Approve Expense Reports as a Supervisor

The supervisor role is assigned to individuals officially designated as time and attendance supervisors. Supervisors are responsible for reviewing and approving employee request reports in the system and can make comments on reports, approve or return request reports and forward expense reports to additional approvers.

How to Approve Request Reports as a Supervisor

1. Receive Email Notification

  • Supervisors receive email notifications when expense reports are submitted for their approval and have 13 days to act on an expense report before it is returned to the user.
  • Click the link in the email to log in to Concur to approve the report.

2. Go to Required Approvals

There are several ways to go to your required approvals from the Concur home page (Figure 1):

  • Click Required Approvals in the Quick Task bar.
  • Click Required Approvals in My Tasks.
  • Click Approvals in the top menu bar.
Zoom image: Figure 1 There are several ways to go to your required approvals from the Concur home page: Click Required Approvals in the Quick Task bar; Click Required Approvals in My Tasks; Click Approvals in the top menu bar.

Figure 1

3. Review Reports Pending Approval

  • Select a report pending approval. Click on the Report Name to open it.
  • Review the report header for accuracy and completeness:
    • Click Details, then click Report Header.  Review, then click to Save or Cancel.
  • Review each expense for compliance.
  • Review exceptions for errors on the report:
    • If an error needs to be corrected by the user, at the top click Send Back to User.
    • Yellow exceptions appear as informational warnings on the report and may have no action that is required. These will not prevent you from approving the report (Figure 2).
Zoom image: Figure 2 Exception warning message 

Figure 2

4. If You Are Also the Cost Approver, Allocate Expenses

5. Approve, Forward or Return Report

When you are finished reviewing the report, at the top choose one of the following options:

  • Send Back to User — send the report back to the user if it requires correction. Supervisors cannot modify expense reports.
    • In the comment field, provide a clear explanation of the problem then click OK.
  • Approve — approve the report if you are the cost approver and allocated the expenses.
    • Click Approve. Read the Final Confirmation statement and click to Accept or Decline.
  • Approve and Forward — if you are not the cost approver, approve and forward the report to the correct cost approver so they can allocate the expenses.
    • In the search bar, enter the cost approver’s Last Name or Email Address.
      • Select their name and enter a comment. Click Approve and Forward.
      • Read the Final Confirmation statement and click to Accept or Decline.

6. View Previously Approved Reports

  • To view reports you previously approved, click Approvals in top menu bar, then click Reports at the top.
    • Click View for dropdown menu options and select the timeframe you want to view.
    • You may also search for a specific report by Report Name, Employee Name or Amount.