Authorizing Travel Expense—Exercises

Basic Data Setup

Purpose: To get acquainted with the basic data needed for travel expenses that are entered in components outside Travel Expense. The basic data mentioned here are common sources of problems in Travel Expense.

Verify the following information:

1. You must have an employee. 
2. You must have a valid position for your employee to use Travel Expense. Open the Employee Files window and query for your employee. Click the Employment tab and then the Positions sub tab, and ensure that the position of your employee is valid.
   1. Before you can access employees other than yourself, each of these employees must have an employee number and a valid position. 
   2. Position Access: The authority attribute connected to your position must include travel expense authorization rights if you as a supervisor are going to authorize expense reports. Check the Position Authority Levels window to see whether your authority attribute contains the travel expense authorization rights.
   3. Expenses: You also must have access to other positions in the position structure and authority levels. Check the Position Access/Access Result-Graphics tab.
3. Postings and Accounts in Accounting Rules: Check for postings of types TX and EP in the Posting Control window, where postings for Travel Expense and Employee Payment are entered. Look at the section on Handling Accounting and Currency for Expense Administration--BDR  in the training material.
4. There should be six posting types for Travel Expense. (The posting types that are used depend on the combination of components that you use together with Travel Expense.)
5. There should also be four posting types for Employee Payment.

Hints:

1. Start by identifying a valid position for your employee.
2. In the Position Access/Access Definition tab, query for the position, and identify the authority attribute that is valid for your position. In the Position Authority Levels window, verify that your authority attribute contains the Travel Expense Authorization Level attribute code.
3. In the Position Access/Access Results Graphics tab, find your position and verify that you have access to it.

New Authority Attributes

New Position Access Definition

Main Exercises

Purpose: To get acquainted with the authorization process.

Windows:
Expense Sheet
Expense Sheet

Confirm Travel Expense

1. In the Expense Sheet window, choose one of your expense sheets. Right-click and then click Confirm. The expense status changes from Preliminary to Confirmed.
2. Click the Expenses tab. Enter a new expense. Save your changes.
3. What happened to the status?

Approve Travel Expense

1. Use the same expense sheet as above. Right-click and then click Approve. Make sure that the expense sheet is confirmed before you approve it.
2. Right-click and then click Create Posting. Click the Postings tab for a preview of the postings that will be created when authorization is made.
3. Try to change the amount of the expense that you entered in step 1. What happens?
4. Right-click and then click Remove Approval to change the amount of the expense. Save your changes. What happens to the status of the expense sheet?

Authorize Travel Expense

1. Use the same expense sheet as above. Authorize the expense by right-clicking and then clicking Authorize. The expense sheet must be confirmed before you can authorize it.
2. Click the General tab to find the voucher number. 
3. Open the Voucher Analysis window and query for your voucher. You can view the voucher details if you select a voucher, right-click, and then click lick Details.
4. If you connected your expense to a project activity, you can go to the Project Transactions window and see that your expense has been correctly transferred to the project.
5. Open the Expense Sheets window. Authorize your other expenses. Select all expense sheets and authorize them by right-clicking and then clicking Authorize. Be sure to check the status of the expenses. They must be confirmed before they can be authorized.