WRD Travel Manager Interface Program To: "E - All WRD Employees" From: "Catherine L Hill, ACH/Operations, Reston, VA" cc: "Kelly L Bradley, Chief, FORS, Reston, VA" , "Alice A Sabatini, Administrative Officer, Reston, VA" , "Catherine L Hill, ACH/Operations, Reston, VA" , "Alice C Dilandro, Secretary (S), Reston, VA" , "Emma H Miller, Computer Assistant, Reston, VA" , "Isabelle Halley des Fontaines, Chief, Br. Admin. Mgmt. Sys., Reston, VA" , "Carole Nethaway, Secretary (OA), Reston, VA" Subject: WRD Travel Manager Interface Program Date: Wed, 25 Jun 1997 14:15:38 -0400 Sender: "Emma H Miller, Computer Assistant, Reston, VA" In Reply Refer To: Mail Stop 442 MEMORANDUM June 20, 1997 To: All Employees, Water Resources Division From: Catherine L. Hill /signed/ Assistant Chief Hydrologist for Operations Subject: WRD Travel Manager Interface Program In fiscal year (FY)1996, the Water Resources Division (WRD) began piloting the Travel Manager Interface (TMI), and will continue implementation throughout FY 1997. TMI is an electronic software process that enables payment of travel vouchers through Travel Manager software into the Federal Financial System (FFS) and on to the U.S. Treasury. The TMI will replace the current Third Party Draft (TPD) method of travel reimbursements. The use of the TPD was instituted during FY 1994 as a temporary measure to speed the payment of travel reimbursements to travelers until the TMI could be developed. Payment by TPD did not streamline the entire process--it only shortened the time between preparation of the travel voucher and receipt of reimbursement check. In fact, the use of the TPD has created a very complicated and costly administrative process (see steps outlined in attachment). The TMI was developed to streamline the entire process while providing payment to the travelers in an expeditious manner. TMI will replace the recording of RDE expenditure of travel via FFS. For those sites currently participating, all travel transactions (with exception of Permanent Change of Station, multiple trips, Foreign Travel, local travel, reconstructed travel, and those requiring liquidation of a travel advance) are being entered into TMI, interfaced into FFS, and will appear in the Administrative Information System (AIS) through the automatic reconciliation process the following day. The employee with the assigned responsibility for travel arrangements and vouchers in the office will enter the travel authorization in Travel Manager. Upon completion of travel, the travel authorization information is pulled forward to the travel voucher and updated with actual information. This is appended to a file and transmitted to FFS and is forwarded to Treasury the following day. This method of payment will reduce the number of actions needed to process travel while continuing to pay the traveler in a timely manner. The Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) program is highly recommended in WRD and will become mandatory within the Federal Government by January 1999. The EFT program offers a great incentive to travelers. If the traveler chooses the EFT method of payment, payment will reach their bank account within 3 to 5 working days. If the traveler is not an EFT user, payment will be mailed and should reach the traveler within 5 to 7 days. Administrative staffs should indicate the date processed on the voucher copy that is returned to the employee. Travelers interested in the EFT program are encouraged to begin the paperwork process before TMI is implemented by your cost center. Be aware if your office is not using TMI but is signed up for EFT, the 3 to 5 day "clock" begins only after the Office of Financial Management has processed your voucher. We understand that employees have expressed concern regarding the use of EFT. This concern is that they receive no notification from their banks to indicate that the EFT has been received. We have the following recommendations to help alleviate this concern: o FFS on-line inquiry tables are available for the administrative staff to retrieve information regarding the timing of the EFT transfer or mailing of Treasury check. Please use the TVAT and TVHT tables to retrieve FFS payment information and SUSF for the payment date. o Travelers can use the processed date indicated on their copy of the travel voucher in order to estimate the timing of their travel payment, depending on the method of payment used. If you have any questions or concerns regarding this initiative, please contact your local Administrative Officer. I have personally used the TMI and EFT payment processes for my travel payments for the last 6 months and have found them to be expeditious and cost effective. I urge you to join me in supporting this cost saving measure. We recognize that the procedures outlined in this memorandum represent a significant departure from existing practices. The change may be softened by alerting employees to the coming change now (especially as relates to travel payments) and encouraging them to sign up for EFT. We anticipate these initiatives will provide improved quality of service at a decreased administrative cost to the bureau, and the government. Attachment EXAMPLE ONE--PRESENT PRACTICE USING TPD: Processing in the WRD office: 1. Prepare the travel authorization 2. Prepare the travel voucher 3. Record the voucher amounts into AIS 4. Prepare the TPD 5. Make copies of TPD and voucher for local files 6. Submit TPD's to OFM 7. Submit travel vouchers to OFM for recording in FFS Processing in OFM office: 8. Record the receipt of the travel voucher in FFS document tracking 9. Record the TPD in FFS to record cash outlay to third party bank 10. Record the travel voucher to create accounting entries on Report 268 11. Reconcile the cash outlays (TPD) with the travel vouchers entered. Processing in WRD office: 12. Reconcile the FFS travel voucher transaction with AIS data Same or similar data is entered 7 times. Process has 12 steps. EXAMPLE TWO--STREAMLINED PROCESS WITH TMI Processing in WRD office: 1. Prepare the travel authorization with Travel Manager (TM) software 2. Prepare the travel voucher with TM software by updating data entered in step 1 for the travel authorization 3. Voucher is transmitted electronically to FFS to initiate payment and record the cash outlay 4. Tape is transmitted electronically to the U.S. Treasury to create the reimbursement check or EFT to bank 5. Check is mailed (Step eliminated if EFT used) OFM actions required only for problem resolution, post payment audit. Stat sampling Similar data is entered 2 times. Process has 5 steps (4 steps if EFT is used). The use of the process described in example two is a much more efficient and cost effective method of processing and recording travel reimbursements. Based on this, WRD is proceeding with the implementation of TMI.