Introducing a smarter way to plan trips
As 2026 kicks off, so does a fresh season of business travel. Whether it’s face-to-face client meetings, internal kickoffs, trainings, or other business-critical journeys, they all share something in common: the effort involved. Planning a business trip takes time and research, with employees spending valuable hours determining trip costs and ensuring the budget is available.
Enter the pre-spend planner, our new tool that will make trip planning easier for your travelers. With this feature, users will be able to estimate how much budget they need for their trips. The tool uses generative AI and SAP Concur benchmark data to give tailored cost estimates based on their travel plans. It will also provide relevant travel advisories for events that might affect their journey, like airport strikes or natural disasters. Plus, travelers can easily share their plans and cost estimates with colleagues, helping everyone plan better together.
How it works
The rollout of the pre-spend planner tool is scheduled starting January 21, 2026, for Concur Expense customers who do not have Concur Travel or Concur Request.
Here is how your users will use it for easier travel planning:
- On the SAP Concur homepage, users can find the pre-spend planner tool under the Estimate Expenses or Plans Call to Action tile.
- Users will enter their trip details, such as dates and destination, and then sit back while the pre-spend planner does the legwork!
- Next, they’ll see plan details including cost estimates for services such as airfare, hotels, taxis, and meals. They can make adjustments based on their needs for the trip, such as flight class, number of connections, and hotel ratings, and then regenerate the estimated cost.
- They’ll also see relevant travel advisories (if any are applicable to the trip dates and destination), so they can be better prepared or adjust plans as needed.
- If desired, they can share their travel plans and cost estimates with colleagues for easier travel coordination.
Benefits of the pre-spend planner tool
Using the pre-spend planner tool offers a host of advantages that will streamline your company's business travel processes:
- Time Savings: Free your employees from the tedious task of researching and estimating trip costs on their own. Our tool does heavy lifting for you.
- Preparedness: Your users will know in advance whether there are events that might affect their journeys, like airport worker strikes or recent natural disasters.
- Pre-Spend Visibility: When your users plan and share trip cost estimates, your organization can have more visibility into travel spend before it’s incurred.
Availability and exclusions
- This is planned to first become available to customers who have Concur Expense but not Concur Travel. The rollout of the pre-spend planner tool is scheduled for January 21, 2026, to January 23, 2026. Later in 2026 it is planned to become available to customers with Concur Travel.
- There is no action needed: the feature will be made available automatically for your organization.
- Key Exclusions: Customers who have Concur Travel or Concur Request. Later in 2026, this tool is planned to become available to customers with Concur Travel. For Concur Request customers, all the capabilities of the new pre-spend planner tool are already available in the solution
Where can I find more information?
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