Reviewing and Navigating the Approval Options on an Individual Request

SAP Concur recommends that approvers review all aspects of the request before making their decision on whether to approve or not. This ensures that all relevant details of the request are reviewed prior to making an approval decision.

Depending on the configuration, approvers may be able to make substantive changes to a request, such as altering the details of expenses. In most cases, SAP Concur does not recommend the site be configured to allow approvers to make these types of changes. If these types of changes are allowed, it's common practice to discuss with the submitter before making changes.

When reviewing a request, there are several areas with specific data to review. SAP Concur recommends reviewing all of these areas to ensure all details of the request are reviewed prior to making a decision on whether or not to approve.

The areas to review may differ based on your company's configuration and the options chosen when creating the request. The next few topics will cover some of the more common options available, including:

• Expected Expenses
• Request Details
• Print/Share
• Attachments
• Manage Travel Allowances

Let’s start with Expected Expenses.

The Expected Expenses area lists all segments and expenses included in the request. You can select an expense to view the complete details of that item. Depending on your configuration, you may be able to make changes to the details of an expense.

The Request Details dropdown lists several areas that contain high-level information about the request. The areas listed will vary based on your configuration and the options chosen when creating the request. Here, we'll review some of the more common options.

Request Header

This option allows the approver to review the header for this request. Depending on the configuration, the approver might be able to make changes to this data.

Request Timeline

This area allows approvers to see what approvals have already taken place and where the request goes if approved. Depending on the configuration, approvers may be able to edit the workflow by adding or removing approval steps for the request.

Audit Trail

This screen shows all past approvals and any broken audit rules. This information can help the approver decide whether or not to approve the request.

Allocation Summary

This screen shows how the request was allocated. This information can help the approver determine if they need to add more approvers to the workflow.

The Print/Share dropdown lets the approver print a paper copy of the request. Depending on the configuration, there might be multiple reports that can be printed, each containing different data related to that request. In the image below, you'll see that there are two reports that can be printed. To proceed, select the report that you want to print.

Once a report is selected, there are options to print the report, save it as a PDF, or send it to another stakeholder in an e-mail.

The Attachments dropdown allows approvers to view any documents previously attached and attach more as needed. Within an expense report, attachments are generally receipts. Within a request, attachments might include authorizations sent to the user outside of the SAP Concur infrastructure; such as in an e-mail or screenshots from travel booking sites as evidence of cost estimates. As you can see in the following image, if the request has an attachment, a special icon appears.

When you choose the View Documents option, a popup appears displaying all the attachments.

The Manage Travel Allowance dropdown appears if the user is subject to travel allowances and has added them to the request. You have the option to view the travel allowance or view the adjustments the user made to their allowances.

View Travel Allowance

This option allows the approver to review the details of the travel allowances requested by the user. You can use the Next button to step through all of the supporting screens.

View Adjustments

You can also review the adjustments the user indicated to ensure they are accurate. For example, perhaps you are attending the same conference as the traveler and know what meals will be provided. You can make sure they completed this screen properly.

Once you've reviewed all of the information on the request, you can decide which action you want to take. The actions available to you will vary based on your configuration. The option to approve has its own button on the right side of the screen. Other options appear in the More Actions button.

Approve

This is the most common option and is used to indicate that you approve this request. When selecting the Approve button, you might be prompted to accept and confirm that you approve this request. After confirmation, the system will indicate that you approved the request and then send it to the next step defined in the approval process.

More Actions → Edit Approval Flow

The Edit Approval Flow option allows you to add steps to the approval process for this request. You can use the Add Step link to add steps to the process and then the Save button to Save your changes. Depending on your configuration, you may also be allowed to delete steps from the approval process. Upon completion of this form, you must then select the Approve button for the request.

More Actions → Approve & Forward

The Approve & Forward option allows you to approve the request and then select an additional approver to send it to. Use the User-Added Approver field to add the approver, and then select the Save button to perform these actions.

Note

This option uses the Edit Approval Flow page so you can also perform the same actions you could when using the Edit Approval Flow option.

More Actions → Send Back to Employee

The Send Back to Employee option sends the request back to the employee to be corrected and resubmitted or canceled. You're required to provide a comment with details of what they did wrong and what action they should take going forward. Once the comments are added select the Send Back button.

Note

If the user makes corrections to the request and resubmits it, it must go through the entire approval process again.

• Approvers should carefully review all aspects of a request—including expected expenses, request details, attachments, and travel allowances—before making an approval decision, as recommended by SAP Concur.
• Key areas to review may include Expected Expenses, Request Header, Request Timeline, Audit Trail, Allocation Summary, Print/Share options, and Manage Travel Allowances; available sections depend on system configuration.
• After review, approvers can choose from several actions based on configuration: Approve, Edit Approval Flow (add/remove steps), Approve & Forward (send to another approver), or Send Back to Employee (with required comments).
• In most cases, SAP Concur discourages allowing approvers to alter request/expense details directly. If permitted, changes should be discussed with the request submitter.
• Approvers can print, save, or email request reports for record-keeping or further review, using the Print/Share dropdown options.