Expense: Exceptions
Setup Guide
Last Revised: September 19 2017
Applies to these SAP Concur solutions:
Expense
Professional/Premium edition
Standard edition
Travel
Professional/Premium edition
Standard edition
Invoice
Professional/Premium edition
Standard edition
Authorization Request
Professional/Premium edition
Standard edition
Table of Contents
Section 1: Permissions ................................................................................................1
Section 2: Overview ....................................................................................................1
Global and Group Administrators .................................................................................. 1
Terminology .............................................................................................................. 2
Section 3: What the User Sees ....................................................................................2
Exception Flags .......................................................................................................... 2
What the Employee and Approver See .......................................................................... 2
Entry-Level Exceptions ........................................................................................... 3
Report-Level Exceptions ......................................................................................... 4
Show/Hide ........................................................................................................... 4
What the Expense Processor Sees ................................................................................ 5
Audit Trail and Exceptions ........................................................................................... 6
Section 4: Exception Helper – Audit Rules and Workflow ............................................6
Default Exceptions...................................................................................................... 7
Section 5: Configuration ..............................................................................................7
Access Exceptions ...................................................................................................... 7
Add Exceptions .......................................................................................................... 7
Modify Exceptions ...................................................................................................... 9
Remove Exceptions .................................................................................................. 10
Section 6: Appendix – Notes About Specific Options .................................................11
Audit Rules and Exceptions: Variables Available for Amount-Based Rules ........................ 11
Expense: Exceptions Setup Guide i
Last Revised: September 19 2017
© 2004 - 2018 Concur Technologies Inc. All rights reserved.
Revision History
Date Notes / Comments / Changes
April 4 2018 Changed the check boxes on the front cover; no other changes; cover date not
updated
January 5 2018 Updated the copyright; no other changes; cover date not updated
September 19 2017 Added a note about the Exception Message field text to clarify that this is a text
field and does not support HTML formatting.
December 14 2016 Changed copyright and cover; no other content changes.
Demcember 9 2016 Updated the Permissions section and guide content to new corporate style; no
content changes.
May 13 2016 Updated instances of he/she to they.
May 7 2015 Updated the screen shots to the enhanced UI, general cleanup; no other content
changes
September 24 2014 Added information about two user interfaces; no other content changes.
April 14 2014 Added a note about variables in exceptions for amount-based audit rules
February 7 2014 Added information about variables in exceptions for amount-based audit rules
April 3 3012 Removed all references to the legacy Authorization Request feature in Concur
Expense
Changed any references to Concur's Travel Request service to Request, Concur
Request, or Authorization Request, depending on the situation
No other content changes
December 28 2012 Made rebranding and/or copyright changes; no content changes
February 2012 Changed copyright; no content change
December 31 2010 Updated the copyright and made rebranding changes; no content changes
June 18 2010 Exceptions moved to the current user interface
December 2009 Changed to stand-alone setup guide; no content change
June 19 2009 Added information about authorization requests, updated screen shots for the
current user interface
June 20 2008 Initial publication
ii Expense: Exceptions Setup Guide
Last Revised: September 19 2017
© 2004 - 2018 Concur Technologies Inc. All rights reserved.
Section 1: Permissions
Exceptions
Section 1: Permissions
A company administrator may or may not have the correct permissions to use this
feature. The administrator may have limited permissions, for example, they can
affect only certain groups and/or use only certain options (view but not create or
edit).
If a company administrator needs to use this feature and does not have the proper
permissions, they should contact the company's Concur administrator.
Also, the administrator should be aware that some of the tasks described in this
guide can be completed only by Concur. In this case, the client must initiate a
service request with Concur Client Support.
Section 2: Overview
Exceptions are messages that appear at the report level, entry level, or itemization
level to indicate to the employee, approver, and/or back-office personnel that a rule
has been violated.
Exceptions are used in the:
• Audit Rules tool
• Workflows tool
• Receipt Handling tool, Scan Configurations
From within these tools (listed above), the administrator can create new exceptions
or choose from a list of existing exceptions. However, if an administrator needs to
modify or delete an exception, they must do so using the Exceptions tool.
Global and Group Administrators
The Expense Configuration administrator for the global group can view, add, edit,
and delete all global and group exceptions.
An Expense Configuration administrator with permissions for one or more groups:
• Can view, add, modify, and delete exceptions for the group(s) they
administers
• Can view global exceptions but never add, modify, or delete global
exceptions
• Can view but never add, modify, or delete the exceptions created for/by any
other group
Expense: Exceptions Setup Guide 1
Last Revised: September 19 2017
© 2004 - 2018 Concur Technologies Inc. All rights reserved.
Section 3: What the User Sees
Terminology
Term Definition
Exception Code A unique one to eight alphanumeric character code that is assigned to
every exception. This code is determined by the client's internal coding
system. The exception code can be queried for an expense report in
Expense Processor.
Exception Level A number assigned to each exception that determines the severity of a
rule. It is the responsibility of a company to determine the level
system. Note the following:
• The exception level can be queried for an expense report in
Expense Processor.
• A workflow setting can be set to prevent an expense report from
being submitted if it has an exception of a certain level.
• Authorized approvers can also be set up to approve reports based
on an exception level.
Section 3: What the User Sees
Exception Flags
Exceptions are displayed with a red, yellow, or blue icon.
• Red : Indicates an error that must be resolved before the employee can
submit the expense report
• Yellow : Indicates a warning or an informational message; the employee
can submit the expense report
• Blue : Indicates that the exception (either red or yellow) has been cleared
by the processor
What the Employee and Approver See
When creating an audit rule or workflow rule, the administrator has the option of
allowing the employee, approver, and/or processor to see the exception. If an
exception is configured to appear to the employee, it appears on the expense report.
2 Expense: Exceptions Setup Guide
Last Revised: September 19 2017
© 2004 - 2018 Concur Technologies Inc. All rights reserved.
Section 3: What the User Sees
Entry-Level Exceptions
The sample below shows entry-level exceptions.
The entry-level exception text appears at the top of the report, showing the expense
type, date, and amount. The user can also click the icon in the expense and see the
exception text.
Expense: Exceptions Setup Guide 3
Last Revised: September 19 2017
© 2004 - 2018 Concur Technologies Inc. All rights reserved.
Section 3: What the User Sees
Report-Level Exceptions
The sample below shows a report-level exception.
NOTE: Notice that where the entry-level exception shows the expense type, date,
and amount, the report-level exception does not.
When the user or approver clicks a report-level exception in the Exceptions section,
the Report header window opens.
Show/Hide
The user or approver can hide the Exceptions section by clicking Hide Exceptions
or the X in the upper-right corner of the Exceptions section.
The Hide Exceptions link then becomes Show Exceptions.
4 Expense: Exceptions Setup Guide
Last Revised: September 19 2017
© 2004 - 2018 Concur Technologies Inc. All rights reserved.
Section 3: What the User Sees
What the Expense Processor Sees
The processor can view all exceptions. Expense reports have the following exception
characteristics, which can be queried within Expense Processor:
• Has Exceptions – yes/no: Flag that indicates that a report has red
(cannot submit) or yellow (warning but can submit) exceptions at the
report, entry, or itemization level
• Has Cleared Exceptions - yes/no: Flag that indicates that a report has
blue (cleared) exceptions at the report, entry, or itemization level
• Exception Level Total: The total of all report, entry, and itemization
exception levels
• Max Exception Level: The maximum level or severity of any of the
exceptions on the report
With this simple query, the processor can quickly see all reports with exceptions.
Expense: Exceptions Setup Guide 5
Last Revised: September 19 2017
© 2004 - 2018 Concur Technologies Inc. All rights reserved.
Section 4: Exception Helper – Audit Rules and Workflow
Audit Trail and Exceptions
The processor can clear exceptions. Clearing exceptions makes them inactive and
generates a message in the audit trail at the report level that states, "All exceptions
were cleared."
Exceptions are written to the audit trail after a workflow step has been completed.
Each exception is written only once.
Section 4: Exception Helper – Audit Rules and Workflow
When an administrator creates a rule for workflow or audits, the administrator uses
the Exception step to select an existing exception or to create a new one.
6 Expense: Exceptions Setup Guide
Last Revised: September 19 2017
© 2004 - 2018 Concur Technologies Inc. All rights reserved.
Section 5: Configuration
Default Exceptions
A set of default exceptions is provided with the system. The administrator can elect
to use any or all of them.
Section 5: Configuration
Access Exceptions
To access exceptions:
1. Click Administration > Expense (on the sub-menu).
NOTE: Depending on your permissions, the page may appear immediately
after you click Administration.
2. Click Exceptions (left menu). The Exceptions page appears.
The Exceptions page displays all exceptions created on a Global and Group level as
well as any default system exceptions.
Add Exceptions
You can add exceptions:
• In the Exceptions step within the Audit Rules tool, Scan Configuration, and
the Workflows tool
– and –
• Using the Exceptions tool
Expense: Exceptions Setup Guide 7
Last Revised: September 19 2017
© 2004 - 2018 Concur Technologies Inc. All rights reserved.
Section 5: Configuration
To add an exception:
1. On the Exceptions page, click New. The New Exception page appears.
2. Complete the fields as appropriate.
Field Description
Exception Type a unique one to eight alphanumeric character code in all
Code uppercase letters, without any spaces.
NOTE: This code is determined by the client's internal coding system
and is not localized.
Exception Type any number between 0 and 99. Typically, the number goes in
Level ascending order for severity, such as 0 is non-urgent and 10 is
extremely urgent.
Regardless, each company decides how to define the level system.
Note the following:
• Using the Exception Level, an expense report can be queried in
Expense Processor.
• A workflow setting exists that prevents an expense report from
being submitted if it has an exception of a certain level.
Refer to the Expense: Workflow - General Information Setup
Guide for more information.
Message This text appears wherever the exception is visible and is localizable.
NOTE: This is a text field and does not support HTML formatting.
For information about adding variables for exception messages
for amount-based audit rules, refer to Appendix – Notes About
Specific Options in this guide.
8 Expense: Exceptions Setup Guide
Last Revised: September 19 2017
© 2004 - 2018 Concur Technologies Inc. All rights reserved.
Section 5: Configuration
Field Description
Editable By The Expense Configuration administrator for the global group can
Group(s) view, add, edit, and delete all global and group exceptions.
An Expense Configuration administrator with permissions for one or
more groups:
• Can view, add, modify, and delete exceptions for the group(s)
they administer
• Can view global exceptions but never add, modify, or delete
global exceptions
• Can view but never add, modify, or delete the exceptions created
for/by any other group
3. Click Save.
Modify Exceptions
Changes to any exception occur immediately to all unsubmitted expense reports.
If there is a submitted report that has an exception attached to it and the exception
is edited, then the exception for level, code, and/or message is only updated if the
criteria are reevaluated. If the exception level changes and there is a setting to
restrict submission at that exception level and the report has already been
submitted, then the restriction is not applied.
To edit an exception:
1. On the Exceptions page, either:
Select an exception, and then click Modify
– or –
Double-click an exception
The Modify Exception window appears.
Expense: Exceptions Setup Guide 9
Last Revised: September 19 2017
© 2004 - 2018 Concur Technologies Inc. All rights reserved.
Section 5: Configuration
NOTE: For the exceptions that are provided by Concur, modifications are
restricted. You can change the text but likely nothing else.
2. Make any necessary changes.
3. Click Save.
Remove Exceptions
Deleted exceptions remain attached to a submitted expense report; however, they
do not appear for any unsubmitted reports.
To remove an exception:
1. On the Exceptions page, click the desired exception.
2. Click Remove.
NOTE: You cannot remove the default exceptions. The Remove button is not
available.
10 Expense: Exceptions Setup Guide
Last Revised: September 19 2017
© 2004 - 2018 Concur Technologies Inc. All rights reserved.
Section 6: Appendix – Notes About Specific Options
Section 6: Appendix – Notes About Specific Options
Audit Rules and Exceptions: Variables Available for Amount-Based
Rules
If the client uses amount-based audit rules (such as those that track daily, weekly,
or monthly totals), the client can include variables in the exception message that
appears to the user, approver, and/or processor.
Example: "The monthly limit for this type of expense is $50. Your expense exceeds
the limit by $10, bringing the monthly total to $60. Be sure to include a comment for
your approver."
For a full explanation of how the feature works, refer to the Expense: Audit
Rules Setup Guide, in the Additional Samples of Custom Audit Rules section.
Expense: Exceptions Setup Guide 11
Last Revised: September 19 2017
© 2004 - 2018 Concur Technologies Inc. All rights reserved.