In an exclusive interview with CanadianSME Small Business Magazine, Brian Veloso, Managing Director for Canada at SAP Concur, shares how AI and integrated platforms are transforming the way businesses manage travel, expenses, and financial visibility. This conversation explores the shift toward more intuitive, connected systems that reduce manual work and improve accuracy across organizations.
Interview By Kripa Anand
Brian Veloso has worked with SAP Concur for over 17 years, beginning as the company’s first Regional Sales Executive and moving up consecutively within the organization. Now serving as Managing Director for Canada, Brian is a seasoned sales professional with an unmatched combination of business acumen, sales savviness and product knowledge accumulated over the past 23 years through his experience at ADP and Gelco Expense Management. At SAP Concur, Brian leads high performing teams and is focused on delivering cloud-based solutions that deliver an effortless experience for employees and total transparency into spending, helping organizations of all sizes run better.
Outside of work, Brian enjoys spending time with his dogs and family at the cottage. He is also passionate about raising awareness and funds for Make-A-Wish Canada and the SickKids Foundation.
SAP’s Joule is now embedded directly into Microsoft 365 Copilot and SAP Concur, letting employees submit expenses, upload receipts, book trips, and ask policy questions without ever leaving their everyday tools. How is this new Joule integration changing the day‑to‑day experience for a typical Canadian employee and their manager?
The integration of Joule into Microsoft 365 Copilot and SAP Concur is fundamentally changing how Canadian employees interact with travel and expense management. Instead of switching between multiple systems, employees can now complete tasks like submitting expenses, uploading receipts, booking travel, or checking policy guidance directly within the tools they already use every day, such as Outlook or Teams. This removes friction from the process and saves valuable time, especially for busy professionals managing travel alongside their core responsibilities.
For managers, the impact is equally meaningful. With Joule embedded into the flow of work, expense reports are more accurate and compliant from the start, thanks to AI-driven guidance and automation. This reduces the need for back-and-forth corrections and shortens approval cycles.
Where hybrid work and distributed teams are the norm, this kind of seamless integration helps maintain productivity regardless of location. Ultimately, Joule is not just about automation, it’s about creating a more intuitive, intelligent experience that supports employees while giving managers greater visibility and confidence in the process.
Many employees still feel tempted to book outside corporate tools when they can’t find the content, flexibility, or support they want. How do the new Corporate Travel Experience enhancements and AI‑enabled capabilities address that “leakage” and make it easier for travellers to stay inside the system without feeling constrained?
“Leakage” often happens when employees feel corporate tools don’t offer the flexibility or content they need. The latest enhancements in SAP Concur are designed to address exactly that by making the in-platform experience as seamless and comprehensive as possible.
First, expanded travel content through partnerships, including Amex GBT, gives employees access to a broader range of flights, hotels, and transportation options. This reduces the need to book elsewhere. At the same time, AI-powered capabilities like Joule provide personalized recommendations and real-time support, helping travellers make informed decisions without leaving the system.
Additionally, features like integrated travel support, with the ability to transition from AI to a live travel counsellor, ensure employees can get help when they need it, which is a key driver of off-platform bookings.
For Canadian businesses, where cost control and compliance are critical, these improvements strike a balance between flexibility and governance. By delivering a more consumer-grade experience within corporate tools, organizations can significantly reduce leakage while improving traveller satisfaction.
The alliance with American Express Global Business Travel has produced Complete by SAP Concur and Amex GBT, an AI‑enabled, co‑developed solution for booking, servicing, payments, and expensing. What does this “Complete” solution actually offer travel managers and finance leaders in practical terms that they didn’t have before?
“Complete” by SAP Concur and Amex GBT represents a shift from fragmented processes to a truly unified travel and expense ecosystem. It brings together booking, servicing, payments, and expensing into a single, connected experience. Something travel managers and finance leaders have been striving for but haven’t fully had until now.
For travel managers, this means greater visibility and control. The new centralized home page provides a holistic view of travel programs, including spend, compliance, and traveller activity, all in one place. This makes it easier to identify trends, optimize policies, and ensure duty of care.
For finance leaders, the integration delivers more accurate and timely data. With travel bookings automatically flowing into expense reports and enriched with detailed transaction information, there’s less manual entry and fewer errors. This improves reporting, strengthens compliance, and supports better decision-making.
Policy configuration and rule maintenance have traditionally been complex, especially for non‑technical administrators. How are new AI‑based rule‑creation tools and Joule agents simplifying the “back‑end” of travel management—from building nuanced policies in natural language to automating receipt checks and expense validation?
Managing travel and expense policies require a high level of technical expertise, often creating bottlenecks for organizations. With the introduction of AI-based rule creation tools and Joule agents, SAP Concur is simplifying this process significantly.
Administrators can now create or modify policies using natural language or by uploading existing policy documents. The system then automatically translates these inputs into structured rules, reducing the time and complexity involved in configuration. This makes it much more accessible for non-technical users and allows organizations to adapt policies quickly as business needs evolve.
On the operational side, Joule agents automate key tasks that were previously manual. For example, the Expense Automation Agent can generate expense reports by pulling in transactions and contextual data, while the Pre-Submit Audit Agent proactively flags discrepancies before submission. This reduces errors, minimizes rework, and accelerates reimbursement timelines.
For Canadian organizations managing compliance across multiple provinces and regulations, these capabilities are especially valuable. They not only simplify the back-end processes but also ensure greater consistency, accuracy, and confidence in policy enforcement.
Expense fraud, missing receipts, and fragmented card data have long been pain points for finance teams. How do the latest integrations with Amex and Visa, along with new TripIt Pro and risk‑alert enhancements, reduce those financial risks while also delivering the most meaningful “quality of life” improvements for frequent travellers in 2026?
Financial risk in travel and expense management often stems from fragmented data, missing receipts, and limited visibility into transactions. SAP Concur’s latest integrations with American Express and Visa are addressing these challenges by bringing more automation and real-time insight into the process.
With capabilities like real-time notifications, expenses can be automatically generated and categorized as soon as a transaction occurs. This reduces the risk of lost receipts and ensures that data is captured accurately from the start. Virtual cards further enhance control by limiting how and where funds are used, helping organizations reduce fraud and out-of-policy spending.
At the same time, enhancements in TripIt Pro are improving the traveller experience. Features like Image to Plan allow users to turn receipts or confirmations into organized itineraries instantly, while expanded risk alerts provide real-time updates on disruptions that could impact their trip.
For frequent Canadian travellers, this means less administrative burden and greater peace of mind. For finance teams, it means stronger controls, better data, and reduced risk, delivering both operational efficiency and better overall experience.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this interview are those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of CanadianSME Small Business Magazine. Our platform is dedicated to fostering dialogue and sharing insights that inspire and empower small and medium-sized businesses across Canada.
