Monday, April 25, 2011

iExpense in R12

 
Basic Intro

With Oracle Internet Expenses,
  • Employees can enter and submit expense reports using a standard Web browser or a Web-enabled mobile device.
  • Oracle Workflow automatically routes expense reports for approval and enforces reimbursement policies.
  • Oracle Internet Expenses integrates with Oracle Payables to provide quick processing of expense reports for payment.
This chapter provides an overview of the features and processes in Oracle Internet Expenses.

Expenses-related Workflows:
There are five workflows related to Internet Expenses:
Expenses, Credit Cards, Expenses Analysis, Expense Receipts, and Expense Holds.
  • Expenses Workflow manages the notifications between managers, accounts payable, and users related to reviewing and approving expense reports.
  • Credit Cards Workflow manages the notifications related to the processing and management of credit card transactions.
  • Expenses Analysis Workflow sends notifications when proxy reporting access is granted.
  • Expense Receipts Workflow manages the notifications related to submitting receipts and missing and overdue receipts.
  • Expense Holds Workflow manages the notifications related to placing and releasing holds on expense reports.
Manager Approvals:
Internet Expenses works together with Oracle Approvals Management (AME) and Oracle Workflow to automatically route expense approvals and notifications to cost center owners, cost center business managers, project managers or award managers. Approval notifications provide managers with all information with which to make informed decisions, including the reimbursable amount displayed in the approver's currency and expense lines that were split and charged to their own cost centers. 
Use Oracle Approvals Management to build routing rules for expense reports based on header or lines information. Use the Expenses Workflow to manage the routing of notifications to and from managers, auditors, and users.

Integration with Other Applications:
Internet Expenses works together with other applications to provide a full array of services devoted to managing and streamlining
every aspect of the expense report process. These include:
  • Oracle Payables. Use Payables to create expense report invoices and to manage the processing of credit card and procurement card transactions.
  • Oracle Projects. Internet Expenses integrates with Oracle Projects to enable users to add project-related information on expense reports.
  • Oracle Grants Accounting. Oracle Grants Accounting extends the functionality of Oracle Projects and integrates with Internet Expenses to enable users to enter award information on their expense reports and collect reimbursement from the award that sponsored the activity.
  • Oracle Approvals Management. Use Oracle Approvals Management to build routing rules for expense report approvals.
  • Oracle Application Framework. Oracle Application Framework lets you personalize the display of Internet Expenses without modifying the underlying code.

Expense Report Process
The below demonstrates the complete process flow of expense reports from creation to payment.
Creating Expense Reports
Employees can create expense reports in these ways:
  • Online using their computers and a standard Web browser.
  • Online using Web-enabled mobile devices.
  • Offline using Microsoft Excel spreadsheets from a configured template.

Employees must have the Internet Expenses responsibility to create an expense report. If you implement the credit card functionality, employees can include credit card transactions in their expense reports
Sending Receipts to Accounts Payable
After an employee submits an expense report, Internet Expenses displays a confirmation page with instructions for the employee. For example, you may want to inform the employee that a notification will be sent when the report is approved by management and at that time all original receipts must be sent to the accounts payable department. Most companies require original receipts for verification before reimbursing employees for business expenses.

Expense Report Workflow Process
When an employee submits an expense report for approval, the Expense Report  workflow process begins. The Expense Report workflow is used to obtain manager and Payables approvals on expense reports. The Manager (Spending) Approval process
routes expense reports to managers for approval. When an expense report receives approval, the workflow transitions to the AP Approval process. If a manager rejects the report, the workflow transitions to the Rejection process.

The AP Approval process first determines whether an expense report requires the approval of the accounts payable department. If approval from the accounts payable department is not required, the process automatically approves the expense report. If the report requires approval from the accounts payable department, the process waits until it receives a response from that department before continuing. Once the workflow process is complete, the expense report in the Payables Expense Reports window has a number of restrictions on user interaction.
Converting Expense Reports into Invoices
Oracle Payables pays invoices only, so before an approved expense report can be paid, it must be converted into an invoice. The Oracle Expense Report Export converts expense reports created in Internet Expenses into invoices in Oracle Payables. An
expense report can be processed by the Expense Report Export program only if it receives approval from both the approval manager and the accounts payable department during the Expense Report workflow process.

Reimbursing Expense Reports
After the Expense Report Export program creates invoices for expense reports, you can create payments for the invoices using the same method as for other invoices.




Approve the expense report :


Once an employee submits the expense report the approver associated with the expense reports gets a notification for the same. The approver can approve, reject or request more information. Only approved expense requests are transferred in to oracle payable as invoices.

Approval in iExpense is controlled by the below profile options :

OIE: Enable ApproverThe OIE: Enable Approver profile option enables the Approver field in Internet Expenses. When this profile option is set to Yes, the Approver field is available for users to specify a different employee to approve their expense report. When this profile option is set to No, the Approver field is hidden.
OIE: Approver Required
The OIE: Approver Required profile option indicates whether users must designate an approver for their expense reports. If you set the OIE: Approver Required profile option to Yes, Internet Expenses requires that users always enter an approver. If you set this profile option to Yes with Default, the employee's supervisor, as defined in
Oracle HRMS, defaults in the Approver field.
Note: If you set the OIE: Approver Required profile option to Yes or Yes with Default, do not set the OIE: Enable Approver profile option to No. If you do, the Approver field does not appear on the General Information page but users will receive an error message that the field is required.
iExpense setup

1.1Defining contact us information
Internet Expenses includes a Contact Us icon at the top of each page. By clicking on this icon, your users can submit an e-mail message to a designated contact in your organization with questions or comments

1. Log into Oracle Applications using the Application Developer responsibility.
2. Navigate to the Form Functions window.
3. Query the function OIE_CONTACT_US.
4. Choose the Web HTML tabbed region.
5. In the HTML Call field, enter the desired e-mail address immediately after mailto: (no spaces) in this format:
mailto:yourname@yourcompany.com
6. Save your work

1.2Defining Global policy information
Internet Expenses includes a Global Policy icon at the top of each page. By clicking on this icon, your employees can access a web page with text describing your company’s expense report policies and procedures.
First create a static web page with the text that you want, then assign the page to the OIE_POL_VIEW_GUIDELINES function.

1. Log into Oracle Applications using the Application Developer responsibility.
2. Navigate to the Form Functions window.
3. Query the function OIE_POL_VIEW_GUIDELINES.
4. Choose the Properties tabbed region.
5. In the Type field, enter SSWA plsql function.
6. Choose the Web HTML tabbed region.
7. In the HTML Call field, enter the .htm file name of your static web page in this format: oiepolicy.htm
Your .htm file then needs to reside in the $OA_HTML directory.
8. Save your work.

2.1.Defining Employee's

Define employee information for all persons that will use Internet Expenses. You can enter employee information in Oracle HRMS, or, if you do not use Oracle HRMS, in the Enter Person window in Oracle Payables. This table lists the personal information to enter for each employee and how Internet Expenses uses that information.


Note: Users do not need to define an employee’s supervisor in Oracle Human Resources, if the supervisor is specified in the
Approver field on an expense report.

Default PO Expense account In Human resources Responsibility
Navigate to People -> Enter and Maintain
Query the Person, click on Assignment tab, select Purchase Order Information Tab
Enter the 'Set of Books' and 'Default PO Expense' information

Setting up Contingent Workers
A contingent worker is a worker who does not have a direct employment relationship with your company and is typically a self–employed individual or an agency supplied worker. To use the contingent worker functionality in Internet Expenses,
you must set up your contingent workers and enter their supplier names in Oracle HRMS

To enter supervisory information:
1.Choose the Supervisor tabbed region.
2. Select the name and number of the worker's personal supervisor.
You can select a contingent worker as a supervisor only if the HR: Expand Role of Contingent Worker user profile option is set to Yes.
You can select a supervisor from another Business Group if the HR:Cross Business Group user profile option is set to Yes at your site.
Note: The application does not update this information. Use organization and position hierarchies to show management reporting lines.




2.2.Entering Employees as Suppliers
Before an expense report can be paid, an invoice must be created for it in Oracle Payables. The Expense Report Import program automatically generates invoices for expense reports created in Internet Expenses, but employees who submit them must be defined as suppliers in Payables.
To ensure that employees are defined as suppliers, enable the Create Employee as Supplier option in the Payables Options window. If you enable this option, Payables automatically enters employees as suppliers during the Expense Report Import program.

To automatically create employees as suppliers in Oracle Payables:
1. Navigate to the Payables Options window.
2. Choose the Expense Report tabbed region.
3. Check the Automatically Create Employee as Supplier box.
4. Save your work.
Note: If you do not enable this option in Payables, you must manually enter employees as suppliers in the Payables Suppliers
window before submitting Expense Report Import.








Default Reimbursement Currency Behavior
During expenses entry, Internet Expenses determines the default reimbursement currency to use for an employee in this way:
■ Look for the value (Home or Office) in the Mail To field of the Office Details region of the HR People window. If a supplier site record exists for the value, then use the supplier site Payment Currency value as the default reimbursement currency.
Note: Users cannot enter or view project-related information in the Payables Expense Reports window.
■ If the Mail To field does not contain a value, or if a supplier site record does not exist, use the supplier Payment Currency value as the default reimbursement currency.
■ If neither the supplier site nor the supplier record contain a Payment Currency value, use the functional currency of the operating unit in which the employee is entering the expense report. The operating unit is determined by the Internet
Expenses responsibility and the setting for the MO: Operating Unit profile option).

Default Reimbursement Currency Behavior
During expenses entry, Internet Expenses determines the default reimbursement currency to use for an employee in this way:
■ Look for the value (Home or Office) in the Mail To field of the Office Details region of the HR People window. If a supplier site record exists for the value, then use the supplier site Payment Currency value as the default reimbursement currency.
Note: Users cannot enter or view project-related information in the Payables Expense Reports window.
■ If the Mail To field does not contain a value, or if a supplier site record does not exist, use the supplier Payment Currency value as the default reimbursement currency.
■ If neither the supplier site nor the supplier record contain a Payment Currency value, use the functional currency of the operating unit in which the employee is entering the expense report. The operating unit is determined by the Internet
Expenses responsibility and the setting for the MO: Operating Unit profile option).

2.3.Defining and setting up users
You must define your employees as users in order for them to use Internet Expenses. As part of this definition process, you assign the self-service application responsibilities and a securing attribute to each user. You can perform all of these activities in the Users window in System Administration.
To define an employee as a user:
1. Log into Oracle Applications using the System Administrator responsibility.
2. Navigate to the Users window.
3. Enter the name that the employee will use to log in to self-service applications in the User Name field.
4. Define a temporary password for the user in the Password field. When the user logs in for the first time, a prompt will appear to request a password change.
5. Select the name of the employee from the list of values in the Person field.
6. Enter the e-mail address of the employee in the E-Mail field, if you use an e-mail system to send workflow notifications to employees.
7. Establish a password expiration.
8. Save your work.

Assigning Responsibilities to Users
Your installation includes these seeded responsibilities:
■ Internet Expenses. Assign this responsibility to employees who will create and track expense reports. This responsibility is required for Internet Expenses users.■ Internet Expenses Setup and Administration. Assign this responsibility to employees who will perform setup or administration tasks that apply to Internet Expenses only. This responsibility is required for Internet Expenses users.■ Internet Expenses Auditor. Assign this responsibility to employees who will perform audits of expense reports.■ Internet Expenses Audit Manager. Assign this responsibility to employees who manage the auditing of expense reports and the management of expense report auditors in Internet Expenses.■ Expense Analysis and Reporting. Assign this responsibility to employees who will use the Expenses And Violations Reporting page to run expense analysis reports.■ Workflow User Web Applications. Assign this responsibility to allow employees to access notifications from the worklist, update user preferences, or define notification routing rules. This responsibility is required only if users view and respond to notifications and related details while logged on to self-service applications.■ Workflow User Web (New). Assign this responsibility to allow users to view, either in a table or a process diagram, the status of workflow processes generated for expense reports and other documents. Users can also view all notifications generated for the workflow process and a list of those who responded to notifications.■ Workflow Administrator Web (New). Assign this responsibility to allow workflow administrators access to the views available to the Workflow User Web (New) responsibility, along with administer workflow processes

Assigning Securing Attributes


The ICX_HR_PERSON_ID attribute must be assigned to every user of Internet Expenses. Securing attributes determine who a user may enter expense reports for.
At a minimum, users must have a securing attribute defined for themselves, which either system administrators or employees can make. Employees assign securing attributes in the Expenses Preferences page.

The seeded responsibilities in Internet Expenses by default contain the securing attribute ICX_HR_PERSON_ID which confines user access to the user ID value assigned to the securing attribute. The securing attribute can assign authorized
delegates to a user.
Authorized Delegates are users who can enter expense reports for another user. For example, managers and other executives may want to give their assistants the ability to enter expense reports for them.
When creating an expense report for someone else, authorized delegates use their own user name and password to access Internet Expenses, and then choose the name of the person that they are creating the expense report for from a pulldown
list. Users can only see the names of the people who have identified them as an authorized delegate.

To assign securing attributes to an Oracle Internet Expenses user:
1. Log into Oracle Applications using the System Administrator responsibility.
2. Navigate to the Users window.
3. Query the user name of an employee that will enter expense reports.
4. In the Securing Attributes tabbed region, enter ICX_HR_PERSON_ID in the Attribute field.
5. In the Value field, enter the Person ID of the employee. If you do not know the employee’s Person ID, select the name of the employee from the list of values. Oracle Applications automatically retrieves the Person ID.
6. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for any persons for whom this employee can enter expense reports.
7. Save your work.


Handling Multiple FND Entries
When a preparer enters an expense report for another employee using the authorized delegate functionality, the system refers to the profile options defined for the FND user of the employee, not the profile option settings of the preparer.
It is recommended for most installations to assign only one FND user per employee.
When an employee is assigned to multiple FND users, Internet Expenses can send workflow notifications to any of these FND users at random. For non- Oracle Projects employees, if an employee is assigned to multiple FND users, Internet Expenses only verifies the profile option settings for the first FND user defined for that employee.
For Oracle Projects employees, if an employee is assigned to multiple FND users, Internet Expenses verifies that all FND users defined for the employee are Projects-enabled (OIE: Enable Projects profile option is set to Yes or Required). If all users are Projects-enabled, then Internet Expenses treats the employee as Projects-enabled. Otherwise, Internet Expenses does not treat the employee as Projects-enabled.

3.1.Defining Expense report Template
You must define at least one expense report template with the Enable for Internet Expenses Users check box selected. Only expense report templates with this option enabled can be used in Internet Expenses. Use the Oracle Payables Expense Report Templates window to define your expense report templates.
Seeded Expense Report Template
An expense report template called Seeded Personal Expense is a seeded template available with your implementation of Internet Expenses. The purpose of this seeded template is to provide the expense type for personal expenses when you use the Company Pay credit card payment option. Do not delete or modify this seeded expense report template. Any changes to this template will cause problems with expense reports in workflow.

Mapping Credit Card Expense Types
In Oracle Payables, you can assign expense items to card expense types. Card expense types map to the folio_type column of the AP_CREDIT_CARD_TRXNS_ALL table. To illustrate how this functionality works, if a credit card transaction has
a folio_type of Hotel, when a user adds this credit card transaction to an expense report, the expense type with the Card Expense Type of Hotel is defaulted by the system. Users can also override the default expense type.

Project-Related Expense Report Templates
If your employees enter project-related expense reports in Internet Expenses, you must define a project-related expense report template in Oracle Payables. Employees entering project-related expense reports can only use a project-related
expense report template.

To create project-related expense types, you associate an expense item with an Oracle Projects expenditure type in the Projects Expenditure Type field of the Expense Report Templates window. Employees can then associate a project number,
task number, and award number (if applicable) with the project-related expense item when they enter expense reports in Internet Expenses.

Note: Users cannot enter or view project-related information in the Payables Expense Reports window.


3.2.Establishing Multiple Currencies setup
The currency in which an expense report is paid is known as the reimbursement currency. Internet Expenses users can specify a reimbursement currency that is different from your company functional currency only if:
  • Oracle Payables is set up for multiple currencies.
  • Reimbursement currency is enabled in the Currencies window.
  • OIE: Allow Non-Base Pay profile option is set to Yes.
To enable multiple currencies in Payables:
1. Navigate to the Payables Options window.
2. Enable the Use Multiple Currencies Payables option.
3. In the Exchange Rate Type field, enter Corporate, Spot, or User-defined, according to your business practice.
Note: The Expense Clearing Account field is also available in the Card Program window. If you define the Expense Clearing Account field in the Card Program window, the value you define there will take precedence over the value in the Oracle Payables Financial Options window.
Attention: You cannot enter an exchange rate type of User. Since end users cannot enter the exchange rate between the
reimbursement and functional currency on expense reports, this exchange rate type will cause expense reports to fail in workflow.

4. Navigate to the Currencies window.
5. Verify that all currencies your company uses to reimburse employees are enabled.


3.3.Expense check Reimbursement Address
Use the Payables Financials Options window to define the expense report reimbursement check setup. By default, Internet Expenses uses the home or office value defined in the HRMS Mail To setup, if there is one. If not, then Internet Expenses uses the value you define in the Payables Financials Options window.

This setting also provides the value to use to create the supplier site record, if you enable the Automatically Create Employee as Supplier option in the Payables Options window. You can define employee home and office addresses either in the People window, if you have a full install of Oracle Human Resources, or in the Enter Person window in Oracle Payables.
To set the default expense check address:
1. Navigate to the Payables Financials Options window.
2. Choose the Human Resources tabbed region.
3. Select an Expense Reimbursement Address of either Home or Office.
4. Save your work.

3.4.Expenses Clearing Account
You define the Expense Clearing Account in the Oracle Payables Financials Options window. Payables uses this as a temporary account to record information about credit card transactions when processing expense reports created in Internet Expenses. This step is only necessary if you are implementing the Company Pay reimbursement policy.
The Expense Clearing Account field is also available in the Card Program window. If you define the Expense Clearing Account
field in the Card Program window, the value you define there will take precedence over the value in the Oracle Payables Financial Options window.


Internet Expenses Setup and Administration
Internet Expenses Setup provides the administrator with the self-service pages necessary to manage the setup of Internet Expenses. To use Internet Expenses Setup, you must have access to the Internet Expenses Setup and Administration
responsibility.

Internet Expenses Setup is organized into the following areas. Each area is represented by a tabbed region:
■ Accounting
■ Context
■ Policy
■ General
■ Tax
■ Audit
■ Credit Cards

Updating Oracle Internet Expenses Messages

Use the Messages window in the Oracle Application Object Library to edit Internet Expenses messages. You can update any of the Internet Expenses messages either to add content or to make the content more specific to your business. For example, you might change the instructions in a window to use terminology that is unique within your company or modify the content of an error message to provide additional information. All Internet Expenses messages use either the prefix AP_WEB or OIE
in the message name.

This section contains instructions for updating these messages:
  • OIE_ACTIVE_INSTRUCTIONS. Message text for the Active Expense Reports page.
  • OIE_INVOICE_DESC. Description message for credit card transactions.
Adding a Message to the Active Expense Reports Page
You can add your own message text at the header level to the Active Expenses Reports page. The default is no message.
1. Log into Oracle Applications using the Application Developer responsibility.
2. Navigate to the Messages window.
3. Query the message OIE_ACTIVE_INSTRUCTIONS.
4. Add the text of your message in the Message Text field.
5. Save your work.

Changing the Description Message for Credit Card Transactions
If you use credit card programs and set the Payment Due From field in the Card Programs window to Both or Company, invoices will be created in Payables that are due to the credit card issuer. For both remittance and reconciliation purposes, the invoices utilize this message to provide employee’s name and card number.

If you use both pay, the invoice header’s description field displays the content of this message. If you use company pay, the message information is displayed in the description field of the invoice distribution records.
By default the applicable description displays the credit card number and card holder name, followed by the expense report purpose. You can change the order of the description, or you can remove either the credit card number and card holder or the expense report purpose.
1.Log into Oracle Applications using the Application Developer responsibility.

2. Navigate to the Messages window.

Note: If the total number of characters for credit card number, card holder, and description exceeds 240, Internet Expenses truncates the message.

3. Query the message OIE_INVOICE_DESC.
EMP_CARD_NUM represents the credit card number and card holder.
EXP_RPT_PURPOSE represents the expense report purpose.
EMP_FULL_NAME represents the card holder’s full name.

4. The default message is EMP_CARD_NUM – EXP_RPT_PURPOSE. You can choose which descriptions to show in the message and which order they are shown in. For example: Delete EMP_CARD_NUM to remove the credit card number and card holder from the message.

5. Save your work.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

IEXPENSE TOTAL


Enable Project Expenditure Types for Expense Report Entry

Project Billing Super User: Setup > Expenditures > Expenditure Types
Description: Enable expenditure types to be used on project-related expense reports. Enable selected expenditure types with an Expenditure Type Class ‘Expense Reports’.
DO NOT SET UP MILEAGE EXPENDITURE TYPE WITH UNIT OF MEASURE MILES! Mileage expenses imported from iExpenses > Payables > Projects will be imported in dollars, or whatever the currency may be. Make sure you set up mileage expenditure types used by iExpenses with a unit of measure ‘Currency’.


AP: Define Expense Report Templates

Payables Manager: Setup > Invoice > Expense Report Template
Description: You must define at least one expense report template with the Enable for Internet Expenses Users check box selected. Only expense report templates with this option enabled can be used in Internet Expenses. Use the Oracle Payables Expense Report Templates window to define your expense report templates.
Oracle Field
Value
Notes





Template Name
aQuantive Expenses


Description
aQuantive Travel & Entertainment Expenses


Enable for Internet Expenses
Yes


Expense Items









Expense Item
Expense Category
GL Account
PA Exp Type
Receipt Above
Justification
Required




























AP: Define Financials Options

Payables Manager: Setup > Options > Financials

AP: Set Expense Check Reimbursement Address

Description: Use the Payables Financials Options window to define the expense report reimbursement check setup. By default, Internet Expenses uses the home or office value defined in the HRMS Mail To setup, if there is one. If not, then Internet Expenses uses the value you define in the Payables Financials Options window. This setting also provides the value to use to create the supplier site record, if you enable the Automatically Create Employee as Supplier option in the Payables Options window.

You can define employee home and office addresses either in the People window, if you have a full install of Oracle Human Resources, or in the Enter Person window
in Oracle Payables. To set the default expense check address:

AP: Define Expenses Clearing Account

Description: You define the Expense Clearing Account in the Oracle Payables Financials Options window. Payables uses this as a temporary account to record information about credit card transactions when processing expense reports created in Internet Expenses. This step is only necessary if you are implementing the Company Pay reimbursement policy.

Note: The Expense Clearing Account field is also available in the Card Program window. If you define the Expense Clearing Account field in the Card Program window, the value you define there will take precedence over the value in the Oracle Payables Financial Options window.


Option
Value
Notes



Accounting
Expense Clearing


Human Resources
Business Group


Expense Reimbursement Address


Use Approval Hierarchies


Employee Numbering: Method


Next Automatic Number







AP: Define Payables Options

Payables Manager: Setup > Options > Payables

AP: Establish Multiple Currencies Setup

Description: The currency in which an expense report is paid is known as the reimbursement currency. Internet Expenses users can specify a reimbursement currency that is different from your company functional currency only if:
  • Oracle Payables is set up for multiple currencies.
  • Reimbursement currency is enabled in the Currencies window.
  • OIE: Allow Non-Base Pay profile option is set to Yes.


AP: Defining Expense Report Options

Description: The Expense Report tabbed region of the Payables Options window controls certain aspects of the expense reporting process in Payables. Review these settings to become more familiar with them and understand how they affect the expense reporting process.

Default Template. The default expense report template that you want to use in the Payables Expense Reports window. You can override this value in the Expense Reports window. A default expense report template appears in the Expense Reports window only if the expense report template is active.

Payment Terms. Payment terms you want to assign to any suppliers that you create from employees during Expense Report Import.

Suggestion: Define and assign immediate payment terms for your employee suppliers.

Pay Group. Pay Group you want to assign to any suppliers that you create from employees during Expense Report Import. You can define additional values for Pay Group in the Purchasing Lookups window.

Payment Priority. Payment priority you want to assign to any suppliers that you create from employees during Expense Report Import. A number, between 1 (high) and 99 (low), which represents the priority of payment for a supplier.

Apply Advances. Default value for the Apply Advances option in the Expense Reports window in Payables. If you enable this option, Payables applies advances to employee expense reports if the employee has any outstanding, available advances. You can override this default during expense report entry.

Automatically Create Employee as Supplier. If you enable this option, when you import Payables expense reports, Payables automatically creates a supplier for any expense report where an employee does not already exist as a supplier. If the supplier site you are paying (HOME or OFFICE) does not yet exist, Payables adds the supplier site to an existing supplier. Payables creates a HOME or OFFICE supplier site with the appropriate address, depending on where you are paying the expense report. The Home address is from the PER_ADDRESSES table, and the Office address is from the HR_LOCATIONS table. Payables creates suppliers based on the defaults you select in this region and employee information from the Enter Person window. You can review suppliers and adjust any defaults in the Suppliers window.

If you do not enable this option, enter an employee as a supplier in the Suppliers window and link the Employee Name/Number to the supplier before you use Expense Report Import. Payables cannot import expense reports without corresponding suppliers, and lists them on the Exceptions section of the Expense Report Import Report.

Hold Unmatched Expense Reports. This option defaults to the Hold Unmatched Invoices option for the supplier and supplier site for any suppliers Payables creates during Expense Report Import.

When Hold Unmatched Invoices for a supplier site is enabled, Payables requires that you match each invoice for the supplier site to either a purchase order or receipt. If you enable this option for a site, then Payables applies a Matching Required hold to an invoice if it has Item type distributions that are not matched to a purchase order or receipt. Payables applies the hold to the invoice during Invoice Validation. You cannot pay the invoice until you release the hold. You can release this hold by matching the invoice to a purchase order or receipt and resubmitting Invoice Validation, or you can manually release the hold in the Holds window of the Invoice Workbench. Payables will not apply a hold if the sum of the invoice distributions by accounting code combination is zero.

Option
Value
Notes



Currency
Use Multiple Currencies


Require Exchange Rate Entry


Calculate User Exchange Rate


Expense Report
Default Template


Payment Terms
IMMEDIATE

Pay Group
EMPLOYEES

Payment Priority
50

Apply Advances
No

Automatically Create Employee as Supplier
Yes

Hold Unmatched Expense Reports
No




Assign Signing Limits

Payables Manager: Employees > Signing Limits
Description: Managers can approve an expense report only if the total amount of the report does not exceed their signing limit. The Manager (Spending) Approval Process in the Expense Reporting workflow uses the signing limits you define to determine whether managers have authority to approve expense reports. See: When you assign signing limits to a manager, you specify a cost center to which the signing limit applies. You can also give managers signing limits for multiple cost centers.
To assign signing limits:
  1. Navigate to the Employee Signing Limits window.
  2. Select AP Expense Report as the document type.
  3. Enter the name of the manager to whom you want to assign a signing limit in the Employee Name field, or choose from the list of values.
  4. Enter the cost center for which you want this manager to approve expense reports, or choose from the list of values.
  5. Enter a signing limit for this manager.
  6. Repeat steps 3 - 5 if you want this manager to be able to approve expense reports for more than one cost center.
  7. Save your work.


Define iExpense Policies

Internet Expenses Setup and Administration: Internet Expenses Setup > Policy > Expense Fields

Set Up Required Expense Fields




Accommodations
End Date
Enabled
Merchant
Required
Airfare
Merchant
Required
Class of Ticket
Enabled
Ticket Number
Enabled
From Location
Required
To Location
Required
Car Rental
Merchant
Required
Meals
Number of Attendees
Enabled
Attendees
Required
Mileage
Leave defaults


Enable Expense Allocations

Internet Expenses Setup and Administration: Internet Expenses Setup > Accounting > Define
Select Enabled to let users update the default segment value. Select Read-only to display the current segment value but prevent update. Select Disabled to omit this segment from expenses entry pages. Set status as follows:


Segment
Status
Company
Enabled
Department
Enabled
Account
Read-Only
Future
Disabled
Intercompany
Disabled


Define Receipt Notification Rule Set

Internet Expenses Setup and Administration: Internet Expenses Setup > Audit > Notification Rules
Create a new Notification Rule Set as follows:



Field name
Value
Rule Set Name
Receipts Notifications
Description
Receipts Notifications
Notify Individual
When Receipts are received
Overdue Receipts Notifications
Receipts overdue or missing after expense report submitted
14
Subsequent notifications if receipts still overdue
7
Receipts considered overdue or missing after user response
7
Receipt document required if user indicates receipts are missing
Yes




Assign Receipt Notification Rule Set

Internet Expenses Setup and Administration: Internet Expenses Setup > Audit > Notification Rule Assignments
Click ‘Update’ for Operation Unit aQuantive OU.
Field name
Value
Rule Set Name
Receipts Notifications
Effective Start Date
01/01/2005


Define Mileage Rate Schedule

Internet Expenses Setup and Administration: Internet Expenses Setup > Policy > Schedules > Mileage
  • Click ‘Create New Schedule’. Populate required fields as follows:



Field Name
Value
Schedule Name

Description

Distance Unit of Measure
Miles
Start Date

Currency Rules






  • Leave all Optional Rules blank. Click ‘Next’.
  • Currency = ‘USD’. Allow rate Conversion.
  • In the Update Mileage Rate Schedule: Periods and Rates, click ‘Details’.
  • Enter Mileage Rate = 0.485
  • Click Apply.
  • Click Activate.



Complete Mileage Expense Type Definition in Payables

Payables Manager > Setup > Invoice > Expense Report Templates
  • Find the expenses template
  • Find the mileage expense type.
  • Assign the Mileage Schedule.


SA: Define Profile Options

System Administration: Profile > System
Description: Use this form to define profile options.

OIE: Allow Credit Lines
Set the OIE: Allow Credit Lines profile option to Yes to enable users to enter negative receipts (credit lines). Users enter negative receipts to report the refund of a previously reimbursed expense, for example, an unused airline ticket. Setting this profile option to No prevents users from entering negative expense lines for cash and other expenses. Users can still enter negative corporate credit card expense lines. The default value is Yes.
OIE: Enable Credit Card
Set the OIE: Enable Credit Card profile option to Yes to enable the credit card functionality to allow users with corporate credit cards to select and add credit card transactions to their expense reports.
OIE: Allow Non-Base Pay
Set the OIE: Allow Non-Base Pay profile option to Yes to enable users to choose the reimbursement currency for their expense reports. You must set up Payables to use multiple currencies before you can enable this profile option.
OIE: CC Approver Req
The OIE: CC Approver Req profile option indicates whether users must enter an alternate approver when they charge their expense reports to a cost center different from their own. Set the OIE: CC Approver Req profile option to Yes to require employees to enter the Alternate Approver field when employees enter a cost center other than their default cost center. If you set this profile option to Yes, you must also set the OIE: Enable Approver profile option to Yes.
OIE: CC Payment Notify
Use the OIE: CC Payment Notify profile option to specify whether a notification is sent to employees when payment is created in Oracle Payables for corporate credit card transactions. The default value is No.
OIE: Enable DescFlex
The OIE: Enable DescFlex profile option enables Internet Expenses to display descriptive flexfields. You must set up descriptive flexfields specifically for use in Internet Expenses before you can enable this option.
OIE: Enable Projects
The OIE: Enable Projects profile option enables users to enter project-related information on expense reports. You must set up Internet Expenses to integrate with Oracle Projects before you can enable this option.
The values for this profile option are:
Yes - Enables the entry of project information.
No - Disables the entry of project information.
Required - Requires the entry of project information.
OIE: Enable Tax
The OIE: Enable Tax profile option enables the availability of tax-related elements on expense reports. Set this profile option to Yes to display the Tax Code field and Amount Includes Tax check box on expense reports. Set this profile option to No to conceal the display. If you set this profile option to No and you set up tax calculation on expense reports, Internet Expenses uses the default values you provide without user intervention.
OIE: Enable Approver
The OIE: Enable Approver profile option enables the Alternate Approver field in Internet Expenses. When this profile option is set to Yes, the Alternate Approver field is available for users to specify a different employee to approve their expense report. When this profile option is set to No, the Alternate Approver field is hidden.
OIE: Approver Required
The OIE: Approver Required profile option indicates whether users must designate an approver for their expense reports. If you set the OIE: Approver Required profile option to Yes, Internet Expenses requires that users always enter an alternate approver. If you set this profile option to Yes with Default, the employee’s supervisor, as defined in Oracle HRMS, will be provided for the user.
Attention: You must set the OIE: Enable Approver profile option to Yes if you want to use one of the three seeded Find Approver methods.
OIE: Purpose Required
The OIE: Purpose Required profile option controls whether users must enter a purpose when creating an expense report. A purpose is a brief description of the business activities that justify the expenses in a report.
OIE: Report Number Prefix
The OIE: Report Number Prefix profile option specifies a prefix value for expense report numbers. The expense report number becomes the corresponding invoice number when the expense report is converted into an invoice via the Expense Report Import program. Entering a prefix value enables you to easily identify invoices in Payables that were expense reports created in Internet Expenses. Leave this option blank if you do not want to specify a prefix value for expense report numbers. For example, if you set the OIE: Report Number Prefix profile option to use the prefix Web, your expense report numbering appears as Web589, Web560, Web561, and so on.
OIE: Grace Period
The OIE: Grace Period profile option specifies the number of grace period days beyond an end date that certain OIE setup items remain available for use. The OIE setup items are:
  • Rate schedules
  • Rate schedule rule values that have end dates
  • Location records
  • Expense report template Inactive On field
  • Expense types
These items remain available for selection and use as long as the system date is before the end date plus the number of grace period days. The default value is 30.
OIE: Enable Policy
The OIE: Enable Policy profile option controls the behavior of Internet Expenses in relation to reports that contain policy violations. If an expense report is submitted with violations, Internet Expenses captures policy violations for reporting purposes. The values are:
  • Prevent Submission - The end user cannot submit the expense report. All monetary violations that exceed tolerances result in preventing report submission, including the exchange rate policy (the exchange rate tolerance is the exchange rate limit). An error message informs the user of the policy violation. For more information, see Tolerance Limits. For all non-monetary policy violations, and for monetary violations that do not exceed tolerances, the behavior is the same as the Warn Users option (users receive a warning but can submit the expense report).
  • Warn Users - The end user can submit the expense report. A warning message informs the user that the report contains policy violations. This includes non-monetary policy violations, and monetary policy violations where the violation is below the limit + threshold.
  • Inform Approvers - The end user can submit the expense report. If there are policy violations, they are transparent to the end user, but Internet Expenses documents the violations for approvers. The default value is Inform Approvers.
OIE: Enable Expense Allocations
The OIE: Enable Expense Allocations profile option determines whether an end user can update the cost center segment value on an expense line. If set to Yes, an employee can split expense reports across cost centers, for both credit card expenses and cash and other expenses. The default value is No.
PA: Allow Project Time and Expense Entry
The PA: Allow Project Time and Expense Entry profile option enables users to enter project-related information on expense reports. If you set this option to Yes, then you must set the OIE: Enable Projects profile option to Yes as well. You must set up Internet Expenses to integrate with Oracle Projects before you can enable this option.
PA: AutoApprove Expense Reports
The PA: AutoApprove Expense Reports profile option permits automatic approval of project-related expense reports.
Journals: Display Inverse Rate
The Journals: Display Inverse Rate profile option determines how the reimbursable amount is calculated when users enter foreign currency receipts. When this profile option is set to No, the receipt amount is multiplied by the exchange rate to determine the reimbursable amount. When it is set to Yes, the receipt amount is divided by the exchange rate. The default value is No.
AME: Installed
The AME: Installed profile option enables the integration between Internet Expenses and Oracle Approvals Management.
WF: Notification Reassign Mode
The WF: Notification Reassign Mode profile option determines the forwarding functionality that is available to employees. If you set the WF: Notification Reassign Mode profile option to ‘Reassign’, employees see the Reassign button on the notification. Clicking the Reassign button lets employees choose between transferring or delegating that notification.
If you set the FND: Notification Reassign Mode profile option to Delegate, employees will see the Delegate button. When employees click the Delegate button and enter an employee name, the notification is delegated to that employee that is entered. When a notification is delegated to employees the notification is forwarded to the delegated employee, but the original recipient of the notification remains the owner.
If you set this option to Transfer, employees will see the Transfer button. When employees click the Transfer button and enter an employee name the notification is transferred to that employee that is entered. When a notification is transferred, the notification is forwarded and the new recipient becomes the owner of the notification.
WF: Mailer Cancellation Email
The WF: Mailer Cancellation Email profile option enables the functionality that sends the cancellation notifications when time outs are reached for a notification and a new notification is sent because of resend setup. If you set this profile option to Enabled, cancellation notifications are sent. If you set this profile option to Disabled, cancellation notifications are not sent.
Personalize Self-Service Defn
The Personalize Self-Service Defn profile option enables the Oracle Applications Personalization Framework in Internet Expenses. If you set this profile option to Yes, then the OA Personalization Framework is available to expenses administrators to configure the Internet Expenses user interface.




























Account Generator: Run in Debug Mode
Profile
Site
Application
iExpenses Responsibility
OIE:Allow Credit Lines
Yes


OIE:Allow Non-Base Pay



OIE:Approver Required
Yes

Yes
OIE:CC Approver Req



OIE:CC Payment Notify



OIE:Enable Approver
Yes


OIE:Enable Credit Card



OIE:Enable DescFlex



OIE:Enable Expense Allocations
User-enabled, with Online Validation


OIE:Enable Policy



OIE:Enable Projects
Yes


OIE:Enable Tax
No


OIE:Grace Period
30


OIE:Purpose Required
Yes


OIE:Report Number Prefix
EXP-


PA: Allow Project Time and Expense Entry
Yes


PA: AutoApprove Expense Reports



AME:Installed
Enabling this option disables Workflow approvals!


Automated Escalation Notification Task Assignee Role
Unassigned

Document Owner
WF: Notification Reassign Mode
Delegate


WF: Mailer Cancellation Email
Enabled


Personalize Self-Service Defn
Enable temporarily to customize iExpense instructions and prompts






System Administration Integration

  1. All people to receive workflow notification must be valid Oracle users with an email address
  2. Run the Synchronize Local WF tables process every time you make changes to user setup.



Customize the Internet Expenses Workflow

Define a new OIEADMIN Role

As System Administrator: complete these steps:
  • Create a new Oracle user



Field Name
Value
Name
OIEADMIN
Description
Oracle iExpenses Administrator
Email
Assigned Responsibilities
  • Workflow User Web Applications
  • Internet Expenses Setup and Administration
  • Internet Expenses Auditor





  • Run the Synchronize Local WF tables process every time you make changes to user setup.

NOTE: At this point, you can save a customized workflow XYZ iExpenses Workflows to the database. If you need to recreate or update the workflows, follow the steps below.

Define Workflow Notification Performers

Perform these steps in Oracle Workflow Builder to set up expense report performers. These steps include recommendations for which item attribute to use for
each notification.

  1. Load OIEADMIN Role.
  2. From the Files menu, select Load Roles from Database.
  3. In the Role Selection window, query the OIEADMIN role,
  4. From the Query Results region, select the required roles and click the Add button to add the role to the Loaded Roles region.
  5. Click OK to save the loaded role to the database.
  6. Save your work.
  7. Assign Role to the attribute: From the Navigator window, open the attribute. In the Navigator Control Properties, under the Attribute tab the Type in the main region should be set to Role. In the Default region, select the proper Value (role) and click Apply. Save your work. Assign a role for each of the attributes listed in the Performer Definitions table below.
  8. Define Notification Performers. For each notification outlined in the Performer Definitions table below:
    1. Open the appropriate workflow process.
    2. In the workflow process, open the notification.
    3. In the Navigator Control Properties window, click the Node tab.
    4. Set Performer Type as Constant instead of Attribute.
    5. Choose OIEADMIN as Value.
    6. Click Apply and save your work.


Note: To directly link a role to a notification, Set Performer Type as Constant instead of Attribute. Then, select the role OIEADMIN. By using the Constant type, you have more flexibility. The table below lists the notifications, the seeded performer for each workflow process, and new performer
Process
Notification
Seeded Performer
New Performer
Server Side Validation Process
Inform Sys Admin of Payables Validation Failure
AP Expense Report Workflow
Administrator
OIEADMIN
Manager (Spending) Approval Process
Inform System Administrator - No Approver
AP Expense Report Workflow
Administrator
OIEADMIN
Manager (Spending) Approval Process
Inform AP Mgr Approved ShortPay With Missing Receipts
AP
OIEADMIN
AP Approval Process
Request AP To Review For Spending Policy Compliance
AP
OIEADMIN
Rejection Process
Inform AP Exp Report They Reviewed Is Mgr Rejected
AP
OIEADMIN
Policy Violation Shortpay Process
Provide AP With Missing Info To Rectify Policy Shortpay
AP
OIEADMIN





Change the Find Approver Method

Perform these steps in Oracle Workflow Builder to change the Find Approver method.

  1. Open the ‘Expenses’ item type from the database
  2. In the Navigator window, expend Expenses and Processes folders.
  3. Open (double-click) the manager (Spending) Approval Process
  4. Open the Find Approver function
  5. In the Navigator Control Properties window, click the Node Attributes tab.
  6. In the Value field, select ‘One Stop Then Go Directly’
  7. Click Apply and save your work.
  8. Click OK to save the workflow file to the database.

Personalize Expense Report Submission Instructions

  • As System Administrator: Set ‘Personalize Self-Service Defn’ to Yes.
  • Log out of the system.
  • Navigate to Expenses Home page (e.g. XYZ Time and Expense Entry responsibility)
  • Create and submit an expense report
  • In the Confirmation page, click the Personalize Submission Instructions Header link in the Submission Instructions region.
  • In the Choose Personalization Context page, enter aQuantive Business Group in the Organization field and click Apply.
  • In the Personalize Region page, click Personalize for the Raw Text item.
  • In the Personalize Raw Text page, select False for the Rendered row at the Site level, then click Apply.
  • In the Personalize Region page, click Create Item for the Header: Submission Instructions item.
  • In the Create Item page, select the ‘Raw Text ‘ value from the Item Style list.
  • Complete the page according to your business requirements:
    • ID = XYZ_SUBMISSION_INSTRUCTIONS
    • Text: Include following text message: Add You Company’s Submission Instructions Here.
    • Click Apply
  • In the Personalize Region page, click Personalize for the message you created.
  • In the Personalize Raw Text page, enter a message in the Text field for the appropriate level, then click Apply.
  • In the Personalize Region page, click Return to Application.





Integrating with Oracle Projects Summary

  1. Enable employees to enter project-related expense reports using Internet Expenses. To enable an employee to enter project-related expense reports using Internet Expenses, set these profile options in Oracle System Administration:
    1. Set PA: Allow Project Time and Expense Entry to ‘Yes’
    2. Set OIE: Enable Projects to ‘Yes’.
  2. Define the Project Expense Report Account Generator. The Project Expense Report Account Generator is an Oracle Projects workflow process that determines the account for each project-related expense line created in Internet Expenses. The default logic of this process returns the CCID (Code Combination ID) of the employee who incurred the project-related expenses. You can define the Project Expense Report Account Generator to meet your requirements
  3. To approve project-related expense reports automatically (optional)
    1. Set the PA: AutoApprove Expense Reports profile option in Oracle Projects.
  4. Set up Transaction Controls in Oracle Projects (optional).
  5. In the Payables Expense Report Templates window, define a project-related expense report template and associate a list of Projects expenditure types with expense items. (Completed during AP: Define Expense Report Template step below)
  6. Compile the Expense Types Descriptive flexfield!
    1. Login to the Application Developer responsibility.
    2. Navigate: Application > Validation > Set
    3. Query value set name 'OIE_EXPENSE_TYPES'
    4. Click Edit Information
    5. In the Table Columns section, for the ID column, change the Size to 30 and Save.
    6. Navigate: Flexfield > Descriptive > Segments
    7. Query the Title: 'Expense Report Line'
    8. Freeze and compile the Expense Report Line Flexfield. Verify successful compilation. Navigate: Application -> Validation -> Set
    9. Query value set name 'OIE_EXPENSE_TYPES'. Click Edit Information.
    10. In the Table Columns section, for the ID column, change the Size back to 80 and Save.

Enable the Display of Project and Task. Use the Region Items window to enable the display of project and task information. You need to perform this step in order to view projects and tasks in View Expense Report History.

    1. Choose the AK Developer responsibility.
    2. Navigate to the Define Regions window.
    3. Query the region ICX_AP_EXP_LINES_D.
    4. Choose Region Items to navigate to the Region Items window.
    5. Query the region items ICX_PROJECT_NUMBER item (ATTRIBUTE_NAME).
    6. Check the Node Display box for these region items.
    7. Query the region items ICX_TASK_NUMBER item (ATTRIBUTE_NAME).
    8. Check the Node Display box for these region items.
    9. Save your work.





Set Up Offline Expense Spreadsheet Template

The Microsoft Excel template is a spreadsheet that employees use to create disconnected expense reports. You must configure the Microsoft Excel template so that it matches your current Internet Expenses implementation. For example, all fields in Internet Expenses must exist in your template, and fields that are set ‘Required’ in Internet Expenses must also be required in the template. If the template does not match your implementation, employees cannot create and import expense reports using the disconnected process.
To configure the Microsoft Excel template, you must enter specific values from various Oracle Payables windows into the template. Once you have configured the Microsoft Excel Template, remove the seeded function from the menu for exporting the spreadsheet. The seeded OIE Import Page function is assigned to the Expenses Shortcuts menu.

Configure the Expense Report Sheet

This section describes how to configure the Expense Report sheet. Export the seeded Offline Spreadsheet from Expenses Home. Open the Excel file.

Displaying the Spreadsheet Tabs

After obtaining the expense spreadsheet template from the operating system directory, display the custom sheet tabs to make any modifications to expense types, headings, cell links, etc. You can modify these sheets in the Microsoft Excel template:
  • Expense Report
  • Currency Codes and Descriptions
  • Expense Types
  • Cell Links
  • Prompts (to change column and cell headings)
To display the custom sheet tabs in the expense spreadsheet template:
    1. Open the spreadsheet file apwexpmc.xls.
    2. Choose Tools > Protection > Unprotect Sheet.
    3. Choose Options from the Tools menu.
    4. Open the View tab.
    5. Check the Sheet Tabs box, then click OK.



Define the Date Format

Users enter a receipt date in the spreadsheet Date From column. For multiple–day receipts, users can define a range of days by entering dates in both the Date From and the Date To columns. When an employee imports a completed expense report, Internet Expenses compares the date format of the Date From and Date To columns to the date format set using the self-service applications General Preferences function. If the date formats in these columns do not match the date format specified by the General Preferences function, users must re–enter receipt dates in Internet Expenses. An example of a valid date format is DD–MON–YYYY. When a user makes changes to the General Preferences, the changes only affect that user’s login session.
Prerequisites
Determine a date format to use in the Expense Spreadsheet.
To define the date format:
  1. Open the Expense Report sheet tab at the bottom of the spreadsheet.
  2. Select the Date From and the Date To column, then choose Format > Cells.
  3. Open the Number tab, then choose Date as the Category.
  4. Choose a date format from the list in the Type region, then click OK.

Enter an Expense Template Name

You must assign a template name to the Microsoft Excel template to define the list of expense types that are available in Internet Expenses (for example, airfare, meals, lodging, and so on). This template also determines the expense types you can include in the Expense Types sheet in the Microsoft Excel template.
You create expense report templates in the Payables Expense Report Templates window. The template you choose must have the Enable for Internet Expenses option checked (set to Yes). When an employee imports a Microsoft Excel expense report, Internet Expenses compares the template name to the names of all active, Internet Expenses-enabled templates. If the template name of a Microsoft Excel expense report does not match the name of a Internet Expenses-enabled template, Internet Expenses rejects the report.
To enter a template name:
  1. Open the Expense Report sheet tab at the bottom of the spreadsheet.
  2. Enter the name of an expense report template that is enabled for Internet Expenses into the Expense Template cell. The name must exactly match the name of an Internet Expenses-enabled template that appears in the Payables Expense Report Templates window.
  3. Save your work.



Define aQuantive Expense Types

To enter expense types in the Expense Report sheet, users select values from a choice list. The Expense Types sheet contains the values that appear in this choice list. You must configure the Expense Types sheet so it contains only valid expense types. Valid expense types include:
  • Expense types defined in the Payables template that you identified in the Expense Report sheet.
  • Expense types with the Viewable From All Templates option checked in the Payables Expense Report Templates window.
The generic Expense Types sheet within the Microsoft Excel template includes several sample expense types. You must change the sample expense types to valid expense types and delete any rows that you do not change. To add expense types, insert new rows into the Expense Types sheet. You must insert a new row above an existing row for the expense type to appear in the choice list. After you update the Expense Types sheet, you may need to update the expense types that appear in the expense report template. (By default, the template does not display expense types.) See: Modifying Cell Links, page 6-11 for more information. When you make changes to the Expense Types sheet, you can use the Expense Report sheet to confirm your changes.
To set up expense types:
  1. Open the Expense Types sheet tab at the bottom of the spreadsheet.
  2. Change the sample expense types to valid expense types (those defined in the template you entered in the Expense Report sheet). You must spell each expense type exactly as it appears in the Payables Expense Report Templates window.
  3. To add an expense type, insert a new row and enter the name of the expense type exactly as it appears in the Payables Expense Report Templates window. To insert a new row, select a cell that contains a value, then choose Insert > Rows. If you select a cell that does not contain a value and use Insert > Rows to add an expense type to this new row, the expense type does not appear in the choice list.
Note: Do not edit the header region (cells A1 and A2) of the Expense Types sheet.
Note: Sort the list of expense types alphabetically. To do this, select the rows to sort, then click on the Sort Ascending button (or choose Data > Sort, click on Ascending, then click OK).
  1. Open the Expense Report sheet tab at the bottom of the spreadsheet to review the expense report and verify your changes.
  2. Save your work.



Testing a New Custom Microsoft Excel Template

Before releasing your custom template for general use, import and validate the spreadsheet in Internet Expenses. Perform these steps to discover and resolve any remaining setup problems that may exist in your template.
To test the Custom Microsoft Excel Template:
      1. Compare the custom Microsoft Excel template and expense types to the Corporate Credit Card and Cash and Other Expenses pages. Ensure all fields in the template appear in these pages, and all the fields on these pages appear in the template. (Be sure that you also look at the Expense Details page.)
      2. Create an expense report with the custom Microsoft Excel template. Assign each expense type to at least one receipt.
      3. Upload the expense report. Make sure the message you entered at the bottom of the spreadsheet template appear in the Spreadsheet Upload Area.
      4. Click Next to validate the spreadsheet. You must fix errors that exist in the spreadsheet template itself before releasing it to employees for general use. Errors that occur because the spreadsheet was incorrectly defined can be fixed only by the system administrator. Errors that occur due to missing or invalid data in the spreadsheet do not indicate a serious problem and the report can still be imported into Internet Expenses. When expense report information is missing or invalid, you can perform either of these actions:
  • Click Clear or Cancel to fix the errors in Microsoft Excel, then import it again later.

Save the spreadsheet to the database

To save the customized spreadsheet to the database:
    1. Configure the spreadsheet according the instructions above.
    2. Save the spreadsheet XYZ_APWEXPMC.xls to the $OA_HTML/US directory.
    3. Log into the System Administration responsibility.
    4. Navigate to the Form Functions window.
    5. Query up function AP_WEB_DOWNLOAD.
    6. Click on Web HTML tab.
    7. Replace value in the HTML Call to ‘US/XYZ_APWEXPMC.xls’
    8. Save.
To verify if the customized spreadsheet is saved:
  • Navigate to iExpenses, Expenses Home
  • Click on Export Spreadsheet
  • The File Download window should pop-up, and name should be XYZ_APWEXPMC.xls


Other Configuration Considerations

  • Make sure all expense approving managers are set up as Oracle users.
  • Make sure every employee is assigned to one Oracle user only.
  • Submit the ‘Synchronize WF LOCAL tables’ process to run daily to update the Workflow resource information