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

Oneusg Connect homepage displayed with the Approvals tile highlighted

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

The Pending Approvals page displayed with the Travel Authorization menu option highlighted

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

The Pending Approvals page is displayed with the generated Travel Authorization option highlighted

The list is filtered to only display travel authorizations.

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

4. Step 4

The selected Travel Authorization summary page displayed with the Summary information highlighted

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

The selected Travel Authorization summary page is displayed with the Expand > arrow highlighted

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

The Approval Line Detail page idisplayed with the Line Detail section highlighted

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

7. Step 7

The Approval Line Detail page idisplayed with the View Accounting link highlighted

Click the View Accounting link to review the accounting details.

8. Step 8

The Accounting window displayed with the Accounting Details section highlighted

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

The Accounting window displayed with the Close button highlighted

Click the Close button .

10. Step 10

The Accounting window displayed with the Back button highlighted

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

11. Step 11

The Travel Autorization page displayed with the Domestic Pay by Employee expense line highlighted

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

12. Step 12

The Travel Autorization page displayed with the Domestic Pay by Employee check box highlighted

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

The Travel Autorization page displayed with the Select link highlighted

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

14. Step 14

The Travel Autorization page displayed with the More button highlighted

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

The Travel Autorization page displayed with the Hold button highlighted

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

The Travel Autorization page displayed with the Hold pop up window highlighted

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

The Travel Autorization page displayed with the Sendbackk button highlighted

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

The Travel Autorization page displayed with the Send back pop up window highlighted

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

The Travel Autorization page displayed with the Deny button highlighted

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

The Travel Autorization page displayed with the Approve button highlighted

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

21. Step 21

The Travel Autorization page displayed with the Approve Comments pop up window highlighted

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

Example shown here: " Approved ".

22. Step 22

The Travel Autorization page displayed with the Submit button highlighted

Click the Submit button.