Implementing an Automated Travel & Expense System and Lessons Learned. Introductions. Agenda

Transcription

1 Implementing an Automated Travel & Expense System and Lessons Learned Introductions Crystal French, Travel Program Administrator, Travel Services (presenter) Tyler Wiebe, Assistant Manager, Budget Accounting and Travel Services First Steps Anticipated Benefits Agenda The Roll Out Actual Benefits / Cost Savings Online Booking Tool (OBT) Expense Management Tool (EMT) Items to Consider Questions (feel free to ask throughout) 1

2 Glossary CWT: Carlson Wagonlit Travel EMT: Expense Management Tool FOAP: Fund-Organization-Account-Program (account code for Banner) GDS: Global Distribution System OBT: Online Booking Tool One-over-one: the person that you report to TMC: Travel Management Company Poll Question Which are you interested in learning most about today? The Online Booking Tool (OBT) The Travel Expense Management Tool (EMT) Both First Steps 2

3 First Steps External Consultants - as is / to be model Main driver was promise of cost savings Transactional and visual guilt Involved stakeholders in the vendor selection process Faculty and Support Staff Anticipated Benefits Anticipated Benefits Savings from increased awareness of lowest airfare visual guilt Reduced transaction costs cheaper to book using OBT Process efficiency reduced staffing costs Increased accuracy and timeliness in account charges Reduction in hard copy records and related storage costs Enhanced reporting capabilities 3

4 Timeline Timeline April 2010 June 2010: as is / to be study April 2011: Project development began Nov 2011: First pilot group went live May 2012: Roll out completed June 2012: paper travel claims no longer accepted for employees The Roll Out 4

5 The Roll Out Vendor selection: Concur Technologies for OBT/EMT Carlson Wagonlit Travel for TMC Roll out took 4 months longer than planned; underestimated breadth and depth of impact tool would have on campus. Interactive training videos,.pdf instruction manuals, Help Desk, Unit Experts Policies updated to reflect new system and processes Actual Benefits Anticipated Benefits Savings from increased awareness of lowest airfare visual guilt Reduced transaction costs (somewhat) cheaper to book using OBT Process efficiency reduced staffing costs Increased accuracy and timeliness in account charges Reduction in hard copy records and related storage costs (somewhat) Enhanced reporting capabilities 5

6 Cost Savings About half as was expected (so far) Transaction fees not reduced as much as thought international and northern travel Difficult to compare travel savings year over year Baseline for visual guilt was not established Average difference between lowest airfare and airfare booked: ~$115 higher on average About same number of Travel Services employees Unanticipated Actual Benefits Travel policy compliance Enhanced ability to spot duplicate expenses Transparency (audit trail, who viewed receipts, timing, etc) Research travel compliance Reporting and auditing capability and visibility on spending Reduced manual transactions, keying errors, FOAP errors The OBT and EMT 6

7 The Process (user experience) Poll Question Do you currently have an exclusive Travel Management Company (TMC)? Yes No Online Booking Tool Works seamlessly with Travel Management Company (TMC), Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT) Lowest airfare highlighted. Visual guilt encourages economical spending of University funds Traveler can designate someone to book on their behalf Flight itineraries flow directly into EMT One-over-one preapproval not required Airfare booked on University ghost card 7

8 OBT Pros and Cons Pros Easier to negotiate deals with vendors with enhanced reporting Able to know instantly where people are globally in emergency (e.g. earthquake) Between travel credit card and ghost airfare card, need for cash advances greatly reduced Visual guilt: lower rates for airfare, hotel, and car rentals Zero risk of fraud when booked within the system. OBT Pros and Cons Cons Some Frequent Flyer programs / promo codes / coupons might not work Seat sales not always available, as airlines post those on their website only (not to Global Distribution System (GDS)) Some travellers may still elect to use CWT to book everything Poll Question Do you have an existing travel policy which states that the lowest cost airfare must be selected? Yes No 8

9 Expense Management Tool Airfare, travel credit card, or cash expense Input into EMT with accounting information and scanned receipts Send to one-over-one for approval Audited and processed centrally Sent for payment Expense Management Tool OBT and travel credit card charges feed directly into EMT Receipts scanned and attached to expense lines Claim submitted; sent to relevant one-over-one for approval Travel Processor audits % of claims Audit rules and flags help with visual guilt and identify items booked outside of policy Tool feeds information into finance system (Banner), and payment processed automatically Original receipts attached to special page with barcode; mailed to Travel Services for original records retention EMT Pros and Cons Pros Ability to import travel credit card charges and car / hotel / flight reservations is quick, convenient, and more transparent Easier to send to approver(s). Less risk of original receipts getting lost in shuffle Exceptional reporting capabilities Easier to find duplications FOAP validation reduces incorrect account codes Transparent audit trail 9

10 EMT Pros and Cons Cons Manual entries required for all $0 transactions (cash advances) System (and all the data and receipt images) are cloud based, so don t have as much control Ongoing training of users Where are we now? 10

11 Where are we now? Would we do it again? Yes. Better manage travel portfolio, audit trail, policy compliance, etc. Mistakes we made: Oversold it Not enough academic end users involved in the beginning of the process Didn t know all the off the record practices in place with paper process Items to Consider Items to Consider (1) Implement both EMT and OBT? At same time? In stages? What is the University s appetite for change? Would management support policies if required? How many claims do you audit? a %? >$500? All? Is OBT / EMT vendor not based in Canada? Enough computer lab space available for training? Have necessary equipment (scanners, software, hardware, monitors, computer accessibility)? Does the OBT / EMT vendor have experience dealing with large organizations? 11

12 Items to Consider (2) How to establish one-over-one hierarchy and default approvers Who will people call when they need help? Reimburse claim once approved, or only after original receipts received? Can you go paperless? Do you have a document management policy (e.g. image quality, storage, etc.)? What is current process (practice vs policy)? Do you implement two-tiered audit rules for operating vs research funds? Items to Consider (3) Do you implement a University-wide travel credit card? Do you allow non-travel or non-business related expenses on University travel credit card? Should travel credit card be billed to / paid by the individual or billed to / paid by the University? Should airfare be charged to single ghost card, individual travel credit cards, or personal cards? Who will have access to the tool? Who will your Travel Management Company(ies) be? Do they have the expertise to deal with an OBT? Items to Consider (4) What will be the definition of low-cost airfare? How to enforce? Executives vs other staff? What is your driver for implementation? Speed? Paperless? Cost? Compliance? Reporting capabilities? Do you pass along some or all of the TMC service fees to the departments? Will the system selected meet CRA and Tri-Council requirements? 12

13 Closing First Steps Anticipated Benefits Recap The Roll Out Actual Benefits / Cost Savings Online Booking Tool (OBT) Expense Management Tool (EMT) Items to Consider Questions (feel free to ask throughout) Next Steps Want more information? Crystal.French@umanitoba.ca CAUBO 2014 Finance Pre-Conference Seminar 15/06/2014: Moving Travel Management into the 21st Century, presented by representatives from York University. 13

14 Implementing an Automated Travel & Expense System and Lessons Learned 14