Planning a business trip? Adding on some leisure time, too? As a savvy traveler, you already have the SAP Concur mobile app downloaded to book your business travel, and the TripIt app to manage all your travel plans (whether they’re for business or personal reasons) in one place.
But did you know you can use the two apps together to make booking and managing your trips—plus, submitting your expenses—a seamless process? If not, you’ve come to the right place.
Here’s how to make the most of each app at each stage of your trip:
1. Booking your travel plans
When it comes to booking business travel, the SAP Concur mobile app is your go-to app. (As a reminder, we organize your plans—and keep you informed on the go!)
That said, you have a few options for booking:
- If your company uses Concur Travel, an all-in-one travel platform that helps business travelers book within their company’s travel policy, you can book travel plans right in the SAP Concur mobile app. There, you can book flights, hotels, rental cars, and trains—and have everything in one place.
- If your company offers Concur TripLink, and you’ve connected your TripLink travel partner loyalty accounts, you can book directly on that partner’s website or app (e.g., Marriott.com, Fly Delta app, etc.). To check if you have Concur TripLink, sign in to SAP Concur on desktop, click the main navigation drop-down menu, and see if an option for “TripLink” is there.
- If you booked a trip on your own, check out our tips for getting your plans into Concur Travel and Expense with TripIt Pro.
- If your company uses Concur Request, you might need to submit your business travel requests for approval before booking. Once approved, you can easily book your trip with Concur Travel.
2. Syncing your travel plans with TripIt and Concur Expense
Once you’ve booked your plans, you’ll want to make sure they sync with the TripIt app—and with Concur Expense, if your company uses it.
Here’s how to do it:
- Good news: if your company uses Concur Travel, your plans booked there will automatically sync with TripIt and flow to Concur Expense. Need to do it manually? Go to the App Center, find the TripIt listing, and click "Connect."
- More good news: If you use Concur TripLink, your plans with TripLink partners will likewise automatically sync with TripIt. Need to do it manually? Learn how here. As for expenses, if you’ve booked a business trip via Concur TripLink, your bookings will be captured by those travel partner integrations. That means e-receipts automatically flow from the partner into Concur Expense, creating and populating the expense entry for you, so you get a head start on your expense report.
- If you book a trip outside of the above, but organize your plans in TripIt Pro—you’re in luck: your booking can be captured by TripIt and shared with SAP Concur. In the TripIt app, simply select “Share with SAP Concur" to allow your business travel plans to flow to SAP Concur.
Read more: Traveling for Business Soon? Here’s How to Make Expensing Easy
3. Managing your trip while you’re on the go
Now that you’ve synced your plans with TripIt, here’s where the TripIt app really shines.
With TripIt, you can automatically organize your travel plans into a seamless itinerary, share your plans with others, find places to eat with Nearby Places, learn the level of safety for your destinations with Neighborhood Safety Scores, and more.
And with TripIt Pro, you have access to premium features, such as real-time flight, gate change, and baggage claim alerts; Interactive Airports Maps to help you quickly and seamlessly navigate the airport; Travel Guidance to help you understand visa and documentation requirements, currency conversions, as well as health and safety guidelines; and much more.
Related reading: You Might Have Access to TripIt Pro for Free. Here's How to Find Out.
Meanwhile, the SAP Concur mobile app also has a slew of features that will come in handy while you’re traveling, such as:
- Managing your travel bookings. If your flight gets canceled, or you simply need to change bookings, you can modify your travel plans right in the SAP Concur mobile app. And yes, your updated plans will automatically sync with TripIt.
- Capturing your expenses on the go. You don’t need to collect a big stack of receipts to sift through after the trip. If your company has ExpenseIt, just snap a photo and ExpenseIt will automatically fill out the expense and itemizations for you.
- Capturing mileage when you’re on the road. If your company has Drive, you can quickly capture and track mileage automatically to streamline the mileage tracking and reimbursement process.
Tip: Don’t have access to ExpenseIt? Speak with your company’s travel manager to get more information. They can speak with their SAP Concur account team to inquire further.
4. Submitting your expenses
Last step, easiest step—yes, you read that right! Simply finish adding any remaining expenses in the SAP Concur mobile app by capturing receipt images and adding the expense details. Plus, if your company uses ExpenseIt, it takes care of the rest by turning your receipts into expense entries automatically—no manual data entry necessary!
Looking for more business travel advice? Check out our guide for making business travel expenses easy, and learn tips for managing your business and personal trips in TripIt.
