October 21, 2013

More than 4,000 trips already booked through Concur

More than 6,700 users have set up travel profiles. More than 4,125 trips have been booked, and travelers have received more than $2.6 million in reimbursements, 80 percent within three to five days of their report being approved.

Three months ago, Vanderbilt rolled out Concur, the new travel booking and expense reporting program. With the change, the institution left behind a disjointed booking process and carbon-paper expense forms for an improved Web-based system supported by a dedicated travel and payment cards team.

So far, more than 6,700 users have set up profiles in Concur. More than 4,125 trips have been booked. Travelers have received more than $2.6 million in reimbursements, with 80 percent of them receiving reimbursement within three to five days of their report being approved.

Donna Johnson, executive director of alumni relations, received her reimbursement in just a few days. “It used to take a week to 10 days. But with Concur, I filed my expense report and within three days it was in my bank account,” she said. “I didn’t have to do anything – the money was just there.”

On a recent trip to Mozambique for the Institute for Global Health, biostatistician Meridith Blevins simply took photographs of her receipts with her smartphone and, using the Concur app, was able to upload them to her account. Clay Wilson, the departmental travel adviser, allocated her uploaded receipts every few days during her two-week trip, so the expense report was nearly complete when she returned.

“It was a pretty positive experience. The reimbursement was really fast compared to the past,” Blevins said. “I submitted the report within a few days of being back, and the money was in my account within a week.”

Travel agency changes name to CTM

Polk CTM, Vanderbilt’s dedicated travel agency, has changed its name to CTM (Corporate Travel Management). This change does not affect Vanderbilt travelers, and the same travel specialists dedicated to Vanderbilt are still ready to offer assistance.