for the desired expenses, then click Allocate Selected Expenses.
- Use the dropdown menus to enter the account information, then click Save.
5. Verify Expenses are Fully Allocated
- When finished reviewing the report, verify that all expenses are fully allocated:
- At the top of the report, click Details, then click Allocations.
- Click the Summary button.
- On the Allocation Summary, verify that the account information is complete for all expenses.
6. Return, Forward or Approve Report
- After reviewing and allocating the employee's expense report, select one of the following options:
- Send Back to User — return the report to the employee if it requires correction. Cost approvers cannot modify calculated fields on expense reports.
- Approve and Forward — approve and forward the report to another cost approver if it requires additional review and allocation.
- Approve — approve the report if it has been completed correctly and if all expenses have been fully allocated.
Tip Sheets, Videos and Mobile App
FAQs About the New User Interface (UI)
Concur, the travel and expense reimbursement system used by faculty and staff travelers, has introduced enhancements that will impact university travelers.
No. Preapproval in the Request module is only needed if the trip involves lodging.
Screens will look a bit different, but all required fields and information will remain the same.
Yes. You can bulk enter trips into the Request module for preapproval ahead of time. All that is needed are a few key pieces of information including, dates of trip, destination, and an estimated dollar amount.
No. Account information is not a required field. If the traveler/preparer doesn't have this information, they can leave it blank and the cost approver can enter it.
The paper preapproval form can be used during the transition period as we launch the new Request module, but after 11/1/22, all preapprovals will need to be completed within the Request module for reimbursement.
Yes, any non-employee (students and guests) will still need to complete the paper vouchers.
Yes, the screen will look a bit different, but all required information will remain the same. It will also include the Climate Action Plan question and User Acceptance and Approver Electronic Agreement.
Travelers can go into settings and select from a pre-populated list who they would like as their preparer.
Yes, the supervisor can add another individual as a viewer within the workflow process.
Getting Help
System users are encouraged to follow these steps for help and support:
1. Review Tip Sheets and Videos
- Review tip sheets and videos for instructions to use the system.
2. Contact Business Services Customer Support
- Send an email to ubs-travel-expense-support@buffalo.edu
- Call 716-645-4500, press 2 for the travel and expense reimbursement system.
- Click the live chat button on the travel and expense reimbursement system and travel and expense system tip sheets and videos web pages to chat with a member of our UB Business Services Customer Support team.