In order to determine whether an expense is allowed and the appropriate rates to be used for allowable expenses, it is necessary to determine the Travel Policy assigned to the traveler. The Travel Policy by Expense Type (TRPET) table record allows travel administrators to define policies that can be used state-wide for specific Expense Types. In addition to defining travel policies that can be used state-wide, travel administrators may define department-level exceptions for a given Expense Type using the Department Travel Policy by Expense Type (TRPETD) table. These departmental Expense Type exceptions may be defined for an entire Department or for a Unit within a Department.
The travel administrator also sets the rates, options, and procedures for the expense type on the given travel policy (in the Travel Policy by Expense Type table and/or the Department Travel Policy by Expense Type table). For example, the administrator may specify the Mileage Rate, whether a receipt or quote is required, or the Reimbursement Percentage for a particular Expense Type. In the event that the policy changes, it is possible that in later Travel transactions an error will be issued for edits that had passed in earlier Travel transactions (for example, if the Travel Authorization (TRAUTH) was submitted to Final and the travel policy later changes, then an error is issued when the Travel Expense Report (TRER) is submitted even if it includes the same information from the related TRAUTH).
The determination of the applicable travel policy to be used in the Travel transaction edits is performed by the system as follows:
The travel policy assigned to the traveler is determined. For dual HRM/Financial sites, this is defined in the Travel Policy field within the Employee Assignment table in Advantage HRM. For Financial-only sites, this is defined in the Travel Policy field within the Vendor/Customer table.
A lookup to the TRPET table is performed using the traveler’s assigned travel policy, the Expense Type from the Trip Details line, and the date of expense.
If the TRPET record is not found, the traveler is not authorized to submit the specified Expense Type for reimbursement. An error is issued.
If the TRPET table record is found, a lookup to the TRPETD table is performed to determine if the traveler’s home Department or Department/Unit has defined a separate policy for the expense type. A look up to the TRPETD table is performed using the Expense Type from the Trip Details line, the traveler’s home Department, the traveler’s home Unit, and date of expense.
If the TRPETD record is found, the system uses the options, rates, and defaults from the TRPETD record.
If the TRPETD record is not found, a look up to the TRPETD table is performed again using the same combination except Unit = ALL is looked up instead.
If the TRPETD record is found, the system uses the options, rates, and defaults from the Department Travel Policy by Expense Type record.
If the TRPETD record is not found, the system uses the options, rates, and defaults from the TRPET record previously found. However, if the Travel Policy for that TRPET record is marked as inactive (Active flag is not checked) on the Travel Policy table, an error is issued.