Profile settings time zones

[travelexpexpert]

I have searched high and low on SAP platoforms, user guides and tech info. guides. 

In Expense under profile settings and system settings, the user can set the time zone.

We have a client who on expense in the UK who now questions why the time zone is set to US Eastern. I seem to recall this specific time zone setting has no significance to the effectiveness of Expense and could be any time zone really?

The real system time zone is controlled in another more global setting not accessible to the client/user but possibly an admin. Here me?

If it makes a difference, then when the site was set up the client was on your US Eastern server but has since moved to your EU server.

What's up and down with this time zone setting? Any help or pointer is appreciated. 

[KevinD]

@travelexpexpert which time zone setting are you asking about? The one users see in their System Settings or the one you are referring to about Data Centers?

[travelexpexpert]

@KevinD @DeanR thanks for your replies and it helps me to provide a reasonable answer. Just wondering that with all the guides etc. available that this part of the solution does not seem to be described. It's like why even have it if it does not impact 😉 So, I will raise a ticket to SAP Support and if I get anything useful then I will post it here if that can be of any help to others. 

[travelexpexpert]

@KevinD, thanks for engaging.

I can see that it wasn't clear, or rather I maybe got ahead of myself and tried to imply a connection between the User Profile System Settings Time Zone and Server Time Zone. I think I mentioned the server migration in case it had an influence. 

I am asking about the User Profile System Settings Time Zone. Please see attached screenshot if that helps. 

Appreciate your help as I can't see the wood for trees. 

Ole

[KevinD]

@travelexpexpert I have noticed that pretty much any new user (at least in the U.S.) defaults to this time zone. I haven't noticed this setting affecting me in any way. In our instance of SAP Concur, we now sit on an EMEA data center. We were moved from a U.S. data center, but I don't remember changing any of my system settings nor have I had a need to change these settings. In fact, I just checked my settings and the time zone is already set to my local time zone. 

[DeanR]

As I understand it, the user's System Settings only affects how timestamps are displayed to them e.g. in a Report Timeline or Audit Trail.

The 'official' time for a client's Concur instance is based on the data centre location, which has caused us issues as an Australian company with U.S. Data Centre.  Users will sometimes get an exception message about future-dated expenses if they try to enter an expense early in the morning, because it is still the previous day in our Data Centre timezone.

[travelexpexpert]

I've received some reply but am waiting for a link to documentation which might not exist according to experts.