American Work Reporting for Post Travel (Core)

Transcription

1 AMERICAN EXPRESS CORPORATE TRAVEL American Work Reporting for Post Travel (Core) User Guide Prepared by: Global Product Development From American Express Last Revised: January 2004 Copyright 2003 American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved American Work and American are either registered Trademarks or trademarks of American Express Company in the United States and/or other countries.

2 Table of Contents Introduction... 3 Welcome... 3 Objectives... 3 Overview... 4 Getting Started... 4 Accessing American Work Reporting... 5 Work... 5 Logging in for the first time... 5 Work Reporting for the first time... 7 Regular Log In & Logging in after time out... 8 Selecting the product... 9 Entrance Page - Accessing Corporate Travel... 9 The Welcome Page...10 Generating Shared Reports...12 Shared Reports - selecting...12 Shared Reports - 3 categories...13 Shared Reports -selecting a report...14 Shared Reports - list view...14 Shared Reports - prompts overview...15 Shared Reports - selecting a prompt...16 Time Prompt - selecting a report period...17 Time Prompt - selecting multiple periods...18 Prompt: Time drilling down...19 Prompt Time - drilling up...19 Prompt: Account...20 Prompt: Currency...21 Prompt: User Defined Field...22 Operators...23 Operator - using In...23 Operator - using Not exactly...24 Additional Prompts...24 Summary of Selections...25 Executing a Report...26 Report Processing...27 History List...28 History List - accessing...28 History List - reviewing...29 History List - displaying report details...30 History List - refreshing...31 Error in report results...31 Error reports -removing...32 Shared Reports example...33 Shared Reports - drilling down...34 Shared Report - features...36 Re-prompting a report...36 Re-executing a report...36 Printing a report...36

3 Print Options...37 Exporting reports...39 Exporting reports saving...40 Exporting reports - plain text format...41 Exporting reports - CSV (Excel, Comma Separated Values) file format...41 Exporting reports to Excel, with formatting...41 Exporting reports to Excel without formatting...42 Exporting reports to HTML...42 Exporting reports with Plain Text Delimiter...42 Administrative Functions...43 Preferences...43 Preferences print...44 Preferences -export...46 Help...47 Help detail - example...47 Help Desk...47 Logging Out...48 Section II More Information on Operators Operators...49

4 Section I Using American Work Reporting Introduction Welcome This User s Guide is designed to take you through a step-by-step tour of the American Work Reporting Enhanced Version (Post Travel). Simply look for the symbol and follow the steps in numerical order and you should be able to generate, review and export reports with the minimum of ease. Notes and recommendations are provided throughout to assist you with the application. Objectives After reviewing this guide, you should be able to:! Login successfully! Re-set your login and password! Identify key components and features of each screen! Successfully generate a Shared Report! Identify the purpose and application of each shared report! Drill-down through multiple reporting periods! Apply prompts and specialized filters to reports! Export reports to Excel, HTML and Plain Text editors! Use the History List to monitor your reports! Understand key data field definitions! Access help! Know who to call for assistance

5 Overview American Work Reporting is an Internet based solution designed to meet your reporting needs. Developed to give you control over your travel data, American Work Reporting provides you the ability to effectively monitor travel costs and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of your vendor negotiations. American Work Reporting provides you with access to post-travel management reports 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, through a secure, password-protected Web environment. The data within American Work Reporting is updated daily, hours after transactions take place. This allows you to report on data without unnecessary delays. American Work Reporting offers concise easy to read standard reports that can be printed, graphed or exported to spreadsheets for easy modification and capabilities. And American Express servers process your reporting requests, which allows you to use your computer for other tasks while a report is running in the background. Enjoy working with American Work Reporting and please feel free to call our Help Desk at , option 2 should you have questions or require additional information. Getting Started Prior to accessing American Work Reporting for the first time we will provide you with a welcome package containing the necessary information to get you started. An will also be sent to your attention with the following login information:! The American Work Reporting URL.! Steps on logging in, which are also described on the next page.! A confidential Access Code.

6 Accessing American Work Reporting Work # To launch American Work Reporting, type: in your browser s window. # Under the Manage Your Account section, click on Login to American Work log In to American Work Reporting. Note: For quick and easy reference, we recommend you save the URL under Favorites in Internet Explorer or Bookmark in Netscape Navigator. Logging in for the first time! Click on Register Now to commence the Log In process.

7 Selecting your User ID And Password 1. Select your personal User ID by following the screen prompts. 2. Select your password by following the screen prompts. 3. Choose one of the Secret Questions by clicking on the down-arrow. (This will enable you to reset your Password in the event you forget it). 4. Type the response to the secret question and click on Continue.

8 Work Reporting for the first time The last step of the initial log in is to complete the following steps. 1. Type in your secret phrase when originally signing up for American Reporting. 2. Key in your birth month and day. 3. Type in the Access Code provided in the sent to you by American Express. 4. Click on Enter American Work Reporting to continue.

9 Regular Log In & Logging in after time out # As a security feature, the system automatically logs off after ten minutes of server inactivity. Simply re-type your User ID and Password and click on GO to resume.

10 Selecting the product! On the Welcome screen, select Choose One and Core Entrance Page - Accessing Corporate Travel # On the Entrance Page # Select Corporate Travel and the Welcome page (next exhibit) will display. # The Entrance Page, which is considered the home page, can be accessed from virtually any screen in American Work Reporting by clicking on Entrance Page.

11 The Welcome Page! The Welcome Page highlights the four areas you will be working in.! Simply click on the icon or name to proceed. Note the Welcome message with a six-digit number beside it. This is a recipient ID number, which identifies you on the American Express server. Help desk analysts, for research purposes, may occasionally request it from you. Shared Reports: The standard travel reports provide access to your organization s consolidated travel data. Please refer to page 13 for complete details on how to generate the reports. The reports are designed to:! Identify opportunities to reduce costs.! Identify opportunities to change or modify behaviors and encourage cost savings.! Identify areas of potential change based on opportunities identified.

12 My Reports: This option is currently not available. Please ignore. History List: History list provides details on the status of each report generated. Please refer to page 28 for complete details. Preferences: Preferences provides the opportunity to change basic defaults within the application. Please refer to page 43 for compete details.

13 Generating Shared Reports The next few pages explain in detail how to select the reports, request parameters for each report, and eventually print and export. We have used several reports to illustrate our examples, however for purposes of learning we suggest you select any report of your choice and work through the process outlined in the following pages. By following the steps in the guide you ll be surprised how easy it is to use American Work Reporting! Let s Get Started by clicking on the following prompts: Shared Reports - selecting! To commence generating a shared report click on the icon or Shared Reports.

14 Shared Reports - 3 categories American Work Reporting categorizes reports into 3 distinct areas: 1. Financial Management These reports are designed to help you review spending patterns and identify opportunities for savings and control. Management summary reports identify spending for air, hotel, and car suppliers. 2. Program Management The reports are designed to monitor travel policy compliance. 3. Supplier Management The reports are designed to help you analyze opportunities when negotiating air, hotel, and car programs. # Select one of three categories available by clicking on the report name or folder icon. Note: The you are here prompt highlights the displayed page. The Logout prompt is featured on most pages. For security and confidentiality we recommend you logout when not using American Work Reporting.

15 Shared Reports - selecting a report 1. To select a report click on the report page icon, or the report name. 2. The page layout can be changed by selecting List View under View Mode. (See exhibit below). Shared Reports - list view

16 ! To generate a report, proceed by selecting one, some or all of the following prompts: Time, Account, Currency, and User Defined Field. Shared Reports - prompts overview! Time is a mandatory prompt and must be selected when generating a report.! Note: Some reports have prompts in addition to the standard prompts of Time, Account, Currency and User Defined Field. In this exhibit, there is an O&D count, which is specific to O&D reports only.

17 Shared Reports - selecting a prompt! To begin the reporting process, click on 1 beside time. The time option is required in all reports. Note: Related reports (listed under logout) may be selected by clicking on the report name.

18 Time Prompt - selecting a report period (required) # Time is the only required prompt. This category provides you the opportunity to run a report for a year, a quarter, a month, a week, a series of days or a day. # To select a report period: 1. Highlight the year of data you wish to run. 2. Click on the right-arrow to move the date to My selections. 3. To remove a selected date, highlight the field in My selections and click on the left-arrow. 4. Multiple periods can be moved to My selections. See next page for more information. Note: To remove a selected date, highlight the field in My selections and click on the left-arrow.

19 Time Prompt - selecting multiple periods # To compare reporting periods, multiple dates can be moved to My selections. See next exhibit, which explains how to drill-down and report on multiple periods. With most reports, selecting two or more values the report will display comparison information. Your selection should be limited to like data element comparisons: month-to-month, quarter-to-quarter or year-toyear. In this exhibit we moved Invoice Years 2000 and 2001 into the My selections box. When viewing the report we will see data for each year listed separately. However, there are five reports where this principle does not apply. W1002MT Travel Market Summary W1060MT Top Travelers W2080MT O&D Destination W2082MT O&D Origin W3000MT Hotel Property When selecting 2 or more periods with these reports, the information will appear as combined or consolidated. When selecting 2000 and 2001, the values displayed will be consolidated and not listed by year.

20 Prompt: Time drilling down Drilling down allows you to report on a specified period of time. The time prompt automatically defaults to Invoice Year. By drilling down, you can report on a Quarter, Month or Day of data # To drill-down to Invoice Quarter: 1. Click on the drop-down arrow next to the Attribute box to view the options 2. Select Invoice Quarter. 3. Click on Go (Do not move to My selections). 4. The quarters for the data you have available to show. 5. You can do the same for Invoice Month and Date. Prompt Time - drilling up Much like drilling down, you can drill-up through date periods. Simply follow the above instructions in reverse.

21 Prompt: Account (Optional) # The Account prompt is required for organizations that have two or more Client IDs. Assigned by American Express, the client ID is a 6-character code representing your organization s data. This prompt is also used by organizations using account numbers. Both Client IDs and Account numbers are provided in your Welcome Package. Note: The following steps are required for organizations that have 2 or more Client IDs. In our example, the five Client IDs listed are DEMOC0, DEMOC2, DEMOC3, DEMOC4, DEMOC5. 1. Highlight Client (2) Client (2) is accessed by companies that have multiple client ids. 2. Click on Go to step Highlight the Client ID in the elements box. 4. Click on the right-arrow to move into My Selections. 5. Click on Next to proceed to the next step or on Execute to run the report. Note: For organizations using account numbers, select Account No and follow the same process.

22 Prompt: Currency (Optional) Currency may be selected when requesting a report in a currency other than US dollars. This optional prompt applies to all reports.! All data is in United States currency. To select a report using another currency: 1. Click on Go to step Highlight the desired currency. Note how currencies are listed by currency name and not by the country of the currency. 3. Click on the move arrow. 4. Click on Next if you want to add a User Defined Field. If not, click on Execute to run the report. Note: Currency exchange rates are based on the rate of the day the travel invoice was originally generated.

23 Prompt: User Defined Field (Optional) # User Defined Fields are data fields containing information mapped from the UDID or Statement Information fields used in the reservation process. UDID and Statement fields normally contain information specific to your company such as Cost Centers, Divisions, Departments, Budget Codes etc. A representative from American Express will discuss with you what User Defined fields are applicable.! To add a User Defined Field: 1. Select the specific User Defined field. In this example we have selected User Defined Click on Go to step Click on Qualify. 4. Beside the Operator box click on the down-arrow. 5. Select the operator. In this example we selected Exactly. 6. Type in the value. In this example we want to generate a report for the sales department, so we typed in SALES. 7. Click on the right-arrow to move the value to the My selections box. 8. Proceed to the next step or Execute the report.

24 Operators! Operators are used to highlight specific or groups of data fields. For detailed information, please refer to page 49.! To illustrate the application of operators we have selected In and Exactly/Not Exactly which are commonly used. Operator - using In A list of values can be created by using the operator In. This example shows a list of departments, (sales, administration and executive). Trip detail for these three departments only, will show on the report. Note: Values are separated by semi-colons.

25 Operator - using Not exactly! Using the operator Not Exactly requests a report showing all data except for the value(s) selected. In this example the report shows all departments except Sales. Additional Prompts! Some reports exceed the standard four prompts. Click on the downarrow to access additional prompts.! To return to prompts 1-5 click on the up-arrow.

26 Summary of Selections (Optional)! The Summary of selections summarizes the parameters of the report. Clicking on this field is entirely optional, however it is useful if you want to review the prompts selected prior to executing your report. 1. Prompt 1 defines the Time period selected for the report. 2. Prompt 2 identifies the Client Account number selected. In this case an account was not selected. Note: prompt not answered. 3. Prompt 3 identifies the Currency selected. In this case the report defaults to US Dollars. 4. Prompt 4 identifies the User Defined Field selected, the operator (=) and the value, SALES. Sales was selected to report of Sale department activity. This field was mapped from the UDID or Statement Information field used in the reservation process.

27 Executing a Report After completing the prompts simply click on Execute Report to generate your request. Note: Report generation may take a matter of seconds, minutes or even hours. Time to generate a report may be contingent on the amount of data requested. The demand placed on the servers will also dictate how quickly reports are processed. During a period of high usage, where there is a large demand for reports, processing time may be increased. We strongly suggest that you generate reports several hours in advance. For instance, if a number of reports are required for a morning meeting we suggest requesting them the night before. Once the prompts have been selected, click on Execute Report to display the report. Previous returns to the previous page. Cancel aborts the report.

28 Report Processing After clicking on Execute Report the following screen appears. This screen simply serves as a prompt advising you that the report is processing. At this time you can go to the history list, or work in other applications running on your computer ! Once the report is executed the screen automatically refreshes every thirty seconds. 1. Check Status Again refreshes the report request. 2. Go to My History List displays the history list page, which provides the status of requested reports. 3. Cancel this Request aborts the processing of the report.

29 History List! History List provides details on the status of each report generated. A maximum of 30 reports will appear. When the report list exceeds 30, the oldest report on the list will purge. The list can be displayed by using one of the following prompts: History List - accessing The list which shows the status of each report, can be accessed by clicking on: 1. Go to My History List from the Report Processing screen, or 2. By clicking on History List which is listed at the top of virtually all screens or 3. By clicking on the icon or History List on the Welcome page.

30 History List - reviewing! When displayed, the History List advises you of the status of each report To display the report executed, click on the name of the report or the page icon. 2. The Status column identifies where the report is in the processing cycle. 3. Use the status key to determine where your report is: Processing identifies reports being processed by the SQL Server. Error identifies reports that were not successfully processed because of server related issues, filters in reports that were built incorrectly, or reports that were purged from the history list. Ready indicates the report has been processed and ready to display. 4. The Created column indicates the date and time the report was created. Note: All times are Mountain Time. 5. The Updated column indicated the date and time the report was either modified or re-ran. Note: All times are Mountain Time. 6. Clicking on the i provides detailed information on the report. See next page for more details. 7. Clicking in the square under Remove deletes a report from the list.

31 History List - displaying report details! Displaying report details provides vital information on each element of the report. Prior to calling the help desk with a report related question, please access this information as the analyst may require it when addressing your request. 1. Click on History List returns you to the History List. 2. Click on Report name to return to the actual report. 3. Filter details lists the prompts applied to the report. In this case we requested the report for March Template details highlights each data field used in the report. 5. Prompt details outlines the prompts used in the report. In this case the Time prompt was activated.

32 History List - refreshing To review the current status of pending items on the history list, click on Refresh My History List. Please do not use Clear My History List. Error in report results! Periodically an error in report results will appear. This is usually a server related issue. Reports will also error out when they are removed from cache. Cache is a temporary storage for the data in a report. When a report is run, American Work Reporting must access a database in order to obtain the data for the report. The data results are stored in cache. If the report is run again, and the report is still in cache, then it will be retrieved immediately and displayed. However reports may be removed from cache anywhere from 48 to 72 hours after the report has been run because of server maintenance and/or updates. The result is that the report may be in the History List, but may no longer be in the cache, resulting in Error in reports results when the report is displayed. To avoid losing your work, we suggest that you immediately print or export the report.

33 Error reports - removing! To remove the error report,! Click on continue or! Return to the history list and remove the report. (See below).

34 Shared Reports example! When a report has been executed and successfully processed, the results will display on your screen as illustrated below. In this example we are reviewing the W1020MT-Travel Manager Summary Ticketing report.! Key components of a report include: 1. Name and Filter Details. Each report is identified by a name and number. Filters applied to the report are identified. In this report, the date filter was requested. 2. Last Update: The date indicated is the day and time the report was generated. The time reflects Mountain Time Zone. The icons represent additional functionality. 3. Metrics In this example the rows of information are referred to as Metrics. Metrics are data fields that contain values, such as amounts, prices, totals, and percentages. 4. Currency is always in US Dollars unless specified when building the report. Note: Values in parenthesis ( ) represent refund transactions. 5. Multiple dates. In this report, two days were requested allowing for easy period comparisons. Note: dates are in the month/day/year format.

35 Shared Reports - drilling down! Drilling down through a report provides vital information. Clicking on the + beside each data fields displays the additional detail. The W2020MT O&D Carrier with Market Pair and Fare report best exhibits this functionality..! To display additional detail in a report, click on the + beside the data field. (See next exhibit).

36 ! In this exhibit air itinerary information is displayed for Air Canada. Note how the report shows expanded data under the heading Non Directional Market Pair.! Clicking on the + beside SFO-YYC displays more detail as illustrated below. Note how the Fare Basis Type information is now displayed. # Clicking on the - prompt closes detail and returns the report to its original format.

37 Shared Report - features! After executing a report you can: 1. Re-prompt the report 2. Re-execute the report 3. Print the report 4. Export the report Re-prompting a report! Clicking on Re-prompt takes you back to the produce a report mode where you can modify all prompts within the report. Re-executing a report! Re-executing the report re-sends the report for processing. This feature may be applicable if and when your data has been updated by American Express. Printing a report! To print a report, simply click on the printer icon.! Row:10 and Columns: 6 identify the size of the report.

38 Print Options 1. Use the default report settings or select Custom Settings to enter you own desired header and footer information. 2. Adjust the font size, or select the fit to page option. 3. You have the option of printing a cover page. It defaults to print one. 4. Select Show advanced options for more options. 5. When printing reports we recommend that the orientation remain landscape. This allows for more columns on the page. 6. Click on the down-arrow to access the preferred paper size option. 7. Select your desired margins. 8. To print the report, click on Show Printable Version, and then click on the printer icon in your browser tool bar.

39 Printed reports cover page 1 2 3! Illustration of a report cover page: 1. Header Hotel Sales Report as typed in the header box. (See exhibit above). 2. Filter details prints the prompts used in the report. 3. Footer US Dollar was typed in the footer box. Note: The cover page generates only when selecting Print Filter Details At the beginning of the printing set.

40 Exporting reports # In addition to printing, Shared Reports can be exported to one of 6 file formats. Exporting to a spreadsheet for example allows for easy modification, graphing and ing Click on the Export icon. 2. When the export page appears, select Whole report (recommended) or Portion displayed only. 3. Select the export format. The default is excel with plain text. (Samples of each type start on page 40). 4. Export metric values as text. 5. Export headers as text. 6. Export filter details. We suggest the box remain checked as it prints the report s filter details. 7. Click on Export to send your report to the spreadsheet requested.

41 Exporting reports saving 1. Click on Save in the File download screen. Note: If you click on Open, and you use Windows/NT, Microsoft Excel will open in your browser. Therefore you must use the Back button on your browser to return to the report. If you use Windows 2000, Microsoft Excel will open in a separate window. 2. Type in the file name. We suggest including the name of the report and applicable filter information such as the invoice period. 3. Click on open to review the exported report.

42 Exporting reports - plain text format Exporting reports - CSV (Excel, Comma Separated Values) file format Exporting reports to Excel, with formatting

43 Exporting reports to Excel without formatting Exporting reports to HTML Exporting reports with Plain Text Delimiter

44 Administrative Functions Preferences! Preferences may be changed to enhance use of the application. Print and Export may be changed, however, we recommend that you consult American Express prior to changing General, Grid display, Graph display, Prompts and Logout.

45 Preferences print 1. Header and Footer: Within the report, headers and footers can be created. Click on (edit) to set up. 2. Scaling: Reports may be resized by adjusting the font size or fitting an extended report to one page. 3. Print Cover Page: A report cover page is printed when the box is checked. 4. Show advanced options: Advanced printing options may be set. See exhibit on page Click on Show Printable Version to see how the report will appear prior to printing.

46 Printing: Show advanced options Show advanced options provides additional features when printing a report. 1. When printing reports we recommend that the orientation remain Landscape. This allows for more columns to print on the page. 2. Click on the down-arrow beside Paper size to access a preferred paper size option Much like a word processing document, margins and header/footers may be increased or decreased in size.

47 Preferences - export! Export functionality may be changed to a preferred Excel format, CSV, HTML or Plain text.! Examples of exported files can be found starting on page 41.

48 Help! Help can be accessed from virtually any page in American Work Reporting.! Help summaries are specific to the page you are working on. In this example, clicking on What are Shared Reports?, provides the following detail: Help detail - example Help Desk! American Express offers a team of highly skilled travel experts who are pleased to offer you assistance with American Work Reporting.! Should you require assistance, please call our help desk in Monday - Friday between 8:00 am and 7:00 pm, Eastern Time.

49 Logging Out! To logout simply click on the red Logout icon situated on each page.! Activating Do not prompt me again will inhibit the You are about to log out from all projects screen from appearing when logging out.! Important Note: For reasons of security and confidentiality we recommend that you logout when finished using American Work Reporting.

50 Section II More Information on Operators Operators Operators are used to apply filters to a report. In the definitions below, our hypothetical examples illustrate how to apply operators to User Defined Fields when reporting on Cost Centers and Divisional data. The application of Operators is outlined under Adding a user-defined field. Operators are generally applied to dollar amounts, counts and averages. Between The operator between is used to restrict a report to data within a range of values. Example: Cost Center between 0001; Result: Data for all cost centers between (and including) 0001 and 0005 will display on the report. Not between The opposite of between, this operator will not pull data within a range of values. Example: Cost Center not between 0001;0005 Result: Data for all cost centers except for 0001, 0002, 0003, 0004, 0005 will display on the report. Exactly This operator is used to limit the information to a specified data item, such as a particular traveler, division, airline, vendor, etc. Example: Cost Center exactly 0005 Result: Only data for Cost Center 0005 will appear on the report. Not exactly The opposite of exactly, this operator will display information for all data items except for the one specified. Example: Cost Center not exactly 0005 Result: Data for all cost centers will appear except for 0005 Greater than This operator restricts a report to items in a data field that are greater than a specified value. Example: Cost Center greater than 0005 Result: Data for all cost centers starting at 0006 will appear on the report

51 Greater than or equal to This operator restricts a report to items in a data field that are greater than or equal to a specified value. Example: Cost Center greater than or equal to 0005 Result: Data for all cost centers greater than and including 0005 will appear on the report. Less than This operator restricts a report to items in a data field that are less than the specified value. Example: Cost Center less than 0005 Result: Data for cost centers 0001, 0002, 0003, 0004 will appear on the report. Less than or equal to This operator restricts a report to items in a data field that are less than or equal to the specified value. Example: Cost Center less than equal to 0005 Result: Data for cost centers 0001, 0002, 0003, 0004 and 0005 will appear on the report. Like using * * This operator produces a report with specific values contained within a particular field. Example: Cost Center Like *5* Result: Data for all cost centers containing a 5 will appear on the report. i.e.: cost center 0005, 0015, 0500 etc. Note: The * serves as a wildcard and must be used at all times. % can be used in place of the *. Not Like using * * This operator produces a report with specific values that are not contained within a particular field. Example: Cost Center Not Like *5* Result: Data for all cost centers that do not contain 5 will appear on the report. Note: The * serves as a wildcard and must be used at all times. % can be used in place of the *.

52 Like using * This operator produces a report with fields starting with a particular value. Example: Cost Center Like 5* Result: Data for all cost centers starting with 5 will appear on the report. i.e.: cost center 501, 502, 503 etc. Note: The * serves as a wildcard and must be used at all times. % can be used in place of the *. Not Like using * This operator produces a report with fields that are not starting with a particular value. Example: Cost Center Not Like 5* Result: Data for all cost centers that do not start with 5 will appear on the report. Note: The * serves as a wildcard and must be used at all times. % can be used in place of the *. In This operator is used to limit data by processing a list containing several specific items. Example: Cost Center In (0002;0003;0004) Result: Data for Cost Centers 0002, 0003, 0004 will appear on the report. Note: The data elements are separated by a semi-colon.