Terms & Definitions
Business Purpose – Expense entries in Concur require a clear business purpose, which must support or advance the goals, objectives and mission of the university, and adequately describe the expense as a necessary, reasonable and appropriate business expense for the University. The specific business purpose of each transaction should be clearly stated on expense submissions, explaining why the University has incurred the expense.
Comment – Enter any comments you feel your approvers will need to know or will aid an auditor’s review of the Request or Expense report. This field should not be used to document the Business Purpose. Any comments entered in a report are viewable to all Concur users.
Cost Object Approver – The authorized Banner approver for the index whom is responsible for reviewing and approving charges to their budgets. There may be more than one Cost Object Approver on a report if multiple indexes are being charged. This role is typically assigned to the Business Manager, Grants Analyst, or Principal Investigator. General Accounting and Grants Accounting maintain this data to ensure proper internal controls and signature authority.
Default Approver – The user's supervisor or manager of record in Banner for their primary position. Users can use the Supervisor Tool to validate this information. Any supervisor updates must be requested with HRIS.
Expense Report – All expenses must be reconciled with this tool, including purchasing card transactions and out of pocket expenses. Expense Reports are utilized after expenses are incurred and is the mechanism for reimbursement.
Expense Type – Expense types are mapped to UT account codes and are required for all transactions. Users should select the most appropriate option from the list of available expense types in Concur in order to provide consistency and reliability in our financial reporting. Please do not select an account only because there is budget available. A complete list of UT Expense Account Codes with definitions is available at General Accounting - Direct Expense Account Definitions.
Travel Request – A Travel Request is used to obtain the approval needed for any and all travel for the University and can only be submitted prior to the event. The Request contains estimates of expenses for the travel. It is also necessary for insurance and liability purposes. Approved requests must be properly linked to the associated expense report.