Travel Frequently Asked Questions

The first time you log in you must use a computer. At this time, you can download and set up a Concur mobile app. Concur is available via the Web and through mobile applications. Concur’s mobile app is linked within the Concur tool, allowing travelers to manage itineraries and expense transactions from their iPhone, iPad, Blackberry or Android. The application is free and there are no transaction fees. Key features include:

•    Managing of travel itineraries

•    Changing air travel date or time

•    Adding or changing reservations for hotels or rental cars

•    Arranging for taxis or dining reservations

•    Capturing out-of-pocket expenses

•    Photographing and uploading receipts

 

 

To log in to the Concur for mobile app, simply tap on "Company Code Sign In" after downloading the Concur for Mobile app and enter your company code. Then follow the instructions per your company procedure for single sign on.

Company Code: XHAECA

It is the electronic version of your receipt – delivered straight from the supplier – that uploads easily into your expense report. Please check your Concur profile to ensure that you have enabled e-receipts.

The receipt store (Available Receipts link) is where you can store receipts by uploading them into one place. You may then attach the receipt to your expense report by using this option.

No. Under the new travel policy the budgetary authority or org owner of the org(s) charged is the sole approver(s) for travel requests and expense reimbursements.

An exception occurs if the budgetary authority or org owner of the org(s) charged is the same as the person submitting the travel request/expense, since a user cannot approve their own expenses. Therefore, the request/expense will then route to the person’s supervisor as defined in the HR system. For example:

John Smith submits a travel request charging an org where Jane Doe is listed as the owner. Even though she is not John’s supervisor, Jane is the sole approver of this travel request since she is the listed owner of the org.

John Smith submits a travel expense reimbursement charging an org where he is listed as the owner. As the owner of the org John is the approver of the expense. However, since he cannot approve his own expenses, the report bypasses John and routes to his supervisor Fred Johnson for approval.

All travel must be approved by either the budgetary authority or official designee. The Principal Investigator (PI) is the budgetary authority for grant/contract funds (“G” Projects) and, for compliance reasons, Grant & Contract Accounting will provide an additional review and approval.  Faculty and staff are responsible and accountable for the appropriateness and accuracy of expenses they submit. An expense report approver should hold a higher position than the traveler holds and/or be an appropriate approver for the center being charged. Expense reports other than those for "G" Projects require one approval require one approval. However, all reports are subject to additional review and audit, both internal and external, for compliance with SMU policy, federal grant requirements and IRS regulations.

All employee travel forms, including the Travel Report have been discontinued. Travelers must still obtain the proper authorization before booking travel. This is done by creating and submitting a Travel Request in Concur.

Yes, travel must be pre-approved.

The approver(s) on a Travel Request is the budget authority or expense owner of the orgs that are in the Travel Request. The Request will be routed and approved electronically by the budget authority/expense owner(s).

For new trip requests beginning on or after June 20, 2015, it is  mandatory for all active faculty and staff to use SMU’s travel agency, Christopherson Business Travel (CBT), to book business travel. CBT is integrated with the Concur travel and expense tool to provide travelers with best-in-class technology. You may book through CBT via the online Concur tool or by calling an agent for assistance with more complicated travel. CBT is available to solve problems, give professional advice, and make your travel life easier. They provide personalized service via phone or email and support online reservations and newly initiated agent bookings.

CBT provides SMU faculty and staff with a 24-hour help desk.

Technical Questions
888-535-0179
onlinesupport@cbtravel.com
Travel Questions
800-787-2702
SMUTravel@cbtravel.com

This tool is for all active SMU faculty and staff by logging into the system using their SMU ID and password. Students and guests of SMU traveling on SMU business may have an SMU faculty or staff member with the Guest Travel Coordinator (GTC) privilege book travel for them.

All reservations for employee business travel should be booked through CBT or the Concur online system and will be charged to the credit card in the employee’s Concur profile. This credit card will need to be either a personal credit card or a corporate card issued in that employee’s name. The airline you have booked with will send you e-tickets and an email with your payment confirmation.

You can make all your reservations at the same time in the Concur system on the “Travel” tab or you can go back and add reservations at any time.

You may still book these directly through the conference organization to take advantage of the discount and rooms reserved by that conference’s housing bureau reserved room blocks.

The SMU card can be used to pay for registrations.

You may book international travel in Concur, but it is recommended that all complex international travel (i.e. more than two legs), be booked by calling a CBT agent, who can check for best trip routine, airline rates, provide options, and ensure you have proper travel documentation. CBT can be reached at 800-787-2702.

A travel and expense system is a software tool that automates and centralizes many of the processes an organization uses to make travel arrangements as well as track, manage, and reconcile its expenses. In the University’s case, these expenses include travel, P-Card, and reimbursable out-of-pocket expenses. The travel and expense system will significantly reduce turnaround times for reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses, improve compliance, and generate more detailed reports about expenditures.

Concur is the brand name of a travel and expense system. Concur, which has been in business since 1993, is used by thousands of organizations of all sizes around the world and has millions of users.

The multi-step process to select a vendor to provide a travel and expense system for the University began with a detailed RFP and also included input from faculty and staff focus groups as well as vendor demonstrations. After a thorough analysis of this information, we selected Concur, a widely known and highly regarded vendor for this type of service.

Concur is be used for tracking and reconciling employee travel, SMU card (travel and non-travel), and reimbursable out-of-pocket expenses. It can also be used to make travel arrangements (book airfare, hotel accommodations, car rental, etc.)

Concur has been built to assist you in complying with SMU’s travel policy during booking and expense reporting. The system has built-in popups, requirements, and stops to assist in complying with SMU policy and IRS regulations.

Convenience:

• "Soft" policy checks help users stay within guidelines when booking.
• Intuitive user interface (tool) and high-quality in-person assistance (agency) enhance booking experience.
• Automated expense reporting, featuring state-of-the-art functionality (e.g., receipts upload via mobile device).

Duty of Care:

• Enhanced ability to identify and assist travelers in the event of an emergency.

Intelligence:

• Central data repository to better inform management and central travel office.
• Increased negotiating power with travel vendors (airlines, hotels, rental car companies, etc.) as all bookings are captured and recognized as SMU spend by vendors.

Efficiency:

• Eliminate layers of approvals and paperwork.
• Greatly reduce reimbursement time for travel expenses.

 

• SMU’s new travel agency partner is Christopherson Business Travel (CBT) for booking airfare, hotel, and car reservations.
• CBT will work in conjunction with Concur, our online travel booking and expense reporting system to make booking, receipt collection, and expense reporting faster and easier.

Southwest Airlines has joined with Concur to offer access to SWABIZ, Southwest Airlines’ business travel reservation Web page.

Your Concur profile includes a section for Frequent Traveler Programs, i.e. frequent flyer numbers or other similar travel rewards programs for car rental and hotels. Reservations and purchases you make through CBT/Concur will be linked to the information in your profile.

Concur will send your itinerary to the email address listed in your profile immediately after you confirm the trip. You will receive an email with your final itinerary once the ticket is issued. You can also view your itinerary in Concur. In addition, you can download TripitPro and organize trip details into one master online itinerary — even if arrangements are booked at multiple travel sites.

Unused tickets will appear in your Concur profile. Each time you make an airline reservation, Concur will automatically check to see if your unused ticket can be used towards the purchase of your new airline ticket. CBT will make all attempts to utilize unused tickets.

No. The Concur online booking tool should never be used for personal travel.

Yes. The Concur online booking tool is very similar Orbitz, Travelocity, Kayak, and other online booking sites that allow you to search for flights, hotels and car rentals based on preferred criteria and reserve.

Please make certain that the name is identical to the name on the photo identification that you will be presenting at the airport. Due to increased airport security, you may be turned away at the gate if the name on your identification does not match the name on your ticket. The Concur Travel Profile name is populated with the employee primary (legal) name as designated in the HR/Payroll System. In order for an employee to update their, they will need to submit a Name Change Form (this can be found on the HR Forms page) and a copy of the social security card with their new name on it. Name Change Forms may be submitted to smuhr@smu.edu or faxed to 214-768-2299.

The Concur tool can reimburse mileage using different rates. Mileage reimbursement will be computed in Concur using Google map functionality and reimbursement will be at the IRS rate in effect on the date of the travel. The starting point for mileage reimbursements is from the SMU campus, which is the traveler’s work location.

No, travelers will not be reimbursed until after the completion of travel.

If your profile has been set up to include e-receipts, some receipts may upload automatically for you. Other receipts can be electronically attached to your expense report either by uploading scanned images to the Concur system from a computer or via the mobile app. The receipts are immediately viewable in the system upon faxing or uploading. Receipts should then be attached at each line item expense.

SMU policy requires a receipt for expenses $25 or greater. Receipts should be the original itemized receipts that show vendor information, purchase details and method of payment. Please contact your department business officer/finance leader to see if your department/division/school has stricter guidelines in place. If you have lost a receipt, the system has the option to submit a missing receipt affidavit in its place. This can be completed ONLY by the traveler before the expense report is submitted. Note: Only one missing receipt per travel report is allowed.

Please retain your receipts until further instruction is provided.

This type of expense would be considered a business meal with attendees. The expense type “Business Meal” would be selected, and the attendees’ names should be added within the tool using the attendees function. The expense report approver would need to verify that only one traveler has claimed the expense for all attendees.

Any receipt can be itemized to extract personal or alcohol purchases to the appropriate expense types.

Reimbursements for expense reports that are complete and follow all audit guidelines should be deposited to the traveler’s account within 3-5 days from the date the report is approved for payment.

Air

• Aer Lingus
• Air Canada
• AirTran
• Interjet
• Southwest
• Virgin Blue

Rental Cars

• Avis/Budget
• Enterprise
• Hertz
• National Alamo

Hotels

• Choice Hotels
• Hilton
• Intercontinental Hotel Group
• LaQuinta
• Marriott
• Starwood

Ground Transportation

• Ridecharge
• taxiMagic