Exploring the Basics of Analytics Essentials

Objectives

After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
  • Access Analytics Essentials and Analytics.
  • Understand what Analytics Essentials is.

Unit Overview

This unit is designed for administrators looking to manage the reporting capabilities in Concur Expense.

After completing this unit, you will be able to:

  • Describe the Analytics Essentials and Analytics functionality.
  • Enable Reporting Configuration.
  • Utilize Actionable Analytics to make data-driven decisions.
  • Access references.

Path to Analytics Essentials and Analytics

From the Expense Settings page, under the Monitoring Spend section, select Edit from the Reporting tile.

A section of a user interface titled Monitoring Spend. To the left of this title, there is an icon of a magnifying glass over a bar chart. Below the title, there is a box labeled Reporting with the description Define options for generating reports. On the right side of this box, there is a blue button labeled Edit outlined in yellow.

Introduction to Analytics Essentials and Analytics

Analytics Essentials is a complimentary reporting option available to clients using SAP Concur's Standard Edition, provided they have not already purchased the SAP Concur Intelligence product. Analytics Essentials users can:

  • View all standard dashboards and reports.
  • Utilize selected Actionable Analytics notifications and alerts.

Analytics is an advanced, purchased product available to customers using SAP Concur's Standard Edition who have not already invested in the SAP Concur Intelligence product. Analytics users can:

  • View and create custom dashboards
  • View, create, and schedule custom reports
  • Share custom dashboards and reports with the entire company
  • Utilize all Actionable Analytics notifications and alerts

Permissions

Both products - Analytics Essentials and Analytics- are available via the Analytics menu. The menu is available to users with these permissions:

Manager

If the user's name is selected in the Manager list for at least one user. In order for a user's name to appear as an option in the Manager list, the user must be assigned the Can Approve Expense Reports permission.

Note

The Manager will view only the data of the employees for whom they approve expense reports.

Administrator

If the user is assigned the Consumer role in the Reporting Access list.

The image shows a user interface for setting reporting access permissions in an SAP Concur product. The interface is under the Products section, with tabs for Expense, Invoice, Purchase Request, and Reporting. The Reporting tab is highlighted. Under Permissions, users can choose the level of access to reports. A dropdown menu labeled Reporting Access is expanded, showing two options: No Reporting Access and Consumer. Both the Reporting tab and the Consumer option are highlighted.

Note

The user with this permission will see the data for all users in the entire company.

Analytics Essentials vs. Analytics

Analytics Essentials uses can view all standard dashboards.

Analytics users can view all standard dashboards and create custom dashboards.

Access the Dashboards

Navigate to the Home page and select Analytics under Applications .

A navigation menu in the SAP Concur interface. The menu is expanded from the Analytics dropdown in the top navigation bar. The menu is divided into two columns: Applications and Administration. In the Applications column, there are options for Home, Expense, Approvals, Analytics, and App Center. The Analytics option is highlighted. In the Administration column, there are options for Expense Settings, Company, Tools, Web Services, Change Log, and Authentication Admin.

The Expense Overview dashboard on the Analytics Home page in the SAP Concur interface. At the top, there is a navigation bar with the Analytics Home button, a user selection dropdown (currently showing Administrator), and options to Edit and access more settings. The dashboard is divided into six main sections: 1. Spend section displaying total spend in USD and days remaining for the current period. It shows 0 USD spent and 64 days remaining, with 30.4% of the quarter complete. 2. Accruals section showing accruals in USD, which is 0, and indicates no data returned for the selected period. 3. Total Policy Exceptions section showing the number of exceptions and days remaining for the current period. It shows 0 exceptions, 64 days remaining, and 30.4% of the quarter complete. 4. Top 5 Spend by Category section indicating no data returned for the selected period. 5. Top 5 Entry Exceptions by Category section indicating no data returned for the selected period. 6. Top 10 Spenders and Top 10 Users by Exception Count sections, both indicating no data returned for the selected period.

Switch Dashboards

To switch between dashboards, select the menu icon.

The top portion of the Expense Overview dashboard on the Analytics Home page in the SAP Concur interface. At the top, there is a navigation bar with the Analytics Home button, represented by a grid icon, which is highlighted. To the right, there is a user selection dropdown, currently displaying Administrator, with an X to close the dropdown. There are also Edit and More Options buttons present. Below the navigation bar, the Expense Overview title is displayed with a star icon next to it.

The Analytics Home page in the SAP Concur interface. At the top, there is a navigation bar with the Analytics Home button, represented by a grid icon, tabs for All, Expense, and Invoice, a search bar, and a user selection dropdown currently displaying Administrator with an option to close the dropdown. Below the navigation bar, the content is organized into four columns: Standard Content, Company Content, User Content, and Schedules.The Standard Content column lists 18 items, including Expense Overview, Financial Administrator Overview, Invoice Overview, Spend Analysis, Allocation Details, Attendee Details, Billed Transaction Reconciliation, Credit Card Transactions, Employee Details, Employee Roles, Expense Accrual, Expense Entry Analysis Details, Expense Exception Analysis - Reports, Expense Exception Analysis - Reports, Expense Report Totals, Invoice Accrual, Invoice Aging, and Unassigned Credit Card Transactions. The Company Content column shows no available company content. The User Content column indicates no user-generated content. The Schedules column displays that no reports are scheduled to run.

Note

If you only see the Standard Content column on your dashboard, this indicates that your company has Analytics Essentials. If you can see all four columns, Standard Content, Company Content, User Content and Schedules - your company has purchased Analytics.

Analytics vs. Intelligence Reporting

In Concur Expense, both Analytics and Intelligence are tools used for generating and analyzing data, but they serve different purposes and offer distinct features:

Analytics

Purpose

  • Provides a user-friendly interface for users to run standard and custom reports.
  • Focuses on providing insights through interactive dashboards and visualizations.

Features

  • Interactive dashboards that allow users to drill down into data.
  • Prebuilt reports and templates that can be customized.
  • Ad-hoc reporting capabilities that let users create reports on the fly.
  • Data visualization tools to help in understanding data trends and patterns.

Easy to Use

  • Designed for business users with minimal technical expertise.
  • Drag-and-drop interface for easy report creation.

Intelligence

Purpose

  • Provides advanced reporting and analytical capabilities.
  • Typically used by more technical users or report developers.

Features

  • Advanced report-building capabilities that can handle complex queries and data models.
  • Integration with other data sources for comprehensive reporting.
  • Allows a pixel-ready perfect report creation, with is crucial for formal documents and presentations.
  • Scheduling and distribution features to automate report generation and sharing.

Complexity

  • Requires more technical knowledge to fully utilize its capabilities.
  • Often used for creating highly customized and complex reports that go beyond what’s possible with standard Analytics tools.

Choosing Between Analytics and Intelligence

Use Analytics - You need quick insights, interactive dashboards, and user-friendly ad-hoc reporting capabilities.

Use Intelligence - You require complex, customized reports with advanced data manipulation, integration with multiple data sources, and formal report presentations.

Both tools are essential in Concur Expense for different reporting needs, allowing organizations to use their data effectively for both everyday insights and advanced analytical requirements.

Caution

Customers who purchased Analytics have the option to upgrade to Intelligence based on their reporting needs. However, once you upgrade to Intelligence, you cannot revert back to Analytics.

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