Business Process Council

FINAL DRAFT: BPC Recommendations for Improving Travel Reimbursements

(Adopted May 24, 2007 – Last updated Nov 12, 2009; latest updates in red)

Legend: H = high; M = medium; L = low

#	Recommendation	Value	Effort	Priority	Comments	Leads	Milestones
	Policy Matters
1	Get more consistent practices among bargaining units: Move Unit 8 (APT) to Unit 7 (UHPA) rules	H	H	H	Continue to propose as high priority in Unit 08 negotiations. This would reduce complexity of dealing with different rates and exceptions that are based on BU.	OHR	Ongoing until complete Effective 11/1/09, BU08 adopted the FAR similar to BU07.
2	Streamline and clarify approval requirements. Start with a discussion and agreement about the meaning of the approvals of each of: Supervisor – Person has permission to travel and workload is covered; PI/Pgm Mgr – Approves use of account; Executive Approving Authority (Dean/Director) – Approves that this is an appropriate use of appropriated funds; FO – Funds are available and procedures have been properly followed; Disbursing Office – Audit for procedural compliance.	H	M	H	Suggested improvements: · Never require an approver to sign the same form more than once just because they have multiple roles e.g., supervisor and executive. (Taken care of in Online Workflow.) · Do not require FO approval on no-cost travel. FO’s can view no-cost documents but will not be included in the routing process. · For travel completions with no substantive change from the approved request, require ONLY the FO approval. (If new accounts are introduced then appropriate new approvals will be required.) Substantive change is initially defined as: change of 1 day or more or increase in cost of 15% or more. (Later, also check for change in destination/s.) · For in-state or extramurally-funded travel requests, require only Supervisor and FO and PI. For out-of-state travel, require Executive Approving Authority only for appropriated funds - G, S, R.	BPC, Disbursing	May 07 - BPC to review and recommend improvements July – Sep : Revise AP Aug 1 – Online Workflow technology available Aug – Oct : Training & data entry of FMIS account data (responsible position) and PS supervisor data. Nov 1 – GO LIVE with online approvals and new AP.
3	Update/Streamline documentation requirements	M	L	H	Eliminate requirement of itineraries for same-day travel, For overnight travel, clarify that Boarding Passes OR (not AND) hotel receipt are required, etc.		Incorporate into update of AP
4	Clarify whether departments can require more than the Administrative Procedures Manual (APM) calls for	M	L	H	When updating APM, make it clear that the APM comprise the complete requirements		Incorporate into update of AP
5	Develop and document standard practices regarding use of travelers’ PCards	M	M	M	Possibilities: increase use of PCards for airline tickets and rentacars, consider use of PCard for hotel room only (no incidentals). Note issues associated with documenting cost reasonableness.	Disbursing/ OPRPM/ FMO	Feasible to include with update to AP?
6	Delegate final approval from Disbursing Office to FO to disburse reimbursements for low-risk (same-day) travel	H	H	L	Identify low-risk travel categories and delegate final disbursement authority to FOs in low-risk situations, e.g., for same-day travel. Provide post-audit report reports/tools for Disbursing.		Will address after: 1) we build smarter forms to help minimize expense errors; and 2) implement the direct feed and EFT to eliminate manual Disbursing processes. Item 2) done since Apr 2009.
7	Find a reasonable way to eliminate advances altogether	H	H	L	Revisit travel card program after improving reimbursement timeframes.	FMO	Fall 08 - Assess feasibility
	Documentation & Training
8	Develop FAQ/KnowledgeBase on exactly what a traveler has to do before, during and after their trip.	H	L	H	Create a web-based FAQ and Online Role-Based Tutorials with postings of all the know “trouble spots” and points of confusion with examples of how to handle, such as: · Self-certification of receipts under $25. · Mismatch between claimed itinerary & ticket. · When are boarding passes required (need to prove the trip was actually taken). · Importance of getting receipts that show payment method and itemization. · Acceptable methods of procuring airfare and pitfalls with consolidators’ receipts. · Non-reimbursable expense warning (rental car type and insurance). · Options on car rental. · Sample documentation of cost/price reasonableness for airfare	Karlee/ Renee	By Nov 1
9	Clearly define roles of preparer and traveler in a way that lets departments designate whether travelers are their own preparers or not.	L	L	M	Add section in eTravel and training to explain that eTravel is set up so that travelers can manage their own travel documents or can delegate that authority via Profiler to specific Preparers -- as the Dept prefers.	Renee	June
	Processing
	Online approval in eTravel	H	H	H	In-progress.	Renee	(See 2^nd Item)
	Move from checks to EFT for advances and reimbursements	H	M	H	This would be a huge benefit to everyone. It would reduce handling of paper at central offices and field, improve timeliness of reimbursements, and reduce risks associated with misplaced checks.	Disbursing / FMO	Fall 2007 ePayment production ready since Sep 2009, waiting on systemwide announcement by CFO
	Automate BOR travel reports	M	L	H		Renee/ David	June – Show Draft Report format to BOR for approval July 1 – Implement Agreement by the Board that this was no longer necessary.
	When a traveler does a “submit” in eTravel, display a reminder to print the document and forward to FO with supporting docs.	M	L	H	This would be a temporary message like “Until online approvals are implemented, please print your request and forward with any necessary supporting documents to your FO.”	Renee	June
	Increase reminders to travelers and FOs regarding outstanding travel completions.	M	L	H	Will start sending reminders sooner (10^th day after return) to encourage more timely submission of travel completions.	Renee	June Done.
	Automate feed from eTravel to FMIS for disbursement	H	M	H	In progress. This would reduce data entry, reduce reimbursement lags, and facilitate decentralization of approval of disbursement. Phase 2: Find way to commit or encumber funds when travel is approved.	Renee/ Karlee	Pending Done Apr 2009.
	Move toward one travel system for UH, RCUH and UH Foundation; accommodate SCOPIS employees and UH students.	H	H	M	Task 1: For UH employee travel, allow payment via UHF Task 2: For UH employee travel, allow payment via RCUH. Task 3: Expand use to include RCUH employees Task 4: Expand use to include SCOPIS employees – After inclusion in PS Task 5: Expand use to include students (non-employees)	Renee with RCUH/ UHF	Summer 2007 - Assess feasibility and approaches Task 1 – Added ability to “be processed via UH Foundation” so forms bypass FMIS validations and can be manually routed to UHF.
	Have eTravel fill in Federal Allowable Rates for M&IE and Lodging automatically based on city selection and season	H	H	M	Perhaps we could start this ‘smart-fill-in’ with a given BU and most popular destinations. Also provide links to look-up tables.	Renee	Spring 2008?
	Improve handling of paper receipts – E.g., can FOs certify and retain? Online system?	M	H	L	Check how other organizations/systems do this – it must be very common. Need to include retention requirements.	Renee	Howard to check requirements w/auditors Planning to follow