Expense Reports  

The Expense Reports application allows employees to enter and submit their expense reports with receipts through the Webvantage browser-based interface.

Expense Reports store expense data including records posted to jobs for billable and non-billable items and allows recording of expenses paid for using company credit cards. Data entry is simple. Users select Jobs and Functions and use default Rate information to populate the data entry grid. Validation ensures that only valid jobs and functions are entered. The employee never has to worry about entering accounting-related data as that information is inserted automatically (behind the scenes) based on defaults entered in Maintenance.

Expense Reports are processed in Advantage in Accounts Payable through the AP Approve Expense Reports option. Accounting personnel have the opportunity to review records to validate job numbers, function codes and general ledger account numbers which are inserted based on default settings established in Maintenance. Once an Expense Report is approved and processed, it is set up as an Accounts Payable invoice for the employee vendor which may be paid based on your pre-established terms.

The employee may review their Expense Reports and the status for each. Ability to make changes and re-submit if necessary is available.

Expense Report Setup must be complete before expense reports may be entered and processed. Review the Setup instructions below. If the Advantage Setup has already been completed, use the following links for information on how to use the Expenses application in Webvantage. Refer to the documentation in Advantage | Accounting | AP Import for instructions on how to import the expense report records.

Creating an Expense Report

Under Main Menu, expand the Employee module and select Expense Reports.

Expense Reports

The Expense Reports search screen is on the left. The toolbar at the top of the main area has four icons: New (green plus sign), Search/Find (magnifying glass), Clear and Bookmark.

The Expense Reports search screen will default to the user name that is logged on. To enter an expense report for someone other than the user logged in, change the Employee.

Employee - Select the Employee from the drop-down. Only Employees that have been set up for expense report processing are available for selection.

If the user/employee has not been setup for expense report processing, the Employee field will be blank. Click here to view the Expense Report Setup.

If Limit Time Entry and Expense Report to Employee Code Attached is selected for this employee in Advantage | Security | User Setup | User Settings tab - Limit Time Entry and Expense Report to Employee Code Attached?, the employee will be restricted to seeing ONLY their own expense records and will have no access to any other employees expenses.

Select the date range in the From and To fields by entering date or using calendar widget. If blank, search will include all records that match other search criteria.

Optionally refine filter by status with the Open, Pending, Denied or Approved checkboxes. Optionally narrow search for Approved Expense Reports by selecting Exclude Paid or Exclude Unpaid checkboxes.

Advanced Filters - Optionally narrow search by Client, Job, Function, Description or Item Date. Check the 'Show Terminated Employees?' checkbox if needed.

Use the Clear icon to clear all entered search criteria.

When all search criteria have been entered, click the Search/Find icon (magnifying glass) in the toolbar. A summary of the records that match search criteria will be listed.

Paid - Expense Reports that have been paid are indicated with a check mark in the Paid column. Click on the check mark to view payment details.

Has Receipts - Displays an icon if receipts have been uploaded to the Expense Report. Hover over the icon to view the number of receipts for the Expense Report.

Viewing an Expense Report

View / Edit - To view the Expense Report's detailed information, click on the row's View Expense Report button (magnifying glass).

The Expense Report header displays the following information:

• Employee - Displays employee image and employee name.

• Created Date - Displays the date that the Expense Report was added.

• Invoice Number and Status - Displays the Expense Report's Invoice Number and the status of the expense report.

• 1. * Hover over the Information Icon to display who the Expense Report was submitted to for approval, denied approval or approved by.

• Report Date - Displays the date for the Expense Report. The Month/Year determines the Month/Year for the search.

• Description - Displays the Expense Report description. The current Status of the Expense Report will also display here.

• Total Due - Displays the total amount due the Employee.

• Less Company Card - Displays the expenses charged to the company credit card that are excluded from the Total Amount Due.

• Total Expenses - Displays the total amount of the Expense Report.

• Has Receipts - Displays an icon if receipts have been uploaded to the Expense Report. Hover over the icon to view the number of receipts for the Expense Report.

Add a New Expense Report

To add a new Expense Report, click the New (Green Plus Sign) button on the toolbar. On the New Expense Report tab, enter the following information:

• Employee - Displays the Employee that the Expense Report is being added for. The Employee defaults from the Employee selected in the search criteria.

• Invoice Number (Display Only) - Displays only as TBD. The Invoice Number will be generated once the Expense Report is added.

• Status (Display Only) - Displays the current status as New.

• Report Date - Enter the date or use the calendar widget to select the date for the Expense Report. The Month / Year entered here will be used for searching for Expense Reports based on the Month / Year.

• Date Created (Display Only) - This field will be populated after the Expense Report has been created.

• Description (Required) - Enter a description, up to 30 characters (including spaces), for the Expense Report.  

• Detail (optional) - Enter a general or detailed description for the Expense Report.

When completed, click the Save button to create the record for the expense report and begin entering itemized expenses.

Expense Edit Toolbar

• New (Green Plus Sign) - Click to create a new Expense Report.

• Save - Saves changes made to the Expense Report.

• Copy - To copy the entire Expense Report, including line items, click the Copy button.

• Modify the Employee, Report Date, Description and/or Details and click the Copy button. To not copy the Expense Report, click the Cancel button.

• Delete - To delete the entire Expense Report, click the Delete button. Expense reports can only be deleted if they have not yet been submitted for approval or approved.

• If they have been submitted, but not yet approved, Un-submit the Expense Report first, then click Delete.

• Individual Line Item entries can be deleted as long as the Expense Report has not been submitted for approval or has been approved. Delete individual lines by selecting the Delete button at the end of row for that Expense Item.

• Print Report To view and print out an expense report select the Print button. The following options are available to be included in the print:

• Print Supervisor Name Below Signature Line - Select this option to include the Supervisor's Name as the approver on the printed report. If the Expense Report was submitted to an employee other than the supervisor, it will use the Approver's name.

• Exclude Employee Signature - Select this option to not include the Employee's signature on the printed report. The Employee Signature is maintained in Advantage | Maintenance | Accounting | Employee | Signature tab. The signature is for the employee that is logged into Webvantage, not of the employee whose Expense Report is being printed.

• Include Receipts - Select the option to include the receipts along with the printed report. Receipts uploaded at the header level will be displayed first followed by the receipts associated at the line item level. The secondary sort will be based on the uploaded date.

After options have been selected, click the Print button. A preview of the report is displayed.

Select the Print on the Print Preview to print the report.

• Submit - When all expenses for an Expense Report have been entered and ready to be submitted, select the Submit button. The Expense Report can be setup with mandatory approval in Advantage | Maintenance | Accounting | Employee.

• When Supervisor Approval is NOT required, clicking the Submit button will automatically send the Expense Report for processing.

• When Supervisor Approval is required a popup will appear to select who will be approving the Expense Report:

• Select the employee from the Select Approver drop-down and click the Submit button.

• Alternate Approver - If the employee has an Alternate Approver designated (setup in Employee Maintenance), that approver will be defaulted as the approver.

• Other Approver - To select a different alternate Approver, use the drop-down to select a different Approver. Only employees with security to approve expense reports are included in the select list.

• Include Receipts in Email and Alert - To include receipts with the alert to the approval, check the Include receipts in Email and Alert prior to submitting.

• Submit - Once selected, click the Submit button. Once the Expense Report has been submitted, an automatic alert is generated to the designated approver notifying that an Expense Report has been submitted for approval along with any uploaded receipts.

• Un-submit - Submitted reports that have not been approved can be retrieved for changes by choosing the Un-submit button.

• Import - Import existing credit card expenses directly into the expense report.

Click the Import button to begin the import process. The Import pop-up window will display.

If applicable, select a template from the drop-down.

Check 'First Row Contains Column Names' if first row of import file contains column names. Un-check this option if the first row of the import file contains data.

Click Choose File to browse and select a .CSV file to import. Once imported, columns from the imported file may be mapped to columns in the Expense Report. Map the Column from the File to the Column in the Expense Report by selecting from the drop-down lists for each row in the file. Click the Load Data button to load the file data.

The Import staging grid will display. Enter information into the grid. Note: Date, Description, Function and Amount fields are required. Note: To start over, click Reset File. The Reset File option can be used any time during the import process.

Fields with invalid or missing data will be displayed with a circled, red exclamation mark (e.g., closed job component, invalid or missing function, etc.).

• Auto-Fill can be used to update multiple rows at once. Select rows to be updated. In Auto-Fill Column, select the column to be updated from the drop-down. Enter the new data into the textbox or select from the drop-down (depending on column selected to Auto-Fill).

• If Amounts were imported as negative, check Reverse Sign on All Rows.

• Click Clear Invalid Fields if needed.

When information in the import staging grid has been completed, click the Save Loaded Data To Report button. An error message pop-up will display if required fields are missing. Click OK in the error message pop-up and complete the fields described in the error message.

• Manage Receipts - To add and manage all expense receipts, click on the Manage Receipts button. The window is broken into three sections:

• A display of the unassigned receipts brought in by the Email Listener Account set up in Agency Maintenance.

• Receipts associated with the expense report along with the detailed expense report rows. Can optionally display as thumbnails.

• Rows from the expense report.

Drag receipts from Section one to the expense report row. The receipt will display on the row. Multiple receipts can be associated with a row.

Click the 'x' next to the receipt to remove it from the row. Removing a receipt from the receipts display section at the top will also remove it from a row.

Manage Receipts Toolbar:

• Save - Click the Save icon when enabled after adding new or editing existing expense report lines.

• Cancel - Cancel the previous unsaved transactions.

• Include Rows with Receipts (Selected by default) - This option allows you to toggle between the display of all rows with or only rows without receipts.

• Show Thumbnails - Select this option to display the receipts as thumbnail images.

• Hide Receipts Applied - Select this option to toggle between display of receipts applied to lines and those that have not been applied.

• Select Receipts - Select this option to upload additional receipts to the expense report. These types of files are accepted:

• .jpg

• .jpeg

• .png

• .bmp

• .gif

• .csv

• .doc

• .docx

• .pdf

• .ppt

• .pptx

• .txt

• .xls

• .xlsx

• .zip

• .heic

• Print - Click to print the receipts.

• Download - Click to download the receipts.

• Bookmark - Click to create a bookmark for the Expense Report.

Expense Item Toolbar

The Expense Item Toolbar (located below the Expense Report header information) is used to create and modify expense report items, customize the grid and export the expense report..

• Add Row (Green Plus Sign) - Use to add a new item row. The new row will be inserted at the top of the grid.

• Copy Row - Use to copy selected item row(s). The new row(s) will be inserted at the bottom of the grid.

• Delete Row - Use to delete selected item row(s). A confirmation pop-up 'Are you sure you want to delete the selected row(s)' will display. Click OK to proceed or Cancel to cancel the action.

• Choose Columns - Use to select/deselect the optional columns displayed in the grid. Options include Quantity, Client, Client/Division, Client/Division/Product, Job/Job Component.

• Export - Click to export the Expense Report grid to an Excel file.

Views

There are four ways that expense reports can be viewed. They include:

• Standard View (Default) - includes the employee image, header information and detailed expense report lines with receipts in a grid format.

• Thumbnail View - Standard View with the receipts displayed as thumbnail images.

• Group View - Standard View with the expense report detail lines grouped by job component. Lines not associated with a

• Chart View - Displays a visual summary of the Expense Report. Expenses are broken out by Function and by Job in a Pie Chart format.

Add/Modify Line Items

To add expense items to the Expense Report, click the Add Row in the Expense Item Toolbar and enter the following information in the new row. Line items can be edited directly in the grid.

• Selection Tool - Click on the vertical ellipsis (three vertical dots) and use the mouse to easily highlight and select multiple rows.

• Date* (Required) - Enter a date or click on the Calendar widget to select a date. If a date is not selected, upon adding of the expense item, the date will default to the current system date.

• Description* (Required) - Enter a description for this individual line item in the expense report, up to 600 characters.

• Function* (Required) - Enter the Function code or select from the pick list by double clicking in the field's text box.

• Functions must be set up in the Function Maintenance application in Advantage and must be set as a Vendor Type and the Option for Employee Expense must be selected.

• Quantity* - Enter the quantity this expense is for. Example, if the expense is "mileage" and drove 105 miles, enter 105.

• Rate* - Enter a Rate to be multiplied by Qty if applicable. Example, if drove 105 miles, and entered .38 as the rate, the amount calculated for the expense will be 39.90 (.38 x 105 = 39.90). Maximum 9 digits.

• • If a RATE is stored at the Function level (Function Maintenance) for this item, it will be inserted automatically and the amount will be calculated.

  • A Rate can be entered using up to 4 decimals and the Amount will be calculated using that amount. The amount will be rounded to a 2-digit rounded number. Example: a rate of .5791 is used. It is rounded to .58 for the amount.

• Amount* (Required) - The amount is automatically calculated by multiplying the Quantity and Rate. If the Quantity and Rate are entered/modified, this field is automatically re-calculated. This will also occur during modifying of an Expense Item.

• If Quantity and Rate do not apply to the line item, the amount can be manually entered.

• Client/Division/Product/Job/Job Component* - Begin typing the code, description or Job/Component number for each of these fields or select from the drop-down. The drop down list will auto-filter.

• Type* - Select how the expense item was paid. Select 'Corporate Credit Card' or 'Personal Credit Card or Cash'.

• • The Type last selected will be retained when entering additional lines and will become the 'Default' Payment Type. Changing the Payment Type on an existing line item will not change the 'Defaulted' Payment Type.

  • Use Corporate Credit Card if the purchase was made with the Credit Card that is on file in the employee record (typically a company credit card). This must be set up in Advantage | Employee Maintenance | HR Info tab. When this option is used, the amount of the individual entry will not be paid to the employee but will be posted to the GL Account designated in Maintenance.

  • IMPORTANT: Be aware of the credit card settings in the Employee record. If a different Credit Card was used (other than the one defined in the Employee record), speak to your accounting staff to determine the best method of entry. To reimburse the employee, do not select the Credit Card check box.

• Uploader - There are two ways to upload receipts from the Uploader. Click the plus sign in the Uploader column to attach receipts associated with the expense report. Or, from your computer open the folder containing the receipt(s) and drag and drop the receipt(s) directly into the expense report.

These types of files are accepted:

• .jpg

• .jpeg

• .png

• .bmp

• .gif

• .csv

• .doc

• .docx

• .pdf

• .ppt

• .pptx

• .txt

• .xls

• .xlsx

• .zip

• .heic

To further upload or remove receipts click the Manage Receipts button. See the Manage Receipts section for more information.

• Receipts - All receipts will be displayed in the Receipts column.

1. Note: Columns indicated with an * can be sorted in ascending or descending order by clicking on the column header.

2. When complete click Save in the Expense Report Toolbar to save the line item to the Expense report. Continue to add other items using the same process.

Ask Blue - Upload an Expense Receipt

Expense Receipts can be uploaded to an existing Expense Report through Ask Blue. Ask blue is a program that performs a task by sending an email message from any computer or device to the “Default Reply To Address” established in your Email Listener Settings. See the Ask Blue Command User Guide for more information and setup.

Add Document to existing Expense Report

Add one or more documents (receipts) to a new or existing expense report.

Add New Expense Report

• To create a new Expense Report, email the Expense Receipt to the designated email, with the subject of 'Add Exp'.

• If multiple receipts are emailed at the same time (same email), it will create one Expense Report.

• The new Expense Report will be created with the following description Created from AskBlue command, that can be modified as needed.

Update an Expense Report

• To upload an Expense Receipt to an existing Expense Report, email the Expense Receipt to the designated email with the subject of 'Update Exp'.

• The Expense Receipt is then uploaded to the first Expense Report found that was added for the current month. Multiple receipts can be emailed at the same time and all will be added to the same Expense Report.

iPhone Note: When sending documents / receipts via iPhone, if the filename includes the name ‘Photo’ or ‘Image’ and the file extension is ‘.jpg’ or ‘.jpeg’ – it will add the date and time to the end of the filename.

Example: Upload ‘Photo.jpg’ – the filename will change to ‘Photo_20140220_150417.jpg’

Add Receipts to Open Expense Reports

• To add receipts to existing Expense Reports, email the Expense Receipt to the designated email with the subject of 'Receipts'.

• The Expense Receipt is then uploaded to all Expense Reports with an Open status.

• In the Expense Reports module, click on the Manage Receipts button to access the Unassigned Receipts and apply to specific expense report lines.

Result

When completed, the employee can then access their expense report to review, modify and submit accordingly.

The document will be uploaded and attached to either a new expense report or an existing one for the employee found in the system who matches the ‘from’ email address. The document will be listed in the documents tab and can then be associated to an existing line item on the expense report or just left at the expense report level.

Expense Receipt Setup

Security and Setup