Managing Expense Claims

Transcription

1 Managing Expense Claims Page 1 of 14 Version 1.2, July 2012

2 Introduction Functionality provided by People Inc. Employee Intranet enables you to process expense claims electronically. This is done via the web browser on your computer. Expense claims submitted in this way are automatically routed to your manager for review. Once approved the details are then passed to payroll for payment. In addition to managing expense claims, the Employee Intranet is also used to provide you with access to personal information held within the system and enables you to manage your holidays. It is also possible to submit timesheets and contribute to on-line appraisals via the Employee Intranet. Like the submission of expense claims, both of these are provided by optional add-on functionality (this functionality may not be implemented within your People Inc. system). Managers have some additional functionality available to them via the Employee Intranet. If you are a manager you will be able to access information about employees in your team, review their confirmed holiday bookings, and approve (or decline) new holiday requests and expense claims (timesheets, etc.) made by members of your team. This document details the process for submitting and approving expense claims via the People Inc. system. The document has two parts: the first covers how to submit expense claims; the second covers the approval process for requests. Accessing the Employee Intranet The Employee Intranet is accessed using a web browser. If an account has been configured for you, clicking on a shortcut or link to the Employee Intranet will open your home page within the system. You should not have to type any information at this point; the system will automatically detect the user account you used to log in to Windows and will use this to log in to the Employee Intranet. The functionality that is used to automate the login for employees is called the Single Sign-On. This functionality will only work if users are accessing the Employee Intranet from a computer that is logged-in to a server within the office Windows network. While it will work from an office computer logged in remotely (from home), it is unlikely to work on a home computer. If the login is not automated, the Employee Intranet login page will be displayed. Before you can log in using this page you will need a valid user account (user-name and password). Your personnel team will provide you with this information. The login page will look like the image below. Employee Intranet Login dialogue To log in to the Employee Intranet, add your user-name and password to the appropriate boxes and click on the Login button. If you have forgotten your password, you can get the system to resend your password to you via by clicking on the I lost my password text. Page 2 of 14 Version 1.2, July 2012

3 The first time you access the system you are asked to change the password you have been given. This ensures that only you know your password. Complete the form and press the Modify button. Change Password dialogue The system should confirm that your password has been successfully changed; click on the text Return to Application to continue. The Home Page Once you have successfully logged in the system displays the Home Page. The configuration of this page will vary from organisation to organisation. The image below is a typical view of this screen. Employee Intranet Home Page You can access a variety of information and functionality from the home page. This includes: your personal information (including contact details, absence history, training history, etc.) a page to view your holiday calendar (showing planned and actual absence together with bank holidays in a 12-month calendar; note that you can print this calendar) Page 3 of 14 Version 1.2, July 2012

4 a page to view the holiday bookings for other staff in your department/team (this shows all bookings for employee for a 45-day period; once again, you can print this) a page enabling you to submit holiday requests (these are routed to your manager for approval; you can also review requests you have submitted in the past) a page enabling you to submit expense claims (detailed in this document) other optional add-on screens (for example, a screen to submit timesheets and overtime, a screen to complete online appraisal information, etc.) other HR information (for example current vacancies, current training courses) Adding an Expense Claim Expenses are grouped together and added into the system in batches. You can for example put all your expenses for a particular month into the system in one claim. There is no restriction on the number of claims you can make. If you have already submitted a claim this month and you find that you have omitted some expenses there is nothing to stop you submitting another expense claim. If you have receipts relating to the expenses and wish to attach these to the expense claim, you will need to scan them and save them as files on your computer first. To submit an expense claim, click on the Expenses shortcut. This is normally located in the Add-ons section of the home page. Employee Intranet Add-ons The first time you do this, the system will display an empty screen. Once you have submitted claims, by default the screen will list all of these. Expenses screen (no entries) Page 4 of 14 Version 1.2, July 2012

5 To add an expense claim, click on the green plus button. Expenses screen (new record) There are a number of things you need to complete on this page. These are all denoted by boxes with white backgrounds (the content of the boxes with grey backgrounds will be added by the system when you save the information you are entering). Enter a reference for your expense claim (for example May 2012, or Expenses from Trade Fair ) if applicable. You do not have to complete this box. If you have further information you would like to add to the expense claim (to help your manager when they are approving your expenses) add it to the notes box. You do not have to complete this box. It is possible to add any number of individual expense entries to your expense claim form. These are added in lines below the boxes on the screen. You can choose the number of items you wish to add to your claim. For example, if you have 4 items, type 4 in the box at the bottom of the screen and click on Add Record(s). A number of rows will appear at the bottom of the screen. Note that you can add more rows at any time and any unused rows will be removed when the expense claim is saved. Page 5 of 14 Version 1.2, July 2012

6 Expenses screen (with 1 row added) For each entry: Add the date of the expense Choose the Type of expense by clicking on the magnifying glass in the box in the Type column. A new screen will appear listing the options. Double-click on the appropriate entry in the list to select a Type. Enter a description for the expense entry If the expense type is mileage, enter a distance (the system will calculate the amount based on one of 2 rates: currently there is one rate for mileage below miles in any financial year and another for mileage above miles; the financial year begins on April 6 th ) If the item is not mileage, enter an amount for the expense. Note that, as the system will automatically calculate the rates for mileage expenses added within any financial year, it is not possible to record an expense claim that has mileage entries in it from 2 financial years. For example, the system will not save an expense claim if it has a mileage entry for 2 nd April and another for the 8 th April. In this situation you must add 2 claims, one containing all the mileage claims up to and including the 5 th April, and another containing mileage claims from the 6 th April onwards. Once you have finished adding entries, click the green button with a tick on it to save your expense claim. The system will inform you if you have entered information that is incomplete or incorrect by displaying a message below the expense entry that needs to be amended. In the example below, the user has selected the category Travel (general). This category is for taxi and train travel; the system is expecting the user to enter an amount rather than a mileage (to remedy this, delete the mileage and add the cost of the travel in the amount column). Note that in some cases, an error message is displayed in red in the top left hand corner of the main screen. In this situation, the system has found a problem with the information in the main expense claim itself (rather than in one of the rows detailing expense items). Page 6 of 14 Version 1.2, July 2012

7 Expenses screen including data entry error It is also possible to remove (delete) expense entries that have been added in error. In the example below, the user has added an expense entry twice. To remove an entry, you need to click once on the icon for the waste-paper basket (at the end of the row detailing the item you want to remove, note that it changes colour when you do this) and then click the green button with a tick on it to save your expense claim. The row will be removed from your claim. Expenses screen including row flagged for deletion Page 7 of 14 Version 1.2, July 2012

8 If the system is happy with your completed expense claim form when you save it, it will display ticks at the end of any rows that have changed, and the words Data Saved will appear in the top left hand corner of the screen. Completed Expenses Claim When you save your expense claim, the system will calculate the amount associated with any mileage entries and will also calculate a total amount for the expense claim. It is possible to add scanned copies of any receipts that you have relating to your expense claim. Click on the paper-clip button to attach copies of receipts. Attachments Screen (empty) Page 8 of 14 Version 1.2, July 2012

9 When you first open the attachments screen it is empty. Click on the green plus button to add an attachment Select Attachment screen Select the scanned image of your receipts and click the Upload button. Repeat this process for each of the scanned images you need to attach. Note that it may be helpful to annotate your receipts with the reference number that appears at the beginning of the row that details the expense in your claim (before you scan the receipt). Your manager or payroll team will then be able to identify receipts easily. Alrternatively you could use this number as the file-name for the attachments. Attachments screen (with attachment) At this point, your expense claim has been saved in the system but has not yet been submitted. If you wish, you can save the work you have done (by clicking on the green button with the tick on it) and log out of the Employee Intranet safely (without losing the information you have added). You can then return at a later date to add further information to your expense claim (or change the details you have entered). When you return to the system your expense claim will be listed in the Expenses screen; double-click on the entry to open the expense claim. At any time, you can print the details recorded on your expense claim by selecting one of the print options via the last button at the top of the screen. Page 9 of 14 Version 1.2, July 2012

10 Print options The system may display additional options before the information is displayed for print. These will default to the correct values for your expenses; simply click OK to these options. Print Preview Page 10 of 14 Version 1.2, July 2012

11 Submitting an Expense Claim When your claim is ready to be submitted, tick the Submit box (see image below) and click the green button with a tick on it to save your expense claim (this will also submit your claim). Note that you will no longer be able to make changes once you have submitted your claim. Submitted Expense Claim Your manager will be notified that you have submitted an expense claim (by ). The next time your manager logs into the system, they will be able to review your claim. Monitoring progress When your manager approves (or rejects) your expense claim, the system will send you a notification . If your manger approves your claim, it will be passed to payroll for payment. If however your expense claim is rejected, it will be returned to you. Your manager should have added notes to the claim indicating the reason for rejecting it (in the Notes box). You will then be able to make amendments and re-submit the claim. You can see details of the progress your expense claim has made in the top right hand corner of the Expenses screen. The system displays when you submitted the claim, when your manager approved the claim and when this was passed for payment. Adding an Expense Claim for another Employee If the system is configured to allow it, managers can add expenses for their employees. This is useful when an employee is not in the office for example. To add an expense claim for an employee, the manager logs into the system using their own logon and creates a new record in the Expenses screen. The screen is completed in the normal way, except the manager is able to select the employee by changing the value of the Employee ID field (click on the button and select an employee) Page 11 of 14 Version 1.2, July 2012

12 Approving Expense Claims If you are assigned a manager account you will be able to approve expense claims for the employees in your department or team. This account will also grant you access to your own details and enable you to submit expense claims yourself (requests that you have submitted yourself, and the requests submitted by members of your department for you to review will all appear in one list). While you are able to process claims submitted by members of your department, the system will stop you from approving your own expense claims. These will be routed to your manager for review. Note that it is possible to have more than one manager for each department or team. This means that a colleague can process claims if you are away from the office. When a member of your team submits an expense claim you will receive a notification . This e- mail has a link on it that will open the Expenses screen and list all expense claims that are ready for review. If you have not implemented the Single Sign-on you will be prompted for your user-name and password at this point. You may have elected not to receive notification (these s are optional). In this case you should make a note to check the Expenses screen in the Employee Intranet regularly. Clicking on the Expenses short-cut on the Home Page will display all expense claims that are ready for review. Employee Intranet Add-ons The list that is displayed will include expense claims submitted by all the members of your team. By default it does not display claims that have already been processed. Expenses screen (list view) Page 12 of 14 Version 1.2, July 2012

13 To review a claim, simply double-click on an entry in the list. This will display the expense claim in detail. Expense Claim awaiting approval Note that it is possible to review any receipts attached to the expense claim by clicking on the button with a paper clip on it (at the top of the screen). Use the Status drop-down to approve (or reject) a claim. Select Approved to approve the claim, and rejected to reject the claim (and press the green button with a tick on it to save the change). When you do this an is sent to the employee notifying them of your action. By default, once you have approved the expense claims they will be routed to a system user who will finalise the claims and pass them to payroll for payment. It is possible to disable this second level of approval. When this is done, expense claims will be finalised and passed for payment when you approve them. When you reject a claim it is returned to the employee for review. In this situation it is useful to add some comments to the Notes box to indicate the reason for rejecting the claim. They will then be able to rectify this and re-submit the claim. If there are minor issues with the expense claim you may be able to resolve them without rejecting the claim (by making changes to the details recorded in the screen). Note that this is not always enabled (some organisations will disable this option). There is also an option to enable managers to add expense claims for employees in their team. If this option is enabled, you will be able to create new expense claims for your employees by adding a new claim via the screen and selecting the employee using the magnifying glass in the Employee ID box. Complete the form in the normal way (by ticking the Submit box and saving). Page 13 of 14 Version 1.2, July 2012

14 Note that it is possible to view claims that have already been processed. To do this, click on the magnifying glass button and in the first drop-down, select the ESS Group Details Approved or ESS Group Details Finalised option and press the Execute button. Viewing claims that have been processed Second Level Approval Expense claims need to be finalised before they are paid. Expense claims are normally finalised by somebody in payroll or HR. This is also referred to as second-level approval. The process for secondlevel approval is not detailed in this document. It is also possible to configure the system so that when an expense claim is approved (by a manager) it is also finalised at the same time. This means than no second-level approval is required. When a claim is finalised, the employee is notified that this has happened (via ). Once this has happened, the expense claim can no longer be modified. If an expense claim is rejected by the second level approver it is returned to the employee for review. Once again, the employee is notified that this has happened (via ). Page 14 of 14 Version 1.2, July 2012