Concur Requests & Travel

Guidance for Booking Travel in Concur

Direct Travel provides support through Concur for booking air, rail, hotel, and car rentals, as well as itinerary management and e-ticketing. Visit the Direct Travel webpage for full contact details.

• Concur online booking tool is available for making new reservations and is accessible from the Columbia Travel & Expense site.
• Travelers and Travel Arrangers will need their Columbia Employee ID number, available in Concur and PAC.

Personal travel cannot be booked through Concur or Direct Travel. Instead, please use the Columbia Visitors & Personal Travel Portal for alternative booking options.

Concur Travel Support

For technical or navigation assistance:

Phone: 800-999-7939, Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–7:30 p.m. ET
Email: [email protected]

International Travel

Travelers are strongly encouraged to book all international travel through Direct Travel. All Columbia-related international travel must comply with Columbia’s international travel guidelines and meet the applicable Crisis24 Horizon registration requirements.

Instructions for creating a Crisis24 Horizon account and registering travel are available on the International Travel Pre-Departure Requirements webpage, including:

1. Attestation Form
2. Crisis24 Registration

Travel / Cash Advances
You may request an advance to cover out-of-pocket, incidental expenses that cannot reasonably be charged to a credit card. Requests should include a description of the circumstance that requires the advance, and a brief budget of expenses.

• Advances should be reconciled by submitting an Expense Report within 20 working days after the completion of the trip or business activity.
• If the actual expenses are less than the advance, the traveler must reimburse the University for the unused advance via a personal check.

1. Log into Concur
2. Click on Requests tab
3. Click on New Request to start a new request

Note: If you are creating a request on behalf of someone else, be sure to select the "Acting as other user" functionality. 

Guidance for users submitting Advance Requests:

Step 1: Select the appropriate "Type of Request" from the drop-down menu:

• CU Travel Cash Advance - select this option to request a cash advance for travel related expenses.
• CU Non-Travel Expense/Advance - select this option to request a cash advance for business related expenses (non-travel).

Note: The following fields should default from your Concur profile, but you can edit if necessary: School, Division, Sub-Division and Admin Department.

Step 2: Complete the rest of the fields in the request header and be sure to: (1) use the naming convention, (2) provide the speedchart key and speedchart description, and (3) include an adequate and legitimate business purpose for the request.

Add the Payee's UNI and Payee's Name as the naming convention in the "Request Name" field, for example:

• mag2486 Maria Anna Gilbert

Add the SpeedChart Key and SpeedChart Description followed by the business purpose in the "Detailed Business Purpose / Funding Source" field, for example:

• 55FACOPS Law Faculty Operational Expenses. Cash advance for travel and lodging to attend the AALS Annual Meeting to be held in New Orleans, Louisiana from August 2-6, 2021.

Travel and expense dates must match the business purpose and supporting documentation, and estimated expenses entered in the request must be as expected for the requested trip.

Step 3: Click on the "Expenses" tab to start adding your expense items.

Step 4: Click on "Attachments," then click on "Attach Document" to attach supporting documentation for your request (ex. event flyer or invitation).

Step 5: Review your request for completeness and click on "Submit Request"

Note: Advance requests should be routed to the payee’s supervisor or designated initial reviewer for approval. For guidance, refer to the Concur Tip: How to choose an Initial Reviewer when submitting an Expense Report

Reconcile a Travel or Cash Advance

Reconcile an approved advance request by creating an Expense Report from the approved Request or by importing the Request into an Expense Report you have already created.

Job Aid: Reconciling Travel/Cash Advance Requests

When completing the Expense Report header, follow our Expense Report Guidance and be sure to:

1. Use the required naming format.
2. Provide the SpeedChart and SpeedChart Description.
3. Include an adequate and legitimate business purpose.

Reconcile Corporate Card or Air/Rail Charges

Purchases or reservations paid with a CU Corporate Card or Columbia Air/Rail Central Pay must be reconciled as soon as possible.

To reconcile Corporate Card or Air/Rail Central Pay charges, create an Expense Report and assign your active transactions to the report.

​Concur Tip: Assigning Your Transactions to an Expense Report

When completing the Expense Report header, follow our Expense Report Guidance and be sure to:

1. Use the required naming format.
2. Provide the SpeedChart and SpeedChart Description.
3. Include an adequate and legitimate business purpose.