API Release Notes, December 2020
Contents
- Ongoing: Retirement and Decommission of Existing Concur Request APIs (v1.0, v3.0, v3.1)
- Planned Changes: Travel Profile Notification v1 API Deprecation
- Planned Changes: Launch External URL v4 Callout
- Company Request Token Self-Service Tool
- List v4 API Available
- List Item v4 API Available
- Receipts v3 API Retirement and Decommission
Ongoing: Retirement and Decommission of Existing Concur Request APIs (v1.0, v3.0, v3.1)
Effective July 1, 2020, SAP Concur has retired the Concur Request APIs (v1.0, v3.0, and v3.1). These APIs are replaced by the Concur Request v4 API.
Business Purpose / Client Benefit
The Concur Request APIs v1.0, v3.0, and v3.1 only support the previous authentication method, which is not best security practice and does not meet the Oauth2 standards. In addition, the previous versions of the Concur Request APIs provided limited possibilities for moving a Request through the approval workflow, as well as managing custom simple & connected list fields. These issues are resolved with the new Concur Request v4 API.
In addition, SAP Concur has run a backward compatibility project between the current Concur Request APIs and the new Concur Request v4 API (not iso-compatibility) in order to have the vast majority of use cases managed in the previous versions also be managed in the Concur Request v4 API.
Planned Changes: Travel Profile Notification v1 API Deprecation
SAP Concur is deprecating the Travel Profile Notification v1 APIs due to low usage.
Business Purpose / Client Benefit
The Travel Profile Notification v1 APIs support older, less secure authentication methods.
Configuration / Feature Activation
The Travel Profile v1 APIs are being deprecated in accordance with the SAP Concur API Lifecycle & Deprecation Policy.
Planned Changes: Launch External URL v4 Callout
The Launch External URL v4 callout enables Concur Expense to display a field with a button that launches a separate browser window when clicked. The window is controlled by an application connector, created by a third-party developer or the client. The application connector is a web server that presents information in the window.
NOTE: The Launch External URL v4 will be replacing the current Launch External URL v1 callout in a future release.
Business Purpose / Client Benefit
The Launch External URL v4 callout gives clients and third-party developers the ability to extend the functionality of the SAP Concur platform, providing a means to deliver custom user interactions, or access functionality found in an external system.
The Launch External URL v4 callout will be available for Concur Expense within SAP Concur’s mobile app and NextGen UI at the Report Header, Expense Entry, or Allocation levels, which expands the locations of the feature as compared to the previous version. The Launch External URL v4 callout will provide enhanced security benefits, such as leveraging the latest SAP Concur API authentication methods. The Launch External URL v4 will also offer additional parameters and will work in conjunction with SAP Concur’s more advanced v4 APIs.
Configuration / Feature Activation
The Launch External URL callout is activated through the Application Connector Registration process through Web Services.
Company Request Token Self-Service Tool
On December 8, 2020, SAP Concur released a new Company Request Token self-service tool that enables clients to generate the Company Request Token that is required to request a JSON web token (JWT) when connecting to APIs in the SAP Concur platform.
Requirements for generating a Company Request Token:
- The client must obtain a link to the new tool from SAP Concur Client Web Services (CWS).
- The client must obtain a Client ID from CWS.
- A company admin must have the Web Services Administrator permission to access the Company Request Token self-service tool through the provided link.
- For a request token to be issued, the Client ID (App ID) must be allowed to connect to the company.
Requirements for obtaining a JWT:
- The Client ID provided by SAP Concur CWS.
- The client secret provided by SAP Concur CWS.
- The Company UUID generated by the Company Request Token tool.
- The Company Request Token generated by the Company Request Token tool.
An admin with the Web Services Administrator permission can navigate to the Company Request Tokens page through the link provided by CWS, enter the Client ID they obtained form CWS into the App ID field, and then click Submit to generate a Company Request Token. They will also be able to generate a replacement token if one is needed.
Business Purpose / Client Benefit
The new self-service tool enables an admin with the required permissions to generate a Company Request Token without relying on SAP Concur internal staff. The new tool also enables the admin to generate a replacement Company Request Token without assistance from SAP Concur support if their Company Request Token expires or is lost.
Configuration / Feature Activation
This feature was released on December 8. To obtain access to the Company Request Token self-service tool, contact SAP Concur Client Web Services.
NOTE: In 2021, SAP Concur plans to make this feature self-service, enabling admins with the required permissions to access the self-service tool without having to obtain a link from CWS. Development of this feature is on-going and subject to change. More information about this feature will be provided in future release notes.
List v4 API Available
A new version of the List API is available. The List v4 API allows you to view your configured lists and create new lists within SAP Concur products.
Business Purpose / Client Benefit
The List v4 API uses more secure and modern, fine-grained methods. This API uses Universal Unique Identifiers (UUIDs) and uses JSON instead of XML. Also, authentication to the List v4 API may be performed with a User or Company access token, providing the opportunity to apply the principle of least privilege.
Configuration / Feature Activation
Users must be an Expense, Invoice, Shared, or Request Configuration Administrator to configure this API.
List Item v4 API Available
A new version of the List Item API is available. The List Item v4 API provides solutions to retrieve and manage list items.
Business Purpose / Client Benefit
The List Item v4 API uses more secure and modern, fine-grained methods. This API uses Universal Unique Identifiers (UUIDs) and uses JSON instead of XML. Also, authentication to the List Item v4 API may be performed with a User or Company access token, providing the opportunity to apply the principle of least privilege.
Configuration / Feature Activation
Users must be an Expense, Invoice, Shared, or Request Configuration Administrator to configure this API.
Receipts v3 API Retirement and Decommission
Effective January 31, 2021, the Receipts v3 API will be retired and decommissioned. This API was deprecated February 2017 and no longer meets SAP security standards. All consumers must discontinue use of Receipts v3 or migrate to Receipts v4 prior to the effective date.
Business Purpose / Client Benefit
This update removes an outdated API.
Configuration / Feature Activation
Please refer to the SAP Concur API Lifecycle & Deprecation Policy for definitions and additional information.