This chapter provides an overview of travel authorizations and discusses how to:
Create travel authorizations.
Enter travel authorization information and detail expense lines.
Copy or add expense lines.
Review or modify accounting information.
View and modify travel authorizations.
Delete travel authorizations.
Cancel approved travel authorizations.
PeopleSoft Expenses provides a travel authorization system to manage the pre-trip approval of estimated travel costs. If you use PeopleSoft Commitment Control, PeopleSoft Expenses supports budget checking of travel authorizations. PeopleSoft Expenses also provides a Travel Services integration feature that enables you to create travel authorizations or travel authorization transaction lines from a pending travel itinerary or to associate travel itineraries with travel authorizations.
From the Travel and Expense Center, you can create, modify, view, cancel, delete, and print travel authorizations. As you prepare a travel authorization request, PeopleSoft Expenses provides the options to create cash advances, modify the default accounting, or change the general information. You can save travel authorizations that have invalid or missing information for more input at a later time, or you can submit them for approval.
PeopleSoft Expenses provides functionality to decrease the time that you spend entering travel authorizations. Using PeopleSoft Expenses, you can:
Create travel authorizations that are populated with information from user defaults.
Copy expense transaction lines from another travel authorization.
Copy multiple expense transaction lines at one time from a travel authorization.
If you have enabled the Travel Services feature for PeopleSoft Expenses on the Installation Options-Expenses page, you can also:
Create a travel authorization from a pending travel reservation.
Add transaction lines to a pending travel authorization using a pending travel reservation.
Associate a pending travel reservation with a travel authorization.
See Also
Adding and Associating Travel Reservations to Travel Authorizations
This section provides an overview of travel authorization creation methods and discusses how to create travel authorizations.
When you create a travel authorization, you have options on which to base the new document, and the selection that you make triggers other options that prompt you for details about the travel authorization. You can start with a blank document or populate one with data from another source.
Page Name |
Definition Name |
Navigation |
Usage |
EX_TAUTH_ENTRY |
|
Create a new travel authorization request. |
|
TE_COPY_TAUTH |
|
Select an existing travel authorization on which to base a new authorization. |
|
TE_TAUTH_LINES_SEC |
Click the View Detail link in the Description column on the Copy From an Existing Travel Authorization page. |
Review details of a travel authorization. |
|
TE_TEMPLATE_SELECT |
|
Select a template for a new travel authorization. |
|
TE_TEMPLATE2 |
Click the Select button for a template on the Select a Template page. |
Select the expense types that are listed for the template to use on the travel authorization. |
When you access the Travel Authorization Entry component (TE_TRAVEL_AUTH) using the Employee Self-Service menu options, PeopleSoft Expenses checks for a default creation method. Depending on the default creation method set on the Employee Profile - User Defaults page, PeopleSoft Expenses displays the next page based on the user defaults and populates the fields accordingly. The creation methods are:
Open a Blank Authorization: PeopleSoft Expenses displays the Travel Authorization Entry page.
Copy an Existing Authorization: PeopleSoft Expenses displays the Copy From an Existing Travel Authorization page, where you can select an existing travel authorization on which to base a new authorization.
To select an existing travel authorization:
Enter a date range to display travel authorizations from a specified period and click the Search button.
PeopleSoft Expenses displays a list of available travel authorizations.
Click the report ID in the Description column to access the View Selected Travel Authorization page.
This page displays a summary of the expenses in a travel authorization to help you decide whether to use it as the basis for a new travel authorization.
Click the Select button for the travel authorization that you want to copy.
PeopleSoft Expenses displays the Travel Authorization Entry page and populates the fields with data from the travel authorization that you copied.
Copy From a Template: PeopleSoft Expenses displays the Select a Template page.
To copy from a template:
Select a template to use to populate the travel authorization.
PeopleSoft Expenses displays the Add to Travel Authorization page.
Select a date range for the travel authorization.
Select One Day or All Days to specify whether one instance of the expense type should be added to the travel authorization or whether one for each day in the date range should be added for that particular expense type.
Click OK.
PeopleSoft Expenses displays the Travel Authorization Entry page and supplies the date range and expense types that you selected on the Add to Travel Authorization page.
This section discusses how to:
Enter travel authorization information.
Enter detail expense lines.
Page Name |
Definition Name |
Navigation |
Usage |
EX_TAUTH_ENTRY |
|
Create a new travel authorization request. |
|
TV_TA_RESERVATION |
|
Select an available, pending reservation from which to create a travel authorization, add transaction lines to a travel authorization, or associate with a travel authorization. See Pages Used to Add and Associate Travel Reservations to Travel Authorizations. |
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TE_PROJ_ERR_SEC |
If PeopleSoft Project Costing is installed and the employee has update authority for his or her accounting detail, PeopleSoft Expenses displays this page when the employee is creating a travel authorization and project defaults are not valid. |
View error messaging that indicates the employee's profile contains invalid project defaults. |
|
EX_TAUTH_DETAILS |
Click the *Detail link on the Travel Authorization Entry page. |
Enter additional information, such as merchant and location, about an expense transaction line. |
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TE_PROJ_SUMMARY_TA |
Click the Project Summary link on the Travel Authorization Entry page. |
View project ChartFields. |
|
TE_COPY_CONFIRM |
Click the Copy Selected button on the Travel Authorization Entry page after selecting one or more expense lines that have not been checked for errors or missing information, or expense lines that have missing information or errors. |
PeopleSoft Expenses warns you if you selected expense lines that have errors or have not been checked for errors. Click the Cancel button to correct the errors or press OK to continue. |
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TE_DELETE_CONFIRM |
Click the Delete Selected button on the Travel Authorization Entry page after you select expense lines to delete. |
Delete one or more expense detail lines on a travel authorization. |
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TE_SAVE_CONFIRM |
Click the Save for Later button on the Travel Authorization Entry page. |
PeopleSoft Expenses indicates that it successfully saved the travel authorization and indicates whether the travel authorization has missing or invalid information. |
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TE_SUBMIT_CONFIRM |
Click the Submit button on the Travel Authorization Entry page. |
PeopleSoft Expenses indicates that it successfully saved and submitted the travel authorization. |
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TE_TAUTH_RPT |
|
Open a new browser to preview and print a printable version of the travel authorization. |
Access the Travel Authorization Entry page (Travel and Expenses, Travel and Expense Center, Travel Authorization, Create).
User Defaults |
Click to access the Employee Profile - User Defaults page and view or edit your defaults. Note. This link is not available if the User Defaults option on the employee privilege template for the travel authorization transaction is set to Hide. |
Quick Start |
Select a creation method for your travel authorization. PeopleSoft Expenses initially displays this field based on the setting of your default creation method on the Employee Profile - User Defaults page, which you can override. Values are:
Note. PeopleSoft Expenses hides the Quick Start page element after you select a creation method or enter your first expense type in the Details grid. |
General Information
Details
Totals
Access the Authorization Detail for [expense type] page (click the *Detail link on the Travel Authorization Entry page).
If you checked for errors and the system detected invalid or missing information, PeopleSoft Expenses displays messages at the top of this page and highlights the affected fields.
About This Expense
This section varies, depending on which expense transaction line you selected and how your organization defined the expense type.
Date |
Select the beginning date for the expense type. |
Payment Type |
Select how you will pay for the expense item. |
Billing Type |
Select Billable, Nonbillable, or Internal. If you use PeopleSoft Project Costing, billing codes are required to identify expense items that are both billable and charged to project costing ChartFields. PeopleSoft Expenses sends the information to PeopleSoft Project Costing, and PeopleSoft Project Costing passes these items to PeopleSoft Billing for processing. |
Merchant |
Select Preferred to limit the merchant list to vendors with whom your organization has a contractual agreement, or select Non-preferred to enter any characters in the corresponding field. |
Exception Comments
Location Amount |
Enter an exception comment if you exceeded the authorized amount for the expense type and location. |
Non-Preferred Merchant |
Enter an exception comment if you did not use a preferred merchant. |
Accounting Detail |
Click to access the Travel Authorization - Accounting Detail page and view or edit ChartFields. Expense items are charged to a set of ChartFields that represent the cost center of the employee who submits the travel authorization. Note. This link is not available if the Distributions option on the employee privilege template for the travel authorization transaction is set to Hide. |
Check Expense for Errors |
Click to check the expense transaction line for missing or invalid information. |
This section provides overviews of copying expense lines and adding multiple expense lines and discusses how to:
Copy expense lines.
Add multiple expense lines.
PeopleSoft Expenses enables you to copy one or more selected expense lines for a single day or a range of dates. You can also indicate whether you want to include holidays and weekends. The functionality that is associated with the Travel Authorization - Copy Selected Expenses page is for all expense types, including per diem expense types. When you copy an expense line to create new expense lines, PeopleSoft Expenses automatically populates the new expense lines with the same ChartFields as the original line item.
PeopleSoft Expenses enables you to select multiple expense types to add to a travel authorization. You can also select whether to add one occurrence or a daily occurrence of the expense types for a date range that you specify. PeopleSoft Expenses adds the multiple expense lines to your travel authorization and you enter the remaining information that pertains to each expense type.
Page Name |
Definition Name |
Navigation |
Usage |
TE_COPY_TALINE_SEC |
|
Copy selected expense lines on a travel authorization. Note. If you click the Copy Selected button on the Travel Authorization Entry page after selecting one or more expense lines that have not been checked, are missing information, or contain errors, then Expenses displays the Warning for Copying Expense Lines page. |
|
TE_ADD_MULT_EXP |
Travel and Expenses, Travel and Expense Center, Travel Authorization, [Create or Modify] Select Multiple Expenses from the Add drop-down list box on the Travel Authorization Entry page. |
Select expense types to add to travel authorizations and whether you want to add one instance of the expense type or have an entry of that expense type for each day within a date range. |
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TE_COPY_CONFIRM |
Travel and Expenses, Travel and Expense Center, Travel Authorization, [Create or Modify] Click the Copy Selected button on the Travel Authorization Entry page after selecting one or more expense lines that have not been checked or that contain missing information or errors. |
Displays a warning message indicating that you have selected expense lines that have errors or have not been checked for errors. Click the Cancel button to correct the appropriate errors or click OK to continue. |
Access the Create Travel Authorization - Copy Selected Expenses page (Travel and Expenses, Travel and Expense Center, Travel Authorization, [Create or Modify]). Then click the Copy Selected button on the Travel Authorization Entry page after selecting one or more expense lines.
Copy to One Date |
Select to copy each selected line only once using the value in the To Date field as the new expense date. |
Copy to Range of Dates |
Select to copy each line multiple times with the expense date for the new lines set to each day within the specified date range. |
From Date and To Date |
Enter a date or a date range for PeopleSoft Expenses to calculate the number of rows to create. |
Include Weekends and Include Holidays |
Select to have PeopleSoft Expenses copy the expense type for the entire date range. If you do not select to include weekends, PeopleSoft Expenses checks the day of the week and does not copy expense lines for Saturdays or Sundays. If you do not select to include holidays, PeopleSoft Expenses checks the holiday calendar for the employee's business unit. PeopleSoft Expenses does not copy expense lines for days that the calendar designates as holidays. |
Access the Create Travel Authorization - Add Multiple Expenses page (Travel and Expenses, Travel and Expense Center, Travel Authorization, [Create or Modify]). Then select Multiple Expenses from the Add drop-down list box on the Travel Authorization Entry page.
Date Range |
Select a date range for PeopleSoft Expenses to use to add expense lines to the travel authorization. |
One Day or All Days |
Select to specify whether one instance of the expense type should be added to the travel authorization or whether one for each day in the date range should be added for that particular expense type. |
Continue |
Click to return to the travel authorization, where the selected expense items appear. |
Return to Authorization Entry |
Click to return to the Travel Authorization Entry page without adding expense lines. If you selected any expense items, PeopleSoft Expenses does not add them to the travel authorization. |
This section provides overviews of PeopleSoft Expenses accounting and applying project defaults to travel authorizations and discusses how to:
Review or modify default accounting.
Review or modify accounting details.
When you create a travel authorization, PeopleSoft Expenses populates the authorization request with accounting defaults for the cost distributions based on the default ChartField values that you set up on the Employee Profile - Organizational Data page. The minimum information that PeopleSoft Expenses requires is the general ledger business unit and department identification. If other accounting distribution fields are in the employee profile, they appear by default in the travel authorization.
Note. If employees have more than one profile in Expenses, the system uses the profile that you select as the default.
See Also
Understanding Accounting in PeopleSoft Expenses
When you create a travel authorization, PeopleSoft Expenses applies user defaults from the employee file to the travel authorization. If PeopleSoft Project Costing is installed, the system validates the project defaults to ensure that they are valid. If the User Default project values are valid, the system continues with the creation process. If the project defaults are not valid and the employee has update authority for his or her accounting detail, the system displays the Missing or Invalid Project Defaults page. On this page, you can continue entering the travel authorization without project defaults or you can access the Employee Profile - User Defaults page to correct the project information.
If you continue entering the travel authorization process without project defaults, the system continues with a default row of accounting data based on the employee's business unit.
PeopleSoft Expenses uses the project defaults that you set up on the Employee Profile - User Defaults page. PeopleSoft Expenses creates one distribution line at 100 percent unless you define defaults with multiple percentage split lines.
The Travel Authorization - Accounting Defaults page displays the distribution of ChartFields for the travel authorization, which you can view or edit, depending on how you set up PeopleSoft Expenses.
Page Name |
Definition Name |
Navigation |
Usage |
TE_TAUTH_SPLIT |
Travel and Expenses, Travel and Expense Center, Travel Authorization, [Create or Modify] Click the Accounting Defaults link on the Travel Authorization Entry page. |
View or change the default accounting for an employee's travel authorization. You can also redistribute the percentages of expenses to different ChartFields. |
|
TE_TAUTH_DIST |
Travel and Expenses, Travel and Expense Center, Travel Authorization, [Create or Modify] Click the Accounting Details link on the Travel Authorization - Add Expense - [expense type] page. |
View or change accounting details or ChartField allocations for the expense type. |
Access the Travel Authorization - Accounting Defaults page (Travel and Expenses, Travel and Expense Center, Travel Authorization, [Create or Modify]). Then click the Accounting Defaults link on the Travel Authorization Entry page.
This page displays default accounting for a travel authorization.
If you are using employee privilege templates, access to these fields is dependant on the value in the Default Accounting field for travel authorization transaction on the Employee Privilege Template page:
If the Default Accounting option of the employee privilege template that is associated with the employee is View, then you cannot edit the default accounting values.
If the Default Accounting option of the employee privilege template that is associated with the employee is Modify, then you can edit the default accounting values.
For more information about employee privilege templates:
See Maintaining Employee Privilege Templates.
If you can modify this page, you can:
Change the ChartFields.
Add rows and redistribute the percentages.
Delete rows that do not apply to the travel authorization.
% (percentage) |
The accounting split percentage is 100 percent for the set of default ChartFields, and it applies to the entire travel authorization. When you add a new row, enter the percentage of expense to charge to the ChartFields that you select in this row. |
Load Defaults |
Click to reset the accounting information back to the user defaults. |
OK |
Click to return to the Travel Authorization Entry page. If you made changes to the default accounting, the changes apply only to new lines and to existing lines where you have not previously changed ChartField values. |
Access the Create Travel Authorization - Accounting Detail page (Travel and Expenses, Travel and Expense Center, Travel Authorization, [Create or Modify]). Then click the Accounting Details link on the Travel Authorization - Add Expense - [expense type] page.
If you are using employee privilege templates, access to this page is dependant on the value in the Distributions field, and access to these fields is dependant on the value in the GL ChartFields and PC ChartFields fields for the travel authorization transaction.
For more information about employee privilege templates:
See Maintaining Employee Privilege Templates.
If you can modify this page, you can override the default accounting for an expense type in a travel authorization.
Restore Defaults |
Click to reset default accounting values. |
Add ChartField Line |
Click to add new accounting detail lines. |
See Also
Understanding Accounting in PeopleSoft Expenses
This section discusses how to view or modify travel authorizations.
Page Name |
Definition Name |
Navigation |
Usage |
Travel Authorization - Travel Authorization Details |
EX_TAUTH_ENTRY |
Employee Self-Service, Travel and Expense Center, Travel Authorization, [View or Modify] |
View a travel authorization. Modify an unsubmitted travel authorization or a travel authorization that was submitted and returned by an approver. |
View Approver Comments |
EX_COMMENTS_RJCT |
|
When an approver sends back a travel authorization, you can review his or her comments in full by clicking the comment link at the top of the page. This link takes you to the View Approver Comments page, where you can see the entire comment. |
Access the Travel Authorization - Travel Authorization Details page.
If you access the Travel Authorization - Travel Authorization Details page using the View navigation, then PeopleSoft Expenses displays the page in read-only mode. You can view only travel authorizations that you submitted for approval.
If you access the Travel Authorization - Travel Authorization Details page using the Modify navigation, then PeopleSoft Expenses enables you to edit all the fields. You can modify a travel authorization if you have not submitted it for approval or if an approver sent it back for revision or correction.
Note. Fields on the Travel Authorization - Travel Authorization Details page are the same as the fields on the Travel Authorization Entry page and are defined in the Entering Travel Authorization Information section of this PeopleBook chapter.
See Entering Travel Authorization Information and Detail Expense Lines.
Sent Back for Revision and View Approver Comments |
Click the View Approver Comments link to access the View Approver Comments page and view the comments that an approver made regarding the reason that he or she sent the travel authorization back for revisions. |
Action History
This section appears after you save a travel authorization.
Profile and Name |
Displays the name of the originator and the approver, and the role of each. |
Action |
Displays the completed steps in the travel authorization approval process. |
Date/Time |
Displays the date and time on which the approval status was assigned. |
This section provides an overview of deleting travel authorizations and discusses how to delete travel authorizations.
PeopleSoft Expenses enables you to delete travel authorizations:
If you create a travel authorization and decide not to process it, you can delete it before you submit it for approval.
If you submit a travel authorization and the approver returns it to you, you can delete the travel authorization.
If you cancel the travel authorization, you can delete it.
Note. If you delete a travel authorization that is associated with a pending reservation, the pending reservation is restored to the My Reservations tables and is made available for association with, or addition to, another travel authorization.
Page Name |
Definition Name |
Navigation |
Usage |
TE_DEL_TAUTH |
Employee Self-Service, Travel and Expense Center, Travel Authorization, Delete |
Delete a travel authorization. |
|
TE_DEL_CONFIRM |
Click the Delete Selected Authorization(s) button on the Travel and Expense - Delete a Travel Authorization page after selecting travel authorizations. |
PeopleSoft Expenses displays a message that the system has deleted the selected transactions. |
Access the Travel and Expense - Delete a Travel Authorization page (Employee Self-Service, Travel and Expense Center, Travel Authorization, Delete).
PeopleSoft Expenses displays a list of unsubmitted or denied travel authorizations. Use the Select column to select travel authorizations to delete, and then click the Delete Selected Authorization(s) button.
This section provides an overview of travel authorization cancellations and discusses how to cancel an approved travel authorization.
The Cancel Approved Travel Authorization feature is available to employees and system administrators. It provides the mechanism that is necessary to cancel unused travel authorizations that you have not applied to expense reports.
If you use PeopleSoft Commitment Control, the Cancel Approved Travel Authorization feature automatically runs budget checking to reverse encumbrances that are associated with the travel authorizations being closed.
After you cancel a travel authorization, you can delete it.
See Also
Canceling Travel Authorizations
Rolling Over Travel Authorization Encumbrances to a New Budget Period
Page Name |
Definition Name |
Navigation |
Usage |
TE_CANCEL_TAUTH |
Employee Self-Service, Travel and Expense Center, Travel Authorization, Cancel |
Cancel a travel authorization request. |
Access the Cancel Approved Travel Authorization page (Employee Self-Service, Travel and Expense Center, Travel Authorization, Cancel).
The Cancel Approved Travel Authorization page displays all travel authorization requests that have been approved, or approved and budget-checked, but not assigned to an expense report. Select the travel authorization requests that you want to cancel, and click Cancel Selected Travel Authorization(s). If you use PeopleSoft Commitment Control, the system then performs budget checking to reverse encumbrance amounts that are associated with the travel authorizations.