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Business Intelligence · head to head

SAP BusinessObjects vs SAP Concur

SAP BusinessObjects logo

SAP BusinessObjects

Business Intelligence

Enterprise business intelligence suite

From
$400/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
SAP Concur logo

SAP Concur

Accounting

Enterprise travel booking, expense claims and supplier invoice processing sold as separate modules

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: SAP BusinessObjects sAP BusinessObjects Private Cloud Edition is listed on UK G-Cloud 14 as a Cloud software service by SAP (UK) Limited titled 'SAP Business Objects Private Cloud Edition', alongside a reseller listing from NTT DATA Business Solutions; the G-Cloud search results describe it as subscription-based but show no per-user or per-month figure in the listing summary; SAP Concur implementation is done through SAP or a partner and commonly costs a substantial multiple of the first year subscription, because the value sits entirely in the configured policy, approval hierarchy and ledger mapping rather than in the software as shipped.
  • They diverge on capability: SAP BusinessObjects covers Crystal Reports, SAP Concur covers Expense capture.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which SAP BusinessObjects and SAP Concur actually diverge.

Attributes where SAP BusinessObjects and SAP Concur differ
AttributeSAP BusinessObjectsSAP Concur
Starting price$400/month$29/month
PlatformsWeb, Desktop, MobileWeb, Ios, Android
CategoryBusiness IntelligenceAccounting
Founded19721993

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in SAP BusinessObjects

  • Crystal Reports
  • Web Intelligence
  • Lumira
  • Analysis for Office
  • Live Office
  • SAP HANA
  • SAP ERP
  • Oracle

Only in SAP Concur

  • Expense capture
  • Corporate card feeds
  • Policy engine
  • Approval routing
  • Travel booking
  • Travel agency integration
  • Duty of care
  • Invoice capture

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

SAP BusinessObjects

  • Enterprise reportingnot SAP Concur
  • Executive dashboardsnot SAP Concur
  • Regulatory compliancenot SAP Concur
  • Strategic planningnot SAP Concur
  • Operational analyticsnot SAP Concur

SAP Concur

  • A multinational with thousands of travellers where an audit committee has asked for evidence that travel policy is actually enforcednot SAP BusinessObjects
  • An organisation replacing spreadsheet expense claims and email approvals that cannot survive an external auditnot SAP BusinessObjects
  • A finance team trying to eliminate duplicate claims by matching corporate card feeds against submitted receiptsnot SAP BusinessObjects
  • A shared service centre processing high volumes of supplier invoices that needs capture and approval routing before postingnot SAP BusinessObjects

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

SAP BusinessObjects

  • SAP BusinessObjects Private Cloud Edition is listed on UK G-Cloud 14 as a Cloud software service by SAP (UK) Limited titled 'SAP Business Objects Private Cloud Edition', alongside a reseller listing from NTT DATA Business Solutions; the G-Cloud search results describe it as subscription-based but show no per-user or per-month figure in the listing summary

SAP Concur

  • Implementation is done through SAP or a partner and commonly costs a substantial multiple of the first year subscription, because the value sits entirely in the configured policy, approval hierarchy and ledger mapping rather than in the software as shipped.
  • Pricing is driven by transaction volume, expense reports and invoices processed, rather than by seats, so a business with seasonal travel or a growth year sees the bill move in ways headcount based budgeting does not predict.
  • The configuration that makes it valuable is also what makes it rigid, and organisations frequently find that changing an approval chain or adding a cost centre dimension requires a partner change order rather than an administrator's afternoon.
  • Contracts are typically multi year with limited exit, so an organisation that concludes after twelve months that a lighter expense tool would have been enough is still paying for the heavier one for the remainder of the term.
  • The three modules are licensed separately and the strongest case for the product depends on having travel, expense and card feeds together, so buying expense alone gives you a costly receipt system without the control loop that justifies the price.

Pricing, plan by plan

SAP BusinessObjects

$400/month
  • Standard$400/month
    • Core BI Tools
    • Web Intelligence
    • Crystal Reports
  • EnterpriseFree
    • Full Suite
    • Advanced Features
    • Premium Support

SAP Concur

$29/month
  • Professional$8/month
    • Expense reporting
    • Receipt capture
    • Approvals
  • Premium$12/month
    • Travel booking
    • Invoice management
    • Analytics

Which should you pick?

Choose SAP BusinessObjects if

  • You need crystal reports.
  • You work on Web, Desktop, Mobile.
  • You also want web intelligence.
SAP BusinessObjects review

Choose SAP Concur if

  • You need expense capture.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want corporate card feeds.
SAP Concur review

Questions people ask

Is SAP BusinessObjects or SAP Concur better?
Neither clearly leads. SAP BusinessObjects starts at $400/month and SAP Concur at $29/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, SAP BusinessObjects or SAP Concur?
SAP BusinessObjects starts at $400/month and SAP Concur at $29/month.
Does SAP BusinessObjects or SAP Concur run on more platforms?
SAP BusinessObjects runs on Web, Desktop, Mobile. SAP Concur runs on Web, Ios, Android.
What is SAP BusinessObjects best used for?
SAP BusinessObjects is most often used for enterprise reporting, executive dashboards, regulatory compliance, strategic planning. Of those, enterprise reporting and executive dashboards are not what SAP Concur is typically brought in for.
What can SAP BusinessObjects do that SAP Concur cannot?
SAP BusinessObjects covers Crystal Reports, Web Intelligence, Lumira, Analysis for Office. SAP Concur covers Expense capture, Corporate card feeds, Policy engine, Approval routing.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

SAP Concur: Do we need SAP ERP to use Concur?

No. It integrates with SAP systems particularly well but it is regularly deployed alongside Oracle, NetSuite, Workday and other ledgers. The integration work is a line item in the implementation either way.

SAP Concur: Is it worth it for a company of a hundred people?

Usually not. Below a few hundred travellers the implementation cost and the contract commitment are hard to justify against lighter expense tools. The case turns on policy enforcement and audit, not on receipt scanning.

SAP Concur: How is it priced?

Broadly on the volume of expense reports and invoices processed, with the modules licensed separately. Because pricing is quoted rather than published, get the volume assumptions written into the contract and check what happens when you exceed them.

SAP Concur: Can it handle multiple countries and currencies?

Yes, that is one of its stronger areas, including per country tax treatment and VAT reclaim identification. Confirm coverage for your specific countries during the sales process rather than assuming global means every jurisdiction.

SAP Concur: How long does implementation take?

Plan in months, not weeks, for anything beyond a single entity with simple approvals. Multi entity rollouts with travel and invoice modules commonly run across a year in phases.

SAP Concur: What does the audit service actually do?

It has a team review a sample or all of your submitted claims against receipts and policy before approval, which some organisations use in place of internal reviewers. It is priced separately from the expense subscription.

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