How to enter a Travel Authorization using Mobile Time and Expense

How to enter a Travel Authorization using Mobile Time and Expense

Document number: 17308

Travel Authorizations provide employees with a means to obtain manager pre-approval for estimated expenses. This information can then be used to enter an associated Expense Report. Employees from business units that have implemented My Wallet cannot use a Travel Authorization to populate their Expense Reports; they must use My Wallet.

Note: Expense Reports created using Mobile Time and Expense (MTE) can only be populated with MTE Travel Authorizations.

You can save time by using a template to create your Travel Authorization. For additional information, see Eureka! document 17307 — Customizing the MTE client.

In North America, Travel Authorizations are required for all internal, non-billable business travel and includes predicted costs, such as airfare, hotel rooms, and rental cars. Travel Authorizations can only be for one project ID. Multiple project IDs require multiple travel authorizations.

All US based employees are required to obtain manager pre-approval for internal, non-Billable business travel. If you are a new US based full-time PeopleSoft employee and this is the first time you have traveled, you will need to complete a Travel Profile.

Once you have completed your travel authorization, you must submit it for your manager's approval. You may still submit an expense report regardless of where or not the travel authorization has been approved. However, it is a manager's responsibility to ensure that denied travel authorizations are not turned into expense reports.

Before beginning a new Travel Authorization, make sure a recent refresh of Control Data, Projects and Localities has been completed. For additional information, see Eureka! document 17306 — How to refresh Control Data for Mobile Time and Expense. It is also strongly recommended that a Status Update is performed for all Travel Authorizations at this time. For additional information, see Eureka! document 17312 — How to check status with Mobile Time and Expense.

To enter a new Travel Authorization:

Log into Mobile Time and Expense (MTE). For additional information, see Eureka! document 17302 — How to log into Mobile Time and Expense.
Select F ile from the menu bar and select New... from the drop down list.
Click the radio button next to Travel Authorization and enter a brief description in the Travel Auth Description field. You will not be able to continue if you do not enter a description. A unique description must be used for each Travel Authorization.
Click OK.
The Default Accounting page will pop up prompting you for your accounting information. Enter your PC Business Unit, Project ID, and Activity ID by clicking the drop down list boxes. These fields are required.

The Resource type, resource category and resource subcategory will be blank and grayed out. The information for these last three fields will be provided by the online system after you submit your report.
Click OK.
Select a Business Purpose from the drop down list by clicking the down arrow.
Enter the Travel Date From and Date To by clicking on the down arrow to access the calendar icon. Once you have the calendar icon open you can use your mouse to point to the date you wish to enter.
For Travel Authorizations, the Travel Dates must be equal to or greater than today's date.
Select a Default Location by clicking on the down arrow to access the predefined list.
If your country is US, select the appropriate city as well. If your city is not listed, select US All Other Cities.
The Reference field is optional and may be used for identification notes.
For your first expense, click the down arrow in the Expense Type field and select the type of expense you need for your Travel Authorization.
Once the expense type is selected, click the Add button. Depending on the expense type you have chosen, additional required fields will appear.
Select the Method of Payment. Remember that company policy requires use of the corporate American Express card whenever possible.
Select the Billing Action of Nonbillable. The billing action will be checked against the project information when this is submitted to the online system.
Select the merchant name by checking the radio box beside either Preferred Merchant or Non-Preferred Merchant.

Preferred Merchant: Use the drop down list of Preferred Merchants.
Non-Preferred Merchant: Type the merchant name in the Non-Preferred Merchant field or select a merchant from your merchant list. You will also be required to provide a reason for not using a Preferred Merchant for some expense types.
For information on creating your own merchant lists, see Eureka! document 17307 — Customizing the Mobile Time and Expense client.

Select the Travel To and Travel From locations by using the drop down arrows for each field.
If your country is US, select the appropriate city as well. If your city is not listed, select US All Other Cities.
Enter an Estimated Dollar Amount.
Click the Enter button. The first expense row will now be populated.
To enter further expected expenses, follow the steps above for each expense type.
Once all expenses are entered, select File from the menu bar and select Save from the drop down list. If any of the required fields have not been completed, you will be prompted to complete those fields at this time.
After saving the Travel Authorization, select File from the menu bar and select Close from the drop down list.
To submit your Travel Authorization, select Online from the menu bar and select Submit Travel Authorization from the drop down list. You must be connected to the network to submit.
When the report has been submitted successfully, you will see the update in the Submission Results box.

You will receive a confirmation e-mail for the submitted report. If there were any submission or validation errors, your confirmation e-mail will state that the submission failed and provide you with the fields that are in error. You should then access the Travel Authorization report, correct those fields and resubmit the report. For additional information on correcting submission or validation errors, see Eureka! document 16808 — How to correct submission/validation errors on MTE Reports.

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