Concur (company)

Concur (company)
Name	Concur
Founded	1993
Founder	Dave DiFede, Steve Singh, Rajeev Singh
Headquarters	Bellevue, Washington, United States
Industry	Software, Travel, Expense Management
Parent	SAP SE
Products	Expense management, Travel booking, Invoice management

Concur (company) is a provider of travel and expense management software that offers cloud-based solutions for corporate travel booking, expense reporting, and invoice processing. Founded in 1993, the company grew through product development, channel partnerships, and acquisitions before being acquired by a major European enterprise software firm. Concur's offerings target enterprises, government agencies, and non-profit organizations seeking to automate expense workflows and integrate travel procurement with corporate finance systems.

History

Concur was founded in 1993 by Dave DiFede, Steve Singh, and Rajeev Singh in the Pacific Northwest, developing early software for automated expense reporting that competed with legacy offerings from vendors such as SAP SE, Oracle Corporation, and Microsoft. During the late 1990s and early 2000s Concur expanded through venture funding and strategic partnerships with travel management companies like American Express Global Business Travel and BCD Travel, while facing regulatory and market shifts exemplified by events such as the Dot-com bubble. The company pursued growth via acquisitions and product expansion through the 2000s alongside competitors including Expensify, Certify (software company), and Chrome River Technologies, culminating in a public offering and subsequent acquisition by SAP SE in 2014. Post-acquisition, Concur integrated with ERP and procurement suites from vendors like Workday, Infor, and NetSuite while navigating corporate reorganizations associated with SAP leadership under figures such as Bill McDermott and Christian Klein.

Products and Services

Concur's product suite comprises cloud services for travel booking, expense management, invoice automation, and analytics. Core offerings integrate corporate travel inventories from suppliers including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and global hotel chains such as Hilton Worldwide, Marriott International, and InterContinental Hotels Group. The expense system supports credit card feeds from card issuers like Visa, Mastercard, and American Express and integrates with payment providers such as PayPal and Visa Checkout. Concur also offers mobile applications compatible with operating systems by Apple Inc. and Google LLC and provides features for duty of care and travel risk management used by organizations including multinational corporations and government agencies such as the United Nations and various Department of Defense contractors.

Technology and Integrations

Concur's platform is built on cloud technologies and APIs enabling integrations with enterprise resource planning systems from SAP SE, Oracle Corporation, Microsoft Dynamics, and Workday. The platform leverages data exchange standards and middleware from providers like Dell Boomi and MuleSoft to connect to corporate card feeds, global distribution systems such as Amadeus IT Group, Sabre Corporation, and Travelport, and expense data sources including point-of-sale systems from Square, Inc. and Stripe, Inc.. Concur has incorporated machine learning and optical character recognition developed in the context of industry tools such as Google Cloud Platform and Amazon Web Services to automate receipt capture and categorization, and supports single sign-on through identity providers like Okta, Inc. and Ping Identity.

Corporate Structure and Ownership

Originally a privately held company backed by venture capitalists and institutional investors, Concur transitioned to a public company before its acquisition by SAP SE in a transaction led by SAP's executive leadership. As a subsidiary, Concur operates within SAP's cloud and lines-of-business organization alongside other SAP cloud products such as SAP SuccessFactors and SAP Ariba. Corporate governance aligns with practices common among multinational corporations listed on stock exchanges such as the New York Stock Exchange prior to acquisition, and post-acquisition reporting is consolidated under SAP's financial statements overseen by audit committees and regulatory filings with authorities comparable to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Market Position and Competition

Concur occupies a leading position in the corporate travel and expense market, competing with vendors including American Express Global Business Travel (for travel management), Expensify and Certify (software company) (for expense automation), Chrome River Technologies, and broader enterprise software suites from Oracle Corporation and SAP SE itself. Market dynamics are influenced by macro events such as the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected corporate travel volumes and accelerated adoption of digital expense controls and remote work policies promoted by technology providers like Zoom Video Communications and Microsoft Teams. Strategic partnerships with travel management companies, card issuers, and ERP vendors help maintain competitive moats around distribution, data access, and enterprise procurement workflows.

Financial Performance and Key Metrics

Before acquisition, Concur reported revenue growth driven by subscription licensing and transaction fees, with financial metrics comparable to other software-as-a-service companies such as recurring revenue, annual recurring revenue (ARR), customer retention, and average revenue per user (ARPU). Post-acquisition, Concur's financial performance contributed to SAP's cloud revenue and was measured alongside metrics used by public software firms including gross margin, operating income, and cash flow from operations. Key indicators for Concur's business include booking volume, number of corporate users, integration counts with bank and card partners, and adoption rates for mobile and invoice modules—metrics also reported in industry analyses by research firms like Gartner, Inc. and Forrester Research.

Privacy, Security, and Compliance

Concur handles sensitive corporate and personal data and implements security frameworks and certifications such as ISO/IEC 27001 and compliance programs aligned with data protection laws including the General Data Protection Regulation and national privacy regimes. The company uses encryption, access controls, and audit logging consistent with best practices promoted by standards bodies such as NIST and works with auditors and regulators to address concerns similar to those faced by cloud providers such as Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure. Concur also supports corporate compliance workflows for tax authorities, travel-related regulations, and internal audit processes used by large enterprises and public-sector entities like European Commission agencies and national ministries.

Category:Software companies of the United States Category:Expense management software