Approving an Expense Report (Primary Approvers and Delegate Approvers)

Expense report approvers will work directly in Concur –desktop or mobile app – to approve expense reports at the departmental and funding source levels. Concur sends email notifications when users submit expense reports for approval.

Alysha Cieniewicz
20 steps
40 seconds

Click [here](https://duke.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=4b81da58-9a4c-4a14-a34d-b3ec016452f7) and watch this 3-minute and 21-second video demonstrating the steps below.

Basic Workflow Overview

The basic workflow model begins when employees submit their expense reports into workflow. An expense delegate may create the report, but they are not part of the workflow.

Accessing the Expense Report in Concur

Once you receive an email indicating a report is ready to approve, log into Concur by going to the Concur tab in [work.duke.edu](http://work.duke.edu) or directly using the link available at [concur.duke.edu](http://concur.duke.edu). From the Concur Home page, there are two ways to access **Approvals**. 1. From the side bar on the homepage, select **Approvals** OR 2. Click on the **Approvals** tile on the main page.

On the **Approvals** homepage, notice information about the report displays. **Report Name** is pulled directly from the **Report Header**. Information may display before the report name may users enter additional information in the header. **Report Date** is the date the report entered workflow. **Amount Due Employee** is the reimbursement amount, and the **Requested Amount** is the total amount of the report. This example includes corporate card charges and reimbursements due to the employee. Icons may display based upon expense report activity. Under **Report Name**, select the hyperlink of the report to review it.

From the report, you will see any exception messages that apply to the report, a list of expenses included, and a report summary. Select **Details** to see a variety of information. - **Report Header** – details providing context about the report. - **Totals** – dollar totals. - **Audit Trail** – complete history of activity and audit messages. - **Approval Flow** - workflow approvers. - **Comments** – comments added by delegate, employee, or approvers. - **Allocations** – displays funding source allocation. On the **Allocations for Report** screen, select **Summary** to see details.

Select **Receipts** for options on viewing receipts. - **View Receipts in new window** – opens receipts in a new window. Great when approving using two screens. This view shows all receipts entered at the expense level in one document. - **View Receipts in current window** – shows the receipt in one screen aligned with the expense and expense details. This view shows all receipts entered at the expense level in one document.

To view the expense directly associated with an expense, go under the Expense column and click on the **Receipt Image** icon associated with that expense. If it is noted that additional backup documentation has been added to the header level of the expense report, select **View Receipts** in the new window or **View Receipts** in the current window. This will ensure you have reviewed all backup documentation associated with the expense report.

Select **Print/Email** and **DU-Travel & Expense Detail Report** to view the travel summary document.

Perform a detailed review of the expense report, ensuring receipt details align with expenses. **Keep in mind the following when reviewing reports:** - Icons provide information about the expense report. Hover over an icon to display information or see an image of a receipt. - An arrow associated with an expense indicates the expense has been itemized. Select the arrow to view details. - The partial allocation icon indicates it’s been partially allocated at the receipt level. If you do not see a pie chart, that means it’s been allocated at the expense report level. Go to the **Details-Report Header** of the expense report to view the cost object. - Tools are available throughout the view which change the display. Select the **View** link, explore the toolbar associated with receipts, select a column heading to sort expenses to explore the tool, and select a "double arrow" to open and close a section of the screen and determine a display that works best for you.

Once the review is complete, **Approve** the report. Review the **Final Confirmation** and select **Accept**. Once you receive a confirmation, you will be returned to the **Reports** view on the Approvals page. Additional options available include **Send Back to User,** which requires comments, or **Approve & Forward,** which records your approval to the report and allows you to add a user to the approval workflow.

Adding an Ad-Hoc Approver - Department

To add an additional department approver to the workflow, select **Approve & Forward**.

From the **Approve & Forward Report** window, in the **User-Added Approver** field, click in the box. Select the drop-down next to **Search Approvers By**.

Select how you would like to search for the approver based upon the search criteria options. For this example, **Last Name** is selected.

In the **User- Added Approver** field, type the **Last Name** of the approver. From the drop-down, select the approver's name.

Add a comment in the comments section, and select **Approve & Forward**.

Adding an Ad-Hoc Approver - Funding Source

To add an additional funding source approver to the workflow, in the expense report, select **Details-Approval Flow**.

In the **Approval Flow for Report** window, select the plus **+** sign within the workflow report. In the **User-Added Approver** field, add the appropriate funding source approver. Select **Save Workflow**.

Important Note for Back-up Approvers

In order to approve expense reports as a backup, you will need to log into Concur and “**Act as**” the primary approver. Email notifications will provide the name of the primary approver. Follow the departmental process for approval as a backup approver.

Once in Concur, go to Profile. Under **Act As** select the radio button next to **A Delegate for another user who has granted you this permission**. Search the drop-down menu to find the approver. Select **Switch** to begin.

You will then be logged in as that approver. Notice the approver's name in green in the upper right hand corner. You can follow the approval steps outlined in this document.

Reminder Notifications for Approvers

To ensure the timely posting of expenses to Duke’s ledger, Concur uses an automated reminder and escalation process for expense reports that sit in an approver’s workflow without action. Concur generates reminders daily, sending information to approvers for any report requiring approval that has been in workflow for seven (7) and 14 calendar days. Reminder notifications list the individual reports and days the reports have been in workflow and will include a link to log into Concur to approve the reports. If no action occurs by day 20, Concur automatically escalates the expense report as follows: - Departmental Approvals – Concur forwards the report to the approver’s approver. - Adhoc Approvals – Concur forwards the report to the approver’s approver. - Approve & Forward – Concur forwards the report to the approver’s approver. - Funding Source – Concur forwards the report to Employee Travel & Reimbursement. Concur sends an email to the “old” approver notifying them of the escalation. Concur also sends an email to the “new” approver notifying them of an expense report requiring their approval.

Helpful Hints

- If you allocate an expense report to multiple cost objects, ALL cost object approvers must approve the expense report.\ Funding source approvers can change the cost object associated with an expense report. If a cost object changes, the report re-routes to all funding source approvers.\ Employees cannot approve their expense reports, nor should departmental approvers approve expense reports for their supervisor or others at higher levels in their business unit.

Icons are **critical** to navigating in Concur. A complete listing of icons can be found on the Concur website at [concur.duke.edu](https://finance.duke.edu/systems/dukework/concur-travel-expense-management/).

Visit [concur.duke.edu/training](http://concur.duke.edu/trainingfor) for a library of Quick Reference Guides and other\ resources.