SAP Concur Licensing Optimization Strategy for Global Enterprises

SAP Concur Licensing Optimization Strategy for Global Enterprises

(A strategic sourcing guide for IT procurement professionals managing large SAP Concur deployments.)

Introduction

Global enterprises rely on SAP Concur for travel and expense management, but its licensing model can be complex and costly. This guide explains how Concur licensing works and offers strategies to optimize costs.

We’ll cover key cost drivers, actionable tips to right-size your Concur licenses, negotiation levers to use with SAP (especially at renewal time), and special considerations for international deployments.

The tone is casual yet credible – think of it as advice from a seasoned procurement colleague who’s been through the Concur trenches.

SAP Concur’s Licensing Model

Subscription Model – with a Twist:

SAP Concur is delivered as Software-as-a-Service, typically sold on a subscription basis. However, unlike a simple flat per-user fee, Concur often uses a hybrid pricing model that combines user-based and usage-based elements​.

You might pay a base subscription (covering a set number of users or transactions) plus a fee for each expense report or travel booking processed above that baseline.

Concur licensing is usually tied to “active” users (employees who use the system in a given period) and the volume of transactions (like expense reports submitted or trips booked).

User Tiers and Volume Bands:

Pricing is often tiered. For example, if you exceed those numbers, a contract might include up to X users or Y expense reports per year at a fixed rate, with tiered pricing (or overage fees).

As your usage increases, the per-unit cost (per user or report) often decreases in volume bands. Enterprise customers can sometimes negotiate an “all you can eat” model (unlimited use for a flat fee), but more commonly, there will be volume thresholds.

Always review how your contract defines these tiers: Are you paying for a maximum number of users, reports, or a combination? Knowing this is crucial for controlling spending.

Transaction-Based Charges:

Certain Concur modules carry transaction fees in addition to expense reports. Travel bookings made through Concur Travel, for instance, may incur a fee per airline ticket or itinerary booked (sometimes called a booking fee).

Similarly, if you use Concur Invoice (for accounts payable), you might pay per invoice processed or in bundles.

Understand which metrics (user count, expense reports, trips, invoices, etc.) drive costs in your specific Concur agreement. This clarity will help you target the right areas for optimization.

Key Cost Drivers in SAP Concur

What makes your SAP Concur bill high?

Several common cost drivers stand out:

• Number of Active Users: Concur often charges per active user or seat. Every employee with access to Concur (or who submits an expense) may count toward your bill. This includes employees who could file an expense even if they never do. Unused or inactive accounts can needlessly inflate costs. (Tip: We’ll discuss later how to purge or manage inactive users.)
• Expense Report Volume: If your pricing model includes a per-expense-report fee, the total number of reports submitted annually is a major cost driver. Organizations with frequent small expense reports (e.g., employees filing one report per trip or week) will pay more than those consolidating expenses into fewer reports. Travel-heavy companies naturally generate more expense reports.
• Travel Transaction Fees: Those using the travel booking component can incur a fee for each trip booked. A spike in travel (more flights, hotel bookings, etc.) means higher Concur costs. Travel transactions might be billed separately from expense reports, so you must monitor both if you have integrated Travel and expense.
• Module and Product Mix: SAP Concur isn’t a single product – it’s a suite. Large enterprises might license Concur Expense, Concur Travel, and perhaps Concur Invoice or other add-ons (like Duty of Care or Request modules). Each module usually has its own fee. The more modules you enable, the higher the overall cost. Also, some modules might overlap with your other systems (for example, Concur Invoice vs. an AP system like SAP Ariba). Overlapping functionality can mean you’re paying twice for similar capabilities​.
• AI and Automation Add-Ons: Newer Concur features powered by AI (we’ll dive deeper into these later) can add significant value and cost. Tools like ExpenseIt (receipt scanning and itemization) or Concur Detect (AI-based expense audit/fraud detection) are licensed add-ons that come at an extra fee​. If broadly deployed, these can drive up costs.
• Support Level and Services: SAP Concur offers standard support in the subscription, but large enterprises may opt for premium support packages (for 24/7 support or a dedicated support representative). Premium support or additional consulting services (for implementation, training, etc.) will add to the spending, though these might be negotiable or one-time costs.
• Geography and Multi-Entity Setup: If your company operates across multiple countries or has several subsidiaries, how you structure your Concur deployment can affect cost. A single global Concur instance might be more cost-effective than separate instances per region (due to economies of scale in user counts). Still, sometimes separate instances are needed for legal or data reasons. Having multiple instances could mean duplicate subscription fees. Additionally, you might miss volume discounts if your contract doesn’t aggregate usage across regions. International factors (like currency, local taxes on software, or data localization requirements) can also indirectly drive costs up.

Understanding these drivers will help you identify where to focus your optimization efforts. Next, let’s examine strategies for managing and reducing these costs.

Strategies to Optimize Your Concur Licensing

Optimizing SAP Concur spending involves aligning licenses with actual needs and avoiding waste.

Here are several strategies and actionable tips:

• Audit and Right-Size User Accounts: Perform regular audits of Concur user accounts to identify inactive users, duplicates, or ex-employees. It’s common for companies to find that 10-20% of “licensed” users haven’t logged an expense in months. Develop a process (possibly automated) to deactivate users who leave the company without access. You can cut out unnecessary per-user charges by removing or reclassifying these users before each billing/true-up. Also, consider if everyone at the company truly needs a Concur license. Some organizations initially roll out Concur to all employees but later realise only certain roles (like those who travel or incur expenses) use it. Tailor the licensed population to those who will use the system regularly.
• Consolidate Expense Reports (Intelligently): If paying per expense report, encourage behaviours that reduce the total number of reports. For instance, an employee submitting weekly could submit monthly without harm, combining multiple trips or expenses into one report. Fewer reports mean fewer transaction fees. However, balance this with business needs – you don’t want to delay reimbursements too long or make reports so large that they become cumbersome. Aim for a reasonable reporting frequency policy that avoids tiny, frequent reports. Some companies set a minimum (like “at least $100 or one month of expenses per report”). This cuts down the volume of reports by pushing small items into a single submission.
• Negotiate Overage Bands Upfront: A smart strategy for managing variable usage is negotiating volume bands or tiered pricing in advance​. If you anticipate growth (e.g., more travel next year or a new group being added to Concur), talk to SAP about predefined tiers: for example, you pay $X for up to 10,000 reports/year, and a lower per-report fee beyond that up to 15,000, etc. This way, if your usage spikes, you know the cost implications and ideally have discounted rates for higher volumes locked in. It prevents the nasty surprise of paying the full list price for every report over your limit. Conversely, if you expect a potential downturn in usage, negotiate flexibility to scale down (more on that in the negotiation section).
• Eliminate Redundant Modules/Services: Look hard at all the Concur modules and services you subscribe to. Are you using them all? For example, if you signed up for Concur Invoice but your AP team still primarily uses another system, consider dropping Concur Invoice to save money. Or if you enabled an add-on like TripLink (which captures travel booked outside Concur) but find it’s not delivering value, you might remove it in the next contract cycle. Every module has a cost – ensure it’s justified by usage. Also, watch out for overlapping tools in your software portfolio. You might not need Concur’s budgeting module if you have a separate budgeting tool, or you might not need Concur’s built-in audit service if you’ve outsourced that elsewhere. Streamline to what you truly need.
• Optimize AI Add-On Usage: Do a cost-benefit analysis for add-ons like ExpenseIt or Concur Detect. These tools can save time and catch errors or fraud (which has its ROI), but they usually charge per use or user. Perhaps roll them out to a pilot group first rather than all users. See if the automated receipt scanning or auditing reduces manual work and expense leakages enough to warrant the cost. You might give ExpenseIt only to frequent receipt handlers (like heavy travelers) instead of everyone to control license counts. Or use Concur Detect to audit, say, 50% of reports (high-risk ones) rather than 100% – if the pricing model allows partial use. The key is that you don’t necessarily need “all the bells and whistles” for every user if the budget is tight. Target these powerful (but pricey) features where they matter most.
• Training and Compliance to Avoid Waste: Sometimes, costs creep up because of misuse or lack of knowledge. Ensure employees are trained to use Concur correctly – e.g., not creating multiple duplicate reports, attaching receipts properly (to avoid additional processing by audit services), and booking travel in policy (to avoid extra manual corrections or off-system bookings that waste your investment in Concur Travel). A well-governed T&E process means you get full value from the system and avoid inefficiencies that could indirectly cost money.
• Monitor and Review Regularly: Optimization isn’t a one-and-done task. Institute a quarterly or biannual review of Concur usage vs. what you pay for. Many enterprises set up a governance team with IT, Finance, and Procurement to monitor license consumption. Use Concur’s admin reports or analytics to track the number of active users, number of reports, average cost per report, etc. By keeping an eye on trends, you can make adjustments (like adjusting user counts or negotiating changes) before costs run away. This also preps you with data for renewal time.

Negotiation Levers and Renewal Tips with SAP

When it comes time to negotiate your SAP Concur contract – whether a renewal or an expansion – knowledge and leverage are power.

Here are key negotiation strategies and tips for dealing with SAP:

• Leverage Your Usage Data: Come to the table with data on your use of Concur. If you can show, for example, “We licensed 5,000 users, but only 3,500 used the system regularly” or “We paid for 20,000 reports but only filed 15,000,” you have a case to seek cost adjustments. Demonstrating under-utilization is a strong argument for better pricing or credit in the next term. Conversely, if you’re over-utilizing (blew past your allotment), use that to negotiate volume discounts rather than simply paying overage fees. Show SAP you know your numbers – it’s hard for them to argue with facts. As one best practice, maintain internal dashboards of license usage vs. entitlement; this info is “gold” during renewal talks​.
• Start Renewal Talks Early: Don’t wait until the last minute. Discuss with SAP before your renewal deadline—ideally 6-12 months in advance for a large enterprise agreement. Early engagement gives you time to benchmark alternatives, go through internal approvals, and put pressure on SAP without facing a service lapse. It also signals to SAP that you are a proactive customer who won’t simply rubber-stamp a renewal quote.
• Benchmark Against Market and Other Vendors: It’s always wise to know what other solutions in the market cost. Even if you have no immediate plan to switch from Concur, get a sense of pricing from competitors like Expensify, Coupa (formerly Abacus), or newer players like Navan (TripActions) for travel. If those solutions offer similar capabilities at a significantly lower cost, you can subtly let SAP know you’re aware. This can be a negotiation lever – SAP may provide a discount to keep you from seriously considering a move. Likewise, know what other SAP customers pay (if you have networking opportunities or user groups) to ensure you’re not paying above market. Procurement groups often share anonymized benchmarks – use them.
• Multi-Year Commitments vs. Flexibility: SAP sales reps often incentivize multi-year renewals with better discounts. Committing to 3 or 5 years can lock in a lower per-unit price today. However, be cautious: you want to build flexibility since your business needs might change yearly. If you go multi-year, include flexible terms like the right to adjust user counts annually, caps on price increases year-over-year (e.g., no more than 3% escalation), and a mid-term review. You don’t want to be overcommitted if your company suddenly downsizes or merges (affecting Concur usage). On the flip side, if you expect significant growth, a multi-year deal at a fixed rate could be very advantageous – ensure you have negotiated the ability to add more users or reports at that same discounted rate without punitive mid-term pricing.
• True-Down and Renewal Adjustments: Many cloud vendors (SAP included) prefer “no reduction” clauses (i.e., you can renew at the same or higher volumes but not lower). Push back on this. Negotiate a true-down at renewal – meaning you can reduce your licenses or volume commitments if your usage has dropped, with a corresponding cost decrease. Even if SAP doesn’t give a full true-down, aim for some flexibility, like a 10% reduction allowance without penalty. It’s a reasonable request, especially after events like the COVID-19 pandemic, where travel drastically dropped – customers who had no true-down were stuck paying for unused Concur capacity. Don’t let that be you; bake in the ability to recalibrate.
• Bundle and Save (Strategically): SAP might offer better pricing if you bundle Concur with other SAP products. Perhaps you’re also renewing SuccessFactors or considering SAP Analytics – bundling them in one negotiation can give you leverage for cross-discounts. But be careful: only bundle if you truly intend to use those products, and ensure the discount is meaningful. Sometimes, bundling makes a deal more complex. Another angle is to co-term different SAP contracts: aligning your Concur renewal with your SAP S/4HANA renewal to negotiate from a position of a larger spend. Just ensure you have executive support to potentially change or drop multiple services if negotiations go poorly – bundling means higher stakes.
• Use Timing to Your Advantage: SAP (like many large software firms) has quarterly and annual sales targets. If you can time your negotiation toward the end of SAP’s quarter or fiscal year, you might find them more amenable to discounts. Also, if you know of any new SAP products or initiatives, sometimes sales will cut you a break on one thing if you agree to be an early adopter of another (only if it aligns with your strategy). Just be aware of their sales cycle – it can be your friend in negotiation.
• Get Executive and Stakeholder Backing: Internally, make sure you have your CFO or other executives on board with the negotiation strategy, especially if you need to signal that you’re willing to walk away or make a big change. SAP will take your stance more seriously if it knows the business leadership is scrutinizing costs and is open to alternatives. Also, involve stakeholders like your travel manager or AP director – they can provide testimonials on usage and needs, and they’ll need to live with whatever is negotiated (e.g., if you plan to cut some features to save money, they should agree it’s workable).
• Ask for Value-Adds: If SAP is firm on price, negotiate on value. For example, ask for a certain number of free premium support hours, a complimentary training session for your admins, or maybe include a normally paid feature at no extra cost. Sometimes, you can get add-ons (like the TripIt Pro app for all users or a small module) thrown in as sweeteners. These have real value and can increase adoption without increasing the budget.
• Document Everything: When you reach an agreement, ensure the contract language is crystal clear on pricing metrics, volume allowances, included features, and future flexibility. If you negotiated special terms (like the right to reduce licenses or specific discount tiers), ensure they are written into the contract or an addendum. Don’t rely on sales promises or informal emails – get it in the legally binding docs. This avoids disputes later and holds SAP accountable for the deal you fought for.

Approaching SAP Concur renewals with a strategic mindset and a firm grasp of your needs will significantly improve your outcome.

Now, let’s consider one area that’s evolving quickly: the effect of AI-driven add-ons on your Concur licensing strategy.

Impact of AI and Automation Add-Ons on Pricing

SAP Concur has been enhancing its platform with AI and automation, offering add-on products that can make T&E management smarter and more complex to license.

Enterprises should note ExpenseIt and Concur Detect (often branded under Concur’s “Intelligent Audit” capabilities).

• ExpenseIt (Receipt Scanning): ExpenseIt is an OCR and AI-powered receipt scanning service that integrates with Concur Expense. With it, an employee can snap a photo of a receipt on their phone, and ExpenseIt will automatically create an expense entry (categorize it, input the amount, etc.). This saves time and improves accuracy. Licensing Impact: Expense. It is not part of the standard Concur Expense license; it’s a paid add-on service​. Typically, you’ll pay either per user (i.e., each user entitled to use ExpenseIt) or per receipt scanned/transaction. If you enable it for your entire user base, your costs could jump significantly. To optimize, some companies only buy ExpenseIt for particular roles or heavy users, or negotiate it into a bundle at a discounted rate. If you’re considering ExpenseIt, factor in how many receipts you process monthly – the convenience may be worth the cost, but it needs to be measured.
• Concur Detect (AI Expense Auditing): Concur Detect is an AI-driven tool automatically reviewing expense reports for potential issues or fraud. It analyzes expense data and receipts against your policies and external data to flag high-risk expenses (for example, detecting if a receipt might be fake or altered or if an expense violates policy). Licensing Impact: Like ExpenseIt, Concur Detect is an optional add-on (extended service) for an extra fee​. It might be priced by the number of expense reports audited or as a flat fee for a certain volume. Using Concur Detect can reduce the need for manual expense audits or third-party audit services, but you’ll be paying SAP for that automation. It also introduces complexity: you need to configure what the AI checks for and possibly adjust your contract if you want to change the percentage of expenses being auto-audited. Some contracts require you to audit a minimum percentage of reports with the tool (for example, at least 30% of reports go through Detect’s analysis). Be aware of how those terms are structured so you’re not overpaying for unused AI capacity.
• Intelligent Audit Services: In addition to pure software like Detect, SAP Concur offers “Intelligent Audit,” which can be a combination of AI and human auditors to review expenses. This often replaces or supplements internal audit teams. Licensing-wise, this might be a service charged per audit report. While not strictly a software license, it’s part of your Concur spend. Ensure you know if you’re paying for a certain number of audited reports annually. If your company’s compliance needs are high (e.g., you need every expense checked), this service could be worth it, but it will significantly add to the cost. You might also explore third-party audit firms to make a comparison.
• Other Add-Ons (Mileage, Compliance, etc.): Concur has other optional features such as Drive (automatic mileage capture via GPS) and partnerships like Tax Assurance by Blue Dot or Benefit Assurance (for ensuring tax compliance on expenses or benefits). Each has its pricing model – some flat fee, some per user. They add value in specific scenarios (e.g., Drive helps accurately reimburse mileage and prevent fraud), but you should only pay for what you need. If only a subset of employees needs a feature, see if you can license it just for them rather than enterprise-wide.

Navigating the Complexity: AI and automation add-ons complicate your licensing because they introduce new metrics (like the number of receipts and “AI-checked” expenses) on top of your user and report counts.

They can also blur the lines between a “technology” spend and a “service” spend. To optimize:

• Always request a detailed breakdown of how an add-on is priced (per user, per use, tiered, etc.).
• Pilot the feature if possible before committing long-term. SAP might allow a trial period for something like Concur Detect; use that to gauge its effectiveness.
• If you plan to adopt these during negotiations, bundle them in to get a better deal. For example, add Concur Detect at renewal and negotiate its cost as part of the overall package.
• Regularly review if the add-ons are delivering the expected savings/benefits. If ExpenseIt is supposed to save employees 30% of time on expense reports, is it doing so? If not, maybe you can drop it next time.
• Keep an eye on new competitors or third-party tools. Some AI expense audit tools (outside of SAP) can integrate with Concur or work separately, and their pricing could be more attractive. Use that information when negotiating Concur’s add-on pricing.

In summary, AI and automation features can greatly enhance Concur’s value but can also significantly increase your cost.

Approach them with the same rigour as any other part of the contract: ensure you have the right volume, the right pricing model, and clear terms for how they scale.

International and Global Deployment Considerations

Managing SAP Concur in a global enterprise introduces additional layers of complexity. Here’s how to optimize your licensing and strategy across regions and countries:

• Global vs. Regional Contracts: Decide whether to negotiate one global contract or a separate regional one. A global contract consolidating all users and transactions can give you maximum volume leverage, potentially lowering the per-user or per-report rate for all. It also simplifies management with one renewal date and one set of terms. However, in some cases, companies maintain regional contracts due to legacy arrangements or local requirements. If you have disparate contracts, you may pay different prices in different regions (which is not ideal!). For instance, perhaps Europe is paying more per user than the US because the contracts were signed differently. Optimization tip: Work towards harmonizing these contracts. If you ask, SAP is often willing to consolidate and align pricing, especially if it means a larger, longer-term renewal. If a full consolidation isn’t feasible, benchmark pricing across regions and push SAP to give you the best rates everywhere.
• Currency and Exchange Rate Factors: If your operations span currencies, consider contract currency and exchange rates. Depending on your region, SAP Concur deals can often be priced in USD, EUR, GBP, etc.. Locking your contract in one currency can create risk or opportunity; for example, a USD-priced contract might become more expensive in local terms if your currency weakens against the dollar. Some strategies:
  • Negotiate local currency pricing for major regions (so each region pays in their currency), which can reduce FX risk. SAP may resist multiple currencies, but it’s worth asking.
  • If sticking to a single currency (say USD for a global deal), consider asking for clauses that cap exchange rate fluctuations or allow price adjustments if rates swing wildly​. Alternatively, your finance team might hedge the currency externally.
  • Always clarify tax implications tied to currency. In some countries, paying a foreign entity in a foreign currency could trigger withholding taxes or VAT issues​. Make sure you know who bears those costs. Sometimes SAP will gross up, or you need to handle taxes – it should be explicit in the contract.
• Data Residency and Local Regulations: Certain countries have strict data residency laws (e.g., China and Russia in the past) that might require SAP Concur to host data in-country or offer a specialized service version. If you operate in such countries, discuss this with SAP early. A special local instance (or the SAP Concur Gov cloud for the US public sector, which is FedRAMP compliant​) might come with different licensing terms or additional fees. Also, consider whether you want one instance covering all countries or multiple instances for legal separation (for example, some European companies keep a separate instance for China). While multiple instances can increase costs, sometimes it’s non-negotiable due to the law. In such cases, try to negotiate a global volume discount across all instances, even if, technically, they are separate environments.
• Local Deployment vs. Global Instance: Using a single global instance of Concur allows centralized control and aggregated volume (good for discounts). However, it must be configured to handle multiple languages, taxes, and policies. The good news: Concur is pretty strong at multi-language and multi-currency support out of the box. Ensure your contract covers all the countries you need (SAP might need to know the list of countries for compliance reasons). For licensing, confirm that you can allocate your purchased licenses across countries freely. Ideally, avoid a scenario where licenses are region-locked (uncommon, but best to confirm). You want the flexibility to shift usage – e.g., if APAC’s usage grows while Europe’s drops, the total is still within your entitlement.
• Regional Support and SLAs: Check the support coverage for each region. If you’re a global enterprise, you likely need 24/7 support somewhere in the world. SAP’s standard support might only guarantee certain hours. You can negotiate a follow-the-sun support model or ensure support centers are in all your key regions. Sometimes, as noted earlier, this might incur extra cost (premium support), but you could negotiate it into the deal​. The critical part is to avoid gaps – you don’t want your Asia team stuck because support is asleep in another time zone. Lay out your support expectations in the contract.
• Local Pricing Variances: SAP’s list prices can differ by country (reflecting local market conditions). SAP might try to average or “normalize” pricing when negotiating a global deal. As a savvy buyer, you should aim for the lowest price points multiplied by your global volume. Use that as the anchor if you have a great price in one country. And watch out for SAP adding a “country uplift” for certain regions. Push back unless there’s a clear justification.
• Tax and Legal Entity Planning: Work with your finance/tax department to plan which legal entity will sign the contract in which country. Sometimes, having the contract reside with a particular subsidiary can minimize VAT or allow you to reclaim some taxes. Also, compliance with any import of services regulations must be ensured. None of this typically changes the Concur license fee itself, but it can affect your total cost after taxes. Clarity on these will prevent unpleasant cost surprises imposed by governments rather than SAP.
• Cultural and Policy Differences: Remember that rolling out Concur globally means adapting to local expense policies and cultures. While not a direct licensing issue, it can affect how widely Concur is adopted (and thus how many licenses you need). For example, some countries might have per diem rules or prefer paper receipts for certain items – if Concur isn’t configured or accepted for those, you might have users who don’t fully switch (meaning you might reduce licenses there). Working with local offices to drive the adoption of Concur will ensure you get the value for the licenses you’re paying for worldwide.

Treat your global Concur strategy as a unified program with local tuning. Consolidate where possible for cost savings, but accommodate local needs to ensure the tool is used as intended.

A globally optimized contract will factor in each region’s high-level volume and the on-the-ground realities.

Conclusion

Optimizing SAP Concur licensing for a global enterprise is a continuous journey of balancing cost and value.

By deeply understanding how Concur’s licensing model works and what drives your costs, you can take targeted actions to eliminate waste, whether purging unused accounts, tweaking expense report policies, or trimming unneeded modules.

Use your procurement savvy to negotiate favourable terms. Don’t accept boilerplate pricing; rather, sculpt a deal that fits your organization’s usage patterns and plans. Remember to keep an eye on the evolving landscape—new AI features, market competitors, and changing travel patterns will all influence what you need from Concur and how you should pay for it.

In a casual, direct tone: Don’t let SAP Concur “run on autopilot” in the background. Take charge of it like any strategic spend. Regularly ask, “Are we getting our money’s worth? How can we do better?”

By following the abovementioned strategies, you’ll be well on your way to an optimized, cost-effective Concur deployment that still meets your users’ needs and keeps the finance team happy. Happy negotiating, and may your expense reports ever be in your favour!