Approving a Travel Authorization as an HR Reports To Supervisor

   Overview   

The responsibility of a Reports To Supervisor in reviewing a travel authorization is to verify that the initiator is approved for travel and that the department allows any listed expenses. Supervisors are not able to make any changes to the document; if changes are needed, the travel authorization must be sent back to the initiator for edits. Denying a travel authorization "kills" it and it is no longer available to edit and submit.

When reviewing a travel authorization, a Reports To Supervisor should ensure:

  • The request is reasonable, and the employee has permission to be on travel status
  • Completeness (required fields are filled out, supporting documentation is attached where appropriate and is legible)
  • Deadlines are observed

In addition, supervisors should review items for adherence to travel policies and that any expenses listed are allowable by type and amount.

Reports To Supervisors should Send Back or Deny transactions that do not meet standards or require correction or additional information.

Additional reviewer guidance can be found at the resources below.

 

Tutorial Resources

Quick Start for Approvers

Travel and Expense Approval Basic Workflow: Roles and Responsibilities

Approval Action Matrix

Deny vs Send Back

Temporary Approvers Quick Start

This article will walk you through the steps to review and take appropriate action on a Travel Authorization as an employee's HR Reports To Supervisor.

1. Step 1

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First log into the UGA Financial Management System.

From the UGA Financials Employee Self Service homepage, click the  Approvals  tile.

Note: The number in the bottom right corner of the tile indicates the number of documents awaiting your approval.

2. Step 2

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The Pending Approvals page is displayed. From this page, you can review and take actions on submitted documents.

To filter the documents to only display travel authorities, click the Travel Authorization menu option.

3. Step 3

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The list is filtered to only display travel authorizations.

To review a travel authorization, click the appropriate Travel Authorization .

4. Step 4

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The selected Travel Authorization summary page is displayed.

As the employee's Reports-To Supervisor/Manager, it is your responsibility to determine if the employee is approved to travel away from the office.

Review the trip location and dates requested.

5. Step 5

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Review the TA lines to ensure that the correct Expense Type (International vs Domestic) has been selected for the location.

If you wish to review the TA line details (including accounting information), click the appropriate TA line.

Example shown here: Domestic Pay by Employee object.

6. Step 6

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The Approval Line Detail page is displayed. From this page, you can review the reported information and accounting details.

7. Step 7

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Click the View Accounting link to review the accounting details.

8. Step 8

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The Accounting window is displayed showing the ChartField combination for the selected travel authorization. Review the information and make sure that all fields are accurate.

9. Step 9

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Click the Close button .

10. Step 10

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To return to the Travel Authorization summary page, click the Back to Header button.

11. Step 11

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You can repeat the review process for the remaining TA lines in the request .

12. Step 12

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You can select individual TA lines to approve by clicking the checkbox in the appropriate TA line.

Example shown here: click the  Domestic Pay by Employee  checkbox.

13. Step 13

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Alternatively, click the Select All checkbox to quickly mark all the TA lines.

14. Step 14

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Reports-To Supervisor Approvers have four functions available to them: Approve, Deny, Hold, and Sendback. We will go through each function to show the differences. On this page, you can see the Approve and Deny options.

Click the More button to see additional approver options.

15. Step 15

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If you wish to halt the document's progress temporarily, you can put the request on hold by clicking the Hold button.

16. Step 16

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It is required to enter comments for any action other than APPROVE. Comments should tell the employee why the document is not being approved.

Note: A window similar to this, asking for comments, will appear no matter what action you decide to take.

17. Step 17

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If you decide to return the document to the initiator for edits, you would click the  Sendback  button.

Note: Sendback allows the employee to edit and resubmit.

Click the Sendback button.

18. Step 18

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It is required to enter comments for any action other than APPROVE. Comments should tell the employee why the document is not being approved.

Note: A window similar to this, asking for comments, will appear no matter what action you decide to take.

19. Step 19

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When you deny one or more lines in a TA, it stops the transaction entirely and it cannot be edited and resubmitted.

20. Step 20

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When you are ready to approve, click the Approve button.

21. Step 21

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To leave comments regarding the approval of the document, enter appropriate information into the Approver Comments field.

Example shown here: " Approved ".

22. Step 22

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Click the Submit button.

Details

Article ID: 151186
Created
Sun 9/25/22 9:43 AM
Modified
Fri 3/8/24 2:37 PM