Frequently Asked Questions concerning ERS

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1 Frequently Asked Questions concerning ERS What is ERS? ERS is Parker s new Web-based electronic expense report system. It s IBM s latest expense reporting product. ERS refers to Electronic Report Solution. Why are we changing systems? ERS contains almost all of the enhancements requested by Parker s EER users and eliminates the Lotus Notes maintenance required with EER. How do I access ERS? ERS is located in the Business Tools section of Parker On Line (POL). Does ERS use Lotus Notes? Lotus Notes is used for sending information s only. The expense reports are not routed via Lotus Notes. The ERS system does not link to the Parker Address Book on the server or locally. The system uses the traveler s Internet address (for example, jtraveler@parker.com). Replication and indexing of the Parker Address Book is no longer required in order to sustain the expense report system. ERS sends s to the manager when a report is to be reviewed, to the traveler if the report is rejected, and with payment and receipt confirmation. Most s contain the Web link directly to the ERS system. Laptop ERS users can proceed with taking full advantage of the Lotus Notes Ver 5 Mobile Address Directory. Using the Mobile Address Directory instead of the Parker Address Book saves replication time. Please refer to your Notes support for more information concerning the Mobile Address Directory. What do I do first? Open ERS and complete the New User Registration. The system will validate your registration information and send the traveler his/her ERS password via . Can I still register if my manager is not in the approver list? Yes. The system will let the traveler bypass selecting a manager on the registration screen. If the traveler does not locate his/her manager on the approver list, they should continue but remind his/her manager to access ERS and register. The traveler must return to the registration screen and add an approver prior to submitting his/her first expense report. Can I change the password assigned by ERS to something else? Yes. ERS contains an option within the Profile which allows the user to change his/her password. This option is not on the original registration screen. Open ERS using the systemprovided password and then click on the Profile button located at the top of the ERS Workspace Queue screen. Can I enter the ERS system directly from an ? Yes. Click on the Web link provided in the review or rejection .

2 Can I work disconnected from the server? Yes. Refer to the ERS Working Offline instruction provided for initial setup and details concerning working offline in ERS. Should I access ERS via the Web server first and then disconnect? When the traveler accesses ERS on the server, the system automatically updates the user s local ERS software with the latest tables and card data information. That way the traveler can switch to work offline and work with the most current information. Can I submit or approve an expense report offline? No. A report can only be saved as a draft offline. The user must be connected to the network to submit, approve, or reject an expense report. What if I lose my Internet connection while working on an expense report? ERS will automatically save the report as a draft on local if a disconnect occurs. The traveler will not lose the expense report. How do I start a new expense report? Click the New button at the top of the ERS screen and start your first report. How do I know where my expense report stands in the review/payment process? From the ERS Workspace Queue screen, a Status button is located at the top of the screen. Click on the expense report in question and then click on Status. The user will see the routing of the expense report and applied dates. Also, the Status column in the Workspace Queue will indicate if the report has been submitted, rejected, approved, paid or completed. How are the expense reports identified? The traveler gives each expense report a name (for example, April 2001 IBM Visit). Travelers and managers identify the report by the traveler s name and report name. The system gives each report a unique identification number. This number remains with the report thoughout the life cycle of that report. This number also prints on the transmittal sheet. This is how the ERS system identifies the report to the receipt package. This number remains consistent even if a change is made after the transmittal sheet is printed. What s a transmittal sheet? This is a summary of the expense report containing a bar code. It is printed upon submitting the report to the manager. The transmittal sheet is included in the receipt package and sent to Cleveland General Accounting upon receiving the payment notice via .

3 Does the system always print a transmittal sheet? No. A transmittal sheet does not print if : - the traveler indicates all receipts are missing - the report does not contain an expense of $25.00 or more - the report only contains mileage What happens if I don t send in the receipt package? ERS will prepay one expense report without receipts. If receipts are not sent within 10 days, a notice will be sent to the traveler. ERS will not pay a second report until the first report s receipts are received. What do I send the receipts in? Receipts must be sent to Cleveland General Accounting using a ERS green expense report envelope. Each expense report should be sent in a separate envelope so that the bar code appears in the envelope window. Envelopes can be ordered via Catalogs@parker.com requesting form ps750. Receipts are sent to Cleveland General Accounting unless indicated otherwise by the traveler s manager. What is the General tab on ERS? This tab on the ERS system turns on different functions of the expense reporting system such as Charge To, Outside Continental US locations and exchange rates, Spousal Travel expense types, Non-Travel shortcuts and Relocation expenses. Each option offers a description upon selection. What is the Card Data tab on ERS? This lists the traveler s GE Corporate credit card activity. The traveler can use this tab to access his/her card data, select an item, and apply that item to the expense report. Dates and expense types can be changed. Card data can be removed from the screen and not applied to an expense report by selecting the item and clicking the Delete button located to the right. That item will be flagged as deleted and removed from the traveler s view when the report is submitted and approved by the manager. What is the Expenses tab on ERS? The traveler uses this tab to enter out-of-pocket expenses. What is the Completion tab on ERS? This tab shows the traveler which receipts are required, a summary of the expense report, a special Accounting screen (if this option is selected on the General tab) and a submit, approve, second approval, or reject screen. If the traveler is government-compliant, the labor exception reporting and unallowable activity information appears at this screen.

4 How does ERS handle government-compliant travelers differently than non-governmentcompliant travelers? First, this indicator resides on the traveler s profile and is based on the traveler s department number. The system validates the department number, and government indicator before the traveler submits his/her registration. Should the traveler s department number change, the government indicator will automatically adjust to the new department number s government status. Government-compliant travelers must complete a per diem city for each date on the expense report. Also, unallowable activity is referenced on the Submit screen within the Completion tab. A labor exception report option is also available on this screen. The ERS system offers the government-compliant traveler a Non-Travel option on the General Screen. This option removes the lodging expense from the report. By removing the lodging expense, the system also removes the per diem city requirement. This report type is to be used for non-lodging reports only. Once this option is selected, the user can not add a lodging expense. Non-government-compliant travelers do not need to complete a per diem city screen nor do they receive a reference to unallowable expenses or labor reports. The report appears in a List format. Why? The ERS system offers the option to work in a List or Grid format. The default is set to the List view as this view offers the most detail on one screen. The Grid view is available by clicking on the Grid button at the top of the screen. To return to the List view, click on the List button. Can I rearrange this data on the screen? Sure. To rearrange the columns, place the cursor on the title of that column and drag the column to the desired location. The columns can also be resized by clicking on the right side and moving left or right. The data within the column can be sorted by clicking on the column header. Can I customize tables on ERS? ERS allows the traveler to customize some tables such as city, restaurant, business meal attendees, and Charge To dept/project names and numbers. Can I combine expenses? No. List each expense separately except for items placed in Ground Transportation. Are there new expense types on ERS? Yes. We ve added Cell Phone, Employee Recognition, and Room Tax. Lodging bills must break out room from room tax. How do I know what type of expense to place where? Most expense types are self-explanatory. The ERS Help text includes an Appendix which includes descriptions of each expense type. Also noted are the expense types which require a comment and those to which a credit may be applied.

5 Can I enter credits on this system? Yes. Credits can be applied to most expenses. Simply place a negative sign (-) before the amount. Credits can be place against the employee s reimbursement or applied to the employee s corporate credit card. How are international expense entered? Select International or Outside Continental US from the ERS Grid view. International items are entered in the original currency with an exchange rate applied. The system will warn the traveler if the rate entered is out-of-range. This is simply a warning. The report may continue to process with an out-of-range rate. The manager is notified when this occurs. The most efficient way to enter foreign currency is to use the Card Data tab. Are Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico considered domestic or international travel? ERS used the government tables directly from the US Government Per Diem website. The government has placed these three locations with international as they are outside the continental US. By selecting the International or Outside Continental US option on the General tab, the user can apply a foreign country, Alaska, Hawaii or Puerto Rico as their Per Diem location. The ERS software will allow the user to select a location from the International list without requiring foreign currency be applied. However, it is recommended that our users enter all expenses in the original currency and apply the applicable exchange rate. Card Data is especially helpful to use with international travel as each expense contains the currency source and exchange rate information and is automatically applied. What if I don t see the correct city or country on the Per Diem screen? If the travel is domestic, select CONUS (continental US) as the State and ALL PLACES NOT LISTED as the city. This will default to the standard rate. If the travel is international, select ALL PLACES NOT LISTED, in lieu of the missing country. Should the country be listed but not the applicable city, select the correct country and the select OTHER on the city table. Refer to the Help text for more detailed instructions. How do I save my report as a draft? A Save button is located on the top of each screen. Simply click on this button to save. The user can choose to save the report to local or server by selecting Save to Local Disk or Save to Server from the File menu. The Save button defaults to the current system. Files saved to local contain an asterisk (*) before the name. Can I print the report prior to submitting? Yes. Click on the Print button and the system will offer several options. The user can even select Print Preview for an online look at the report. A hard copy can also be printed without exiting the report. Are the new GE airline procedures incorporated into ERS? Yes. Each airline ticket will default to a Prepaid payment option. Other options are available on out-of-pocket expenses by clicking on the payment down arrow. No explanation is required for choosing Prepaid.

6 Can I enter a note/comment? Yes. A Notes button is located at the top of the ERS screen. A note can be applied to any expense at any time. Notes remain through the life cycle of the expense report. Managers can also add notes to the expense report. I just submitted my expense report by mistake. Can I retrieve the report before my manager reviews it? Yes. The traveler can pull back a report before the manager reviews it. Select the report from the Workspace Queue and select Cancel from the Edit menu. This removes the report from the managers view and provides the traveler with the ability to update the report. What does the manager see on the expense report? The manager receives a Review screen which highlights any item that exceeds a tolerance level or contains a condition which recommends a review. The manager should highlight the item to review and then click on the Details button located at the bottom of the screen. All details entered by the traveler pertaining to that expense will appear. Can the manager change or update a traveler s expense report? No. Only the traveler can update an expense report. The manager can only reject or approve. Managers can not delete an expense report from the process. What happens if the manager rejects the report? The manager is given a screen to add his/her rejection comments. The traveler receives an e- mail notice with an ERS link. Upon opening the ERS system and selecting the rejected report from the Workspace Queue, the rejection note appears. The traveler must resubmit the report. Remember that the report identification number will not change even if the report is updated. How soon will my payment be processed? ERS will provide a nightly payment file to Accounts Payable. Travelers with direct deposit receive their funds in 48 hours. Those not on direct deposit will received their funds in their next payroll check. Please be aware of a one week cutoff prior to the pay cycle. This may be extended during holiday periods. Parker process weekly payments to GE along with an additional payment prior to cutoff. Where do I go for ERS support? ERS uses can contact the Parker Help Desk in Cleveland at or contact their division/group support. In most cases this will be the person who performed your training class. A detailed Help text and ERS tutorial are available within ERS via POL.