Please note working/immigration visas are processed directly by Payroll and cannot be claimed via Concur
These are different to visas for travel and HR have a dedicated section providing detailed guidance. The decision as to whether to pay such visa costs resides with the department and funding source but where they are paid this should always be done via payroll (not Expenses) using a special Visa claim form that is available from payrollenquiries@admin.cam.ac.uk.
This form provides additional information over the standard CHRIS/82 form and enables departments to consider the correct treatment before claiming and helps to answer the question as to whether the visas are taxable or not. The Payroll Team are able to provide further advice.
Q. How often can I submit an expense?
| The University is charged per expense claim, so in order to reduce costs, we ask claimants to limit out of pocket expense claims to one per month, by the 15th of every month for the previous month's claims on a University credit card. Depending on the value of out of pocket expenses will determine the frequency. It is recommended that low value expenses are accumulated into one claim. If you incur expenses which you need to reclaim you can do so immediately, unless you’re likely to be incurring further expenses in the coming weeks, in which case please hold off and reclaim them all in one claim. |
Q. Can I combine an out of pocket expense with the expense incurred on my University Barclaycard?
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We recommend you complete and submit separate claims for out of pocket spend and University Barclaycard spend. It is currently possible to combine them onto a single claim, and we have not seen any problems with combined claims, but we are looking at a future development of the system which will mean this is not possible, so you may prefer to get into the habit now of submitting separate claims. University Barclaycard claims are to be submitted by the 15th of the month following the statement date. (e.g. all spend on the Barclaycard statement dated 30th April 2022 should be submitted on Concur by 15th May 2022.) |
Q. Can a claimant delegate all or part of a claim to someone else? For example, can a PA submit or complete a claim on behalf of a Head of Department or a visiting expert?
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Claimants can delegate completing a claim to someone else but not submit that claim. The claimant will still need to submit the claim. Claims can be started by one individual and then completed by another if the claimant sets up expense delegates. You can allocate delegates from your profile, details of how to do this are in the training materials. |
Q. Will Concur automatically flag items purchased which fall outside of subsistence limits to the claimant and/or the approver? For example, will it flag a meal for £25 when the subsistence limit on the grant is £20?
| Yes although our rates are a guidance and shouldn’t stop a Professor being able to carry out their duties if meal prices are more expensive in London, for example. Rules will be in place which will flag to the claimant if they have exceeded the allowance. The claimant must enter in the ‘Notes to Approver’ the reason for exceeding the allowance. |
Q. Can Concur automatically apply current exchange rates at the date of the expense claim without the claimant having to enter in the rate?
| The exchange rate applicable to the date of the expenditure will be applied, however they can be re-typed if necessary if anything needs correcting. |
Q. Can Concur handle expenses less common currencies, for example Polish Zloty or Zimbabwean Dollars as receipts are almost always in the host country’s currency?
| Concur links with Canadian based foreign exchange company OANDA and has hundreds of currencies listed rates including Polish Zloty or Zimbabwean Dollars. |
Q. Can reimbursements be made in another currency, for example in Euros or US Dollars?
| No, payments will be made in GBP as they currently are. |
Q. Can an item be linked to a third-party source? For example, when a mileage claim verifies that a vehicle is linked to an insurance declaration?
| Within the system, there will be section that the user will need to complete regarding car details and a tick box relating to car insurance. |
Q. Can optional fields be included on a line item? For example, if travel is claimed, will there be a checkbox to confirm that the claimant has travel insurance?
| If additional fields are required, the proposal would need to be discussed as to what the benefits are, as this would be relevant for every user of Concur and cannot be tailored for a sole department use. |
Q. Will Concur allow the claimant to claim a lower amount than is on the receipt? For example, for a multi-person receipt, such as a restaurant bill, can the claim be for a portion of the receipt.
| Yes, the claimant can enter the amount that they wish to be reimbursed. If this is lower than the receipt total they should enter a note to the approver explaining why. |
Q. How will Concur handle a value limited claim for multiple people? E.g. the subsistence limit is £25 and the receipt is for three people at £10 each, making a total of £30.
| The claimant can complete the ‘Notes to Approver’ to indicate this. The claimant will be able to add the attendees so this will not be over the subsistence limit. |
Q. Can the claimant attach/enter additional documentation to a line item, such as an explanation for a claim that is outside the grant? E.g. Taxi because no bus was available.
| There is a ‘Note to Approver’ field which can be used for this purpose, as well as the option to add other documentation. Any email / documentation can be added to a claim line |
Q. What if an individual can only claim an element of the receipt?
| Enter the amount for the item on the receipt you are claiming and attach a copy of the receipt. |
Q. How will advances be handled?
| Cash advances are not yet live. |
Q. How do I change my default approver?
| Contact the help desk (who will escalate to FSG if for a large group) |
Q. Can I pick anybody to approve?
| You can only select another person who is already an approver. You can change or add approvers before you submit a claim but the Finance Team should always be the last approver in the chain. |
Q. Do I need to untick the credit card box?
| This box is only relevant for credit card expenses. It is ticked by default, you should untick it if you are not the named cardholder. For all other expenses this box has no impact and can just be left ticked. |
Q. If I don’t have time to enter the detail can I still submit my claim?
| Yes. The admin team are able to enter the detail of the claim and delegation is available to allow someone to enter the information on your behalf however, you will then need to ‘submit’ |
Q. Do conference/event dates need to go into the narrative field as with current CUFS processing?
| Yes, as much information in the narrative field is helpful, this field forms part of the description that will display in CUFS |
Q. Can I complete a claim on behalf of several other people?
| Yes, but the person you are completing the claim for will need to submit it |
Q. Can a credit card holder delegate completion of their claim?
| Yes, but the person you are completing the claim for will need to submit it. |
Q. I am receiving an error about a mis-match between the GL and Research Grant field
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Q. I am a student can I use Concur to claim expenses?
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Q. I do not see the option to start a claim, instead I see start a report
| This is not a problem, if you see report instead of claim select start a report instead, this sometimes happens when the system displays old terminology and will not impact your claim as report and claim will work in exactly the same way. You may be able to resolve this issue by clearing your browser cache, checking that the language in your profile is set to English (UK) and making sure that the time zone is (UTC) Dublin, Edinburgh, Lisbon, London |
Q. How can I claim for prizes where the recipients are unknown?
| Small prizes should be claimed as gifts. Select the other subcategory. Create attendees using the unknown recipient attendee type and enter Prize winner as the last name. Ensure that records of the actual recipients are retained in the department as these may be requested by the tax team. |
Q. How can I send a claim to an approver in a different department?
| Complete the claim as normal, submit the claim and then change the first approver to the one from the other department. There is guidance on how to do this on the Expenses Hub, this link will take you to the correct page |
Q. How can I claim for tips?
| Where possible evidence of the payment of the tip paid should be included with the claim, such as a credit card receipt, if this is not possible, a note should be added in the notes to approver box to explain the difference between the amount claimed and the receipt amount. |