Concur in Strategic Partnership with UVS - Analyst Blog

Recently, Concur Technologies, Inc. (CNQR), a leading provider of integrated travel and expense management solutions, entered into an agreement with Universal VAT Services (UVS) to facilitate value added tax (VAT) refunds for international travel. The partnership called the ‘UVS VAT CONNECT' will specifically enable Concur customers to identify and reclaim VAT paid on business travel expenses.

Universal VAT Services is a global leader in VAT reclaims services with a dedicated team of financial experts constantly working for maximizing VAT recovery within the scope of law. Concur's client base include companies that require its employees to have a huge number of business trips each year. In many countries, VAT paid on such business travel expenditures is refundable. The 'UVS VAT CONNECT' system will determine the tax paid on expenses during a foreign travel to help reclaim any refundable amount.

With this added service, Concur is expected to attract more customers and thereby entail significant cost saving for its client companies. The foreign travel expenses, which usually cost very high, are prime sources of untapped VAT reclaim opportunity.

In Jun 2011, Concur acquired the London-based end-to-end expense management solutions provider GlobalExpense for £12 million ($19.7 million). With this acquisition, the company could capture the travel and expense management market in Europe. Furthermore, GlobalExpense's strengths in receipt validation, VAT and income tax compliance, and wide knowledge of the UK tax legislation also supported Concur's extended service offerings.

The current partnership with Universal VAT Services is another significant step in that direction, whereby its global presence with up-to-date information on VAT regulation of various countries will be critical for the cost-saving initiatives of all the Concur's clients, irrespective of their nationality and location.

Concur currently holds a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Other players in the industry include Advent Software (ADVS) and Blackbaud Inc (BLKB), each having a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), while Netsol Tech Inc (NTWK)retains a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).