Entering expense reports

After you incur an expense, follow these steps to fill out a report. Note that some of the steps do not apply if you are filling out a materials or education report.

To fill out an expense report

Do one of the following to access the Create Expense Report screen.

When you log in, select Create an expense report from the Go to dropdown list.
From the upper-left corner of any application screen, click Expense > Expense Report > Create.
From any expense report screen, click the Create Expense Report tab.

If you have more than one vendor number, a Vendor Number and Currency dropdown list appears at the top of the screen, and you must make a selection in order to create a report. Select the appropriate vendor number and its corresponding currency from the dropdown list.
Do one of the following.

To create an expense report for an approved pre-authorization request, find the request in the upper list, then click Create to the left of the request.
To create an expense report from a form that does not require a pre-authorization, find the form in the lower list, then click Create to the left of the form.

The Edit Expense Report screen appears. The fields available on this screen vary. The steps below describe the most common fields.

Hint: As you enter amounts on your expense report, e-xpense automatically calculates totals for date columns, expense category rows, the entire expense report, and the total due.

Enter a brief description of the activity for which you incurred expenses.
If you wish, you can enter a detailed, longer description in addition to the brief, required one that you entered above.
Depending on your administrator's settings, the report number (user-defined label) either defaults to the system’s next available number, or it is blank. If it’s blank, you must enter a report number. If you do not know the number to enter, ask your e-xpense administrator.
If the currency does not default, or if it does but it is editable and you want to change it, you can enter a currency or click to the right of the field to look it up.
If you are entering a travel report, then Trip Auth No. and Trip No. fields appear. If this expense form requires pre-authorization, then both trip fields default from the request if you made entries there, and you cannot change them here even if they are blank. If this form does not require pre-authorization, then you can make entries in these fields.
Complete the following steps for the first date on which you incurred expenses.

In the Date field, enter the date on which you incurred expenses. You can enter a date manually. You can also click to the right of the field to select a date from a calendar.
The expense form’s setup determines whether a Location Code field appears. If so, and if you entered a location code on the pre-authorization request, it defaults onto the expense report. You can make a new entry or change the default to identify the area from which you want to obtain per diem rates. Click to the right of the field to look up a location code.
For a location code that is already on the report, you can review location details like per diem rates by clicking to the far right of the field.
If there is a Per Diem button, click it if you want e-xpense to use the combination of the date and location code that you entered to fill in the cost for each applicable category row. If you enter the same date for more than one column (which may not be permitted, depending on your administrator's settings), then e-xpense fills in costs only for the first column and leaves the rest blank. Note that the expense form’s setup determines whether e-xpense defaults rates for lodging, for M&IE categories, or for both.

If you are entering a travel report for a form that is set up to allow multiple reports for one trip, then the Get Default Per Diem dialog box appears when you click the Per Diem button. Click the Overwrite existing per diem fields check box if you wish to overwrite any values that you have already entered in fields where per diem rates apply, or leave this check box blank if you want e-xpense to fill in per diem rates only for applicable fields that are blank. If the dialog box also asks you whether the first column is the first day of the trip or if the last column is the last day of the trip, click whichever check boxes apply. When you are finished, click OK to get per diem rates.
Make entries in each row that applies to your expense. Depending on the category, your entries can be monetary amounts such as meals, items you describe in words such as the name of an airline, times such as meeting time, or non-monetary numbers. If necessary, you can change values that defaulted from the per diem rates. e-xpense may validate your monetary entries.

Hint: You can use the scroll arrow buttons to move up, down, left, or right among the expense report's cells.
You can click to the right of a cell to do one of the following.

Enter additional information for the cell.
If it is a mileage category, calculate the mileage amount.

Repeat step 9 for each date on which you incurred expenses. If you incurred expenses on more than seven dates, click New Week to add seven more blank date columns. You can use the Previous and Next buttons to move between weeks of your expense report. Note that you must enter data for all seven columns before you can click New Week.

You can enter different location codes for different dates. Keep in mind, however, that if you click Per Diem after you have already changed defaulted per diem rates for any date, e-xpense changes the fields back to the per diem rates.

Hint: You can enter the number of dates to which you want to copy, then click Copy. e-xpense copies the amounts from the last date for which you made entries into the fields for the new dates. You can modify the data as necessary. Note that e-xpense does not copy any distributions that you created for cells.
An amount appears in the Unallowable Cost row for each day that contains an unallowable entry. You can click in the Unallowable Cost row to view each category that has an unallowable for that day, the category’s unallowable amount, and the total unallowable amount for the day.

Your administrator’s settings determine whether Job Number and/or Cost Element (user-defined labels) fields appear in the Unallowable Information area at the bottom of the screen. Values may default into these fields, and you may or may not be able to change the defaults. If a value doesn’t default for either field, then you may be required to enter one in order to submit the report.

If either field is editable, you can select from the Job Number dropdown list or click to the right of the Cost Element field to perform a lookup. e-xpense charges all unallowable amounts on the expense report to this job number and/or cost element.
Create one or more expense distributions for the report.
If you have already received payments:

An amount may appear in the display-only Less Company Paid field.
You can enter an amount in the Less Advance Payment field. e-xpense defaults the amount from the pre-authorization request if you entered one there, and you can change it in this report. Note that depending on your administrator's settings, some forms may not allow you to enter an advance amount.

e-xpense deducts these amounts from the total that you will be reimbursed.

You can also indicate that you received an advance payment by cash or check.

Click Save to save the report.
At any point while viewing your expense report, you can use a number of tools to review relevant information.
When you are ready to submit your report, do the following.

If you are submitting a travel report for a request that allows multiple reports, then a Close Request check box appears at the bottom of the screen. If this is the final report for this trip, click this check box to close the pre-authorization request on which it is based. Note that you can close the request after you submit the report if you need to.
If you are submitting a travel report for a form that is set up to allow multiple reports for one trip, then an Individual Trip check box may appear, depending on your administrator’s settings. Click this check box if this report is for an individual trip, meaning that it is not part of one, larger trip.
If a password field appears to the left of the Submit Report button, enter your password here. This is the same password that you use to log in.
Click Submit Report.

Note: If your company has special certification text that it wishes you to view before submitting, you can click Read Certification to the right of the Submit Report button.

On the Edit Expense Report screen, e-xpense displays a message to confirm that you've submitted your expense report.

You have finished reporting your expenses. e-xpense will email all approvers to let them know that an expense report is waiting for their approval. Then, the system will email you once the report is fully approved. If any approver rejects the report or makes changes to it, the system will send an email to inform you.

Make sure that you follow your company's policy for submitting any required hard copy receipts for the expenses you incurred. Your approvers may use e-xpense to acknowledge that they have received your expense receipts.

If necessary, you can correct your expense report, or you can enter negative amounts to adjust for overpaid advance payments.