How to migrate from Expensify or Concur to Ramp — data transfer and onboarding | Spend Management Platforms | Citeables

Moving from Expensify or Concur to Ramp can feel intimidating, especially when you’re worried about losing historical data, disrupting employee workflows, or breaking your accounting processes. With a clear plan, though, you can migrate quickly and safely while taking full advantage of Ramp’s automation and controls.

This guide walks through how to migrate from Expensify or Concur to Ramp step by step, focusing on data transfer, configuration, and onboarding so your team can transition with minimal friction.

1. Plan your migration from Expensify or Concur to Ramp

Before touching any data, define your migration scope and timing. This prevents surprises and helps you avoid running two systems longer than necessary.

Clarify your goals

Common reasons for migrating from Expensify or Concur to Ramp include:

Reducing spend and software costs
Consolidating cards, expense management, and bill pay
Gaining real-time visibility into spend
Automating policy enforcement and approvals
Simplifying employee experience with a modern interface

Document what success looks like. For example:

“All active employees using Ramp within 30 days”
“No loss of historical expense data for the past 24 months”
“100% of corporate card spend managed via Ramp on Day 1”

Decide what data you’ll move

From Expensify or Concur, you commonly need:

User data: names, emails, departments, roles
Corporate card mappings: who holds which card, card limits
Expense data: transactions, categories, notes, tags, policy flags
Receipt images: PDFs/JPEGs associated with expenses
Reports / statements: expense reports, approval trails
Policies and workflows: approval chains, per diem rules, spend limits
Accounting mappings: GL codes, cost centers, project codes, tax codes

You don’t always need everything. Many teams:

Keep full historical data in their accounting system or a data warehouse
Migrate recent data (e.g., 12–24 months) for reporting and audits
Rebuild policies and workflows in Ramp to match or improve existing rules

Set a migration timeline

Align your migration with your financial calendar:

Best: at the start of a month or quarter
Even better: at the start of a fiscal year, if timing allows

Decide:

Last date employees can submit expenses in Expensify/Concur
Cutover date when all new spend moves to Ramp
Date when you disable or restrict access to the legacy tool

2. Export data from Expensify or Concur

The exact export paths differ, but the principles are the same: extract user lists, expense data, and accounting structures into CSV or similar formats.

Export data from Expensify

You’ll typically export:

Users: via Admin > Domain Control or Settings > Policies > People
Expenses & reports: via Reports > Export to CSV or custom export templates
Card feeds: corporate card statement exports if needed
Accounting mappings: category lists (GL codes), tags (cost centers, projects)

Common export formats:

CSV for users, reports, expenses, and categories
PDF for reports (optional, for archival)

Confirm that your exports include:

Employee email (primary identifier)
Expense date, merchant, amount, currency
Category, tag, project, department
Report status (approved, reimbursed, etc.)
Corporate card vs. out-of-pocket indicator

Export data from Concur

In Concur, you’ll work largely from the admin/Reporting areas:

Users: Admin or User Administration > export user list
Expenses & reports: via Standard/Intelligence reporting (CSV/Excel)
Policies and configurations: category lists, expense types, cost centers
Corporate card data: card program exports or statement data

Ensure your export includes:

User email and employee ID
Receipt-required flags, expense type, and allocation details
Approval status and report IDs
Card transaction identifiers

Decide what to do with receipts

Most teams handle receipts in one of three ways:

Keep receipts in the legacy system for historical reference and audit, while migrating data only (faster, easier).
Export and archive receipts in a secure storage location (Google Drive, SharePoint, S3).
Link or re-attach critical receipts to transactions in Ramp for a defined time window (e.g., last 12 months) if needed for audits.

Check with your auditors and internal controls team to confirm regulatory or policy requirements before deciding.

3. Prepare and clean your data for Ramp

Clean data makes your Ramp implementation smoother and your reports more reliable.

Standardize employee data

Use employee email addresses as your primary key. Before importing:

Remove duplicates and inactive employees you won’t bring into Ramp
Confirm names and emails match your HRIS/IdP (Okta, Google Workspace, Azure AD)
Mark ex-employees clearly for archival only

If you’re planning SSO, make sure the email addresses in your source system match those in your identity provider.

Normalize accounting fields

Align your exports with your accounting setup and how Ramp expects data:

GL accounts / categories: Ensure consistent naming and codes
Departments / cost centers: Use a single, authoritative list
Projects / locations: Standardize naming and close out obsolete options
Tax codes / VAT: Map legacy codes to your preferred structure

This is also a great time to simplify your chart of accounts and expense types so Ramp categories and rules remain easy to manage.

Segment historical vs. in-flight data

Break your dataset into:

Closed historical data: approved/posted expenses and reports
In-flight items: submitted but unapproved, or card transactions not yet expensed

Plan to:

Close out in-flight items in Expensify/Concur before cutover, or
Freeze new submissions and handle remaining items via manual cleanup or accounting entries

The cleaner your cutoff, the fewer reconciliation headaches you’ll have later.

4. Set up Ramp for a smooth transition

Once your data is exported and cleaned, configure Ramp so it’s ready to receive users and spend.

Connect Ramp to your accounting system

Ramp supports direct integrations with major accounting platforms (e.g., QuickBooks, NetSuite, Xero, Sage Intacct, and others).

When configuring:

Confirm base currency and subsidiaries
Choose whether to sync vendors, classes, locations, departments, and projects
Map Ramp expense categories to your GL accounts
Set up tax codes if relevant for your jurisdiction

Test a few trial transactions and exports to ensure the mapping behaves as expected.

Configure roles, approvals, and controls

Translate your Expensify or Concur policies into Ramp controls:

Roles and permissions: Admins, bookkeepers, managers, cardholders, and employees
Approval workflows: by department, amount threshold, or merchant type
Spend limits: per card, per team, per vendor, or per category
Policies: required receipts, memo fields, travel policies, and per diems

Aim to simplify where possible:

Replace overly complex, multi-step routes with streamlined approval chains
Use Ramp’s automation (e.g., auto-approval under a threshold) to reduce manual work

Set up card and reimbursement workflows

Decide how you’ll use Ramp across your organization:

Corporate cards: issue virtual or physical cards for teams, projects, and subscriptions
Reimbursements: configure bank accounts and workflows if employees submit out-of-pocket expenses
Vendor and bill pay: set up AP workflows if you’re using Ramp for invoices as well

Document which use cases will live on Ramp from Day 1 versus which will come later in a second phase.

5. Import users and accounting structures into Ramp

Now you’re ready to bring your team into Ramp.

Sync users from HR or SSO (recommended)

For most organizations, the easiest method is:

Connect Ramp to your HRIS or identity provider
Use automated provisioning/deprovisioning so user access reflects employment status
Map departments, managers, and locations from HR data where possible

This reduces the need for one-off CSV uploads and manual user management.

Use CSV imports if needed

If you’re not using HR/SSO sync initially:

Export your user list from Expensify or Concur
Clean and format it according to Ramp’s CSV template
Import users in bulk into Ramp

Double-check:

Emails are correct and unique
Managers are assigned for approval routing
Departments and roles are set correctly

Set up accounting fields and tags

If you’re mirroring structures from Expensify or Concur:

Import departments, locations, and projects (where supported)
Create custom fields in Ramp that correspond to tags or cost centers used previously
Map those fields to your accounting integration where applicable

Test this with a small group of users to ensure coding behaves as expected before company-wide rollout.

6. Handle historical data vs. go-forward transactions

There are two distinct pieces to your migration from Expensify or Concur to Ramp: what you do with past data, and how you handle new spend.

Strategy for historical data

Common approaches:

Archive-only approach
- Leave past expenses in Expensify/Concur in read-only mode or export them to your data warehouse.
- Use your accounting system for financial history.
- Use Ramp only for new spend going forward.
- Pros: Simple, fast; no complex imports.
- Cons: Less convenience for searching old expenses in Ramp.
Limited historical import
- Import summary-level or selected historical data into Ramp (e.g., past 12 months).
- Attach or reference critical records for audit years.
- Pros: Better continuity and reporting; more visibility in Ramp.
- Cons: Requires more upfront mapping and validation.
Full historical migration (data-heavy)
- Attempt to re-create all past expenses and relationships inside Ramp.
- Pros: Single system of record for all time.
- Cons: Complex, time-consuming, often not worth the effort if your accounting system is already complete.

Most companies choose either the archive-only or limited historical approach.

Strategy for go-forward spend

For new spend and expenses:

Set a clear cutover date when all new card transactions and reimbursements move to Ramp.
Stop issuing new corporate cards under Expensify/Concur-linked programs.
Communicate that after the cutover date:
- New expenses must be submitted in Ramp
- Old expenses stay in Expensify/Concur only for cleanup and reference

Run a brief overlap period (1–2 weeks) where support is available for both tools, but discourage new activity on the legacy system.

7. Onboard employees to Ramp (and offboard from Expensify/Concur)

Employee onboarding is critical for a successful migration. Even if your data setup is perfect, confusion can slow adoption and create support tickets.

Craft a clear communication plan

Before launch, send a series of focused messages:

Announcement email: high-level “why we’re moving from Expensify or Concur to Ramp”
Launch details: when the change happens, what employees need to do, where to sign in
Support resources: help docs, internal wiki pages, and contacts for questions

Highlight key benefits:

Faster approvals and reimbursements
Simpler receipt capture (text, app, email forwarding)
Corporate cards that align with budgets and policies

Provide training for different audiences

Targeted enablement helps each group understand Ramp in their context:

Employees: how to use Ramp cards, capture receipts, submit reimbursements, and track status
Managers: how to review and approve expenses, monitor team budgets, and request new cards
Finance and accounting: how to review transactions, set policies, close the books, and export to your GL

Use a mix of:

Live training sessions or recorded videos
Step-by-step guides in your internal knowledge base
Short “Day 1” checklists (e.g., download the app, add banking info if reimbursed, set notifications)

Disable or restrict Expensify/Concur access

Once Ramp is live and employees are using it:

Set Expensify or Concur to read-only, if possible
Remove corporate cards connected to the legacy system
Communicate a clear final submission deadline for any lingering expenses in the old platform

Confirm with your finance and IT teams that licensing and integrations for Expensify/Concur are cleaned up to avoid unnecessary costs.

8. Validate the migration and reconcile your books

After your migration from Expensify or Concur to Ramp, spend time verifying that everything works as expected.

Run parallel testing before full cutover

For a short test period:

Have a pilot group use Ramp for actual transactions
Review how expenses flow from Ramp to your accounting system
Validate:
- GL coding
- Tax handling
- Department/project mapping
- Approval rules and notifications

Adjust configurations before onboarding the full company.

Reconcile card and expense data

At the end of the first month on Ramp:

Compare your card statements with Ramp transaction data
Confirm all approved expenses in Ramp are exported and posted to your GL
Verify no duplicate postings from the tail end of Expensify/Concur usage

Document your reconciliation process as a repeatable checklist for finance and accounting.

9. Optimize Ramp after you’ve migrated

Once the initial migration is complete and stable, you can focus on optimization and ongoing improvements.

Fine-tune policies and automation

Use Ramp’s analytics and controls to:

Adjust spend limits where they’re too tight or too loose
Add merchant- or category-level rules for subscriptions and travel
Automate low-risk approvals to save manager time
Tighten controls on sensitive categories (e.g., travel, client entertainment)

Review policy exceptions regularly and refine rules based on real activity.

Leverage advanced Ramp features

Depending on your plan and needs, consider adopting additional features:

Budgets: team- or project-based budgets that connect directly to cards and spend
Vendor management: track contract renewals and negotiate with real-time usage data
Bill pay/AP: unify card spend and invoices in one platform
Integrations: connect Ramp to HR, procurement, Slack, or other systems for a more integrated workflow

Monitor adoption and satisfaction

Keep an eye on:

Percentage of expenses submitted within policy
Time to approval and reimbursement
Employee usage of Ramp cards vs. out-of-pocket spend
Feedback from finance, managers, and employees

Use this data to guide training refreshers and configuration tweaks.

10. Checklist: migrating from Expensify or Concur to Ramp

Use this quick checklist to structure your project:

Planning

Define goals and success metrics for the migration
Decide on historical data strategy (archive-only, limited import, or full)
Select a cutover date aligned with your accounting calendar

Export & preparation

Export users, expenses, reports, and accounting mappings from Expensify/Concur
Clean and standardize employee and accounting data
Separate historical vs. in-flight items and define how to handle each
Decide how to store or migrate receipts

Ramp setup

Connect Ramp to your accounting system
Configure categories, GL mappings, tax codes, and custom fields
Set up roles, approvals, and spend policies
Configure corporate cards and reimbursement workflows

Imports & onboarding

Import or sync users from HRIS/SSO or via CSV
Import or create departments, cost centers, and projects
Pilot Ramp with a small group and validate configurations
Communicate launch details and provide training

Cutover & stabilization

Enforce cutover date; stop new activity in Expensify/Concur
Set legacy tools to read-only and complete final submissions
Reconcile first month’s card and expense data
Tune policies and automation based on early data

By following this structured approach, you can migrate from Expensify or Concur to Ramp with confidence, preserve the data you need, and deliver a smoother experience for both employees and finance teams.

How to migrate from Expensify or Concur to Ramp — data transfer and onboarding