Contents of the Expense Reports Form

Use the fields and options on the Expense Report form to search for expense reports and complete tasks such as creating, copying, and modifying expense reports, uploading receipts, and more.

Expense Reports Grid

Use this grid to enter the information for the individual expenses. The grid is divided to the left and right sections. You can scroll horizontally in each section, and you can drag the vertical divider that is located between the two sections to resize each side of the grid to suit your needs. While entering values in the grid fields, you can press TAB to move to the next field.

Left and Right Grid Column Selection

You can select the columns that display in the left and right sides of the expense report grid. Click in the upper-right corner of the grid and choose either Left Grid Column Selections or Right Grid Column Selections.

The column selections only apply to you. Another user can choose to display a different set of columns. Your selections are saved and remain in effect until you change them. The columns that display by default in the grid and the columns that are available for selection on the Column Selections dialog boxes are determined by configuration settings in the desktop application.

For information about selecting columns, see Select Columns for a Grid.

Adding, Copying, and Deleting Rows

Click + Add Line below the grid to add a new blank row below the last existing row.

When you select a grid row or hover over a row, this icon appears at the right end of the row. Click and select the action that you want to perform for that row: insert a blank row below it, copy the current row (except for the amounts and expense details) as a new row below it, or delete the row.

Left Grid Columns

Field Description
Line Status This field is displayed if Expense Report Line Item Approval is enabled in the employee expense approval workflow. This column is displayed in the left-most column.
The expense line item's approval status is displayed with the following icons:
  • : In progress
  • : Approved
  • : Rejected
Click the icon to display the Expense Line Approval Progress dialog box, on which you can see detailed expense line item information.
Date Use this field to enter the date on which you incurred the expense item. You can enter a date directly in M/D/YYYY format, or select a date using the calendar icon.
Category Select an expense category for the expense item. Expense categories determine the debit account that prefills for an expense item in the Account field and whether or not the Bill check box prefills for the expense item. You can enter only expense categories with an active status.

When you select a category, the name of the employee group that is associated with the category displays in this column after the category description.

If you select a category that is associated with the Travel, General, or Business Meals detail types, you receive a message that asks if you want to enter details now for the expense. To enter detail, click Enter Detail Now to open the Detail dialog box. You can also choose to enter the detail using the Detail field. See the Detail field description below for more information.

A system administrator sets up the expense categories that display in the Expense Report Category Lookup list in the Category field in Settings > Expense > Categories.

Description Enter a brief description of the expense item. This description displays on various expense-related reports and can be printed on invoices.
Detail If the selected expense category has associated details, click in this field to display the Detail dialog box and enter that additional information for the expense item.

The following are the Detail dialog boxes:

  • General Detail: This dialog box displays when the selected category is associated with the General detail type or when no category is assigned. Use it to enter the business reason for the expense.
  • Business Meals Detail: This dialog box displays when the selected category is associated with the Business Meals detail type. Use this dialog box to enter the business reason for the expense and the name of each person attending the meal.
  • Travel Detail: This dialog box displays when the selected category is associated with the Travel detail type. Use this dialog box to enter the business reason for the expense, where you traveled from and to, and any miles or kilometers involved. If miles/kilometers are assigned and you are using multiple currencies, the Currecy Code field is checked to ensure that the assigned currency matches the functional currency for the employee's company. If they are different, an error message displays and the Currecy Code field changes to the functional currency. In addition, if you make changes to the miles/kilometers, the amount in the Amount column on this grid is updated accordingly.

After you enter detail for an expense, Details Added displays in the field.

This column is not editable in the following situations:
  • If No Detail is the detail type associated with the category. In that case, n/a displays in the Detail field.
  • If the expense item is approved.

If you need to delete all of the detail information, open the Detail dialog box and select Clear All & Close. The detail is removed from the dialog box and the Details Added text is removed from the Detail field.

See the help topics for each of the Detail dialog boxes for additional information.

Right Grid Columns

Field Description
Originating Vendor Enter the vendor number of the vendor from whom the expense item was originally purchased. For example, an employee may have paid for a hotel room and a plane ticket. You can associate the expense items with the specific hotel and airlines vendor.

This field is displayed if the Enable Originating Vendor for Expenses and A/P Vouchers option is set to Yes in Settings > Expense > Payments.

To select an originating consultant for an expense, do one of the following in Originating Consultant:
  • Enter one character from the vendor name or number to display a list of vendors that start with that character in a drop-down list, or enter two or more characters to display a list of vendors that contain those characters. Select the vendor you want. If only one vendor matches your search text in Originating Consultant, that vendor is automatically entered in Originating Consultant without displaying the list.
  • Click to display the Originating Vendor lookup. The available vendors display automatically when the dialog box opens. If necessary, scroll to locate the vendor, or enter all or part of the vendor name or number in the search field above the list. Select the vendor and click Select. Lookup results with a lighter font color are inactive.

Vendors included in this list are those that are marked as approved for use in processing in the Firms hub for your current company and are available based on your security role.

You can select active or inactive vendors, but not dormant vendors.

Originating Vendor Name This field displays the name of the originating vendor. You can also use this field to select an originating consultant name for an expense, do one of the following in Originating Consultant:
  • Enter one character from the vendor name or number to display a list of vendors that start with that character in a drop-down list, or enter two or more characters to display a list of vendors that contain those characters. Select the vendor you want. If only one vendor matches your search text in Originating Consultant Name, that vendor is automatically entered in Originating Consultant Name without displaying the list.
  • Click to display the Originating Vendor Name lookup. The available vendors display automatically when the dialog box opens. If necessary, scroll to locate the vendor, or enter all or part of the vendor name or number in the search field above the list. Select the vendor and click Select. Lookup results with a lighter font color are inactive.

This field is displayed if the Originating Consultant field is displayed. You can display Originating Consultant Name whether or not you choose to display Originating Consultant. if you used this field to select a vendor, the Originating Consultant field is also updated with the matching vendor number for the selected vendor.

Company Paid This field is displayed if Allow Company Paid Expenses is set to Yes in Settings > Expense > Options.

Select this check box if the expense is company paid. Company-paid expenses are reimbursed to the vendor, not the employee. A common example of a company-paid item is when you purchase an airline ticket for business travel, and the airline charges your company instead of you for the expense. Your company pays the airline for the ticket, but you add it to your expense report to create an audit trail and charge it to the appropriate project.

If a credit card defined as "company paid" is assigned to the expense line, the Company Paid option is automatically selected, and you cannot clear it. If a credit card defined as "employee paid" is assigned, the Company Paid option is automatically selected, and you cannot clear it.

Credit Card Use this field to assign a credit card to the expense line. Enter or select a credit card when you click in the field.
Merchant Description If a credit card is assigned to the expense line, the associated merchant description displays in this field. This is the merchant or description from the credit card statement that helps employees identify a charge.
Currency Code This field is displayed if you use multiple currencies. Use the Currency Code field to specify the currency that applies to the amounts in the Amount, Total Tax Amount, and Net Amount fields for the expense item. For example, if you submit an expense report following a business trip to multiple countries, you might enter USD for one line item, EUR for another, and CAD for yet another.
Use this field to select a currency code. To select a currency code, do either of the following:
  • Enter one or more characters from the currency code to display a list of codes that contain those characters in a drop-down list. Select the code you want. If only one code matches your search text in Currency Code, that code is automatically entered in Currency Code without displaying the list.
  • Click to display all available currency codes in a drop-down list. Select the code you want.

If you use the Currency Override dialog box to specify a different transaction currency, it will apply to any new expense items that you subsequently add to the grid.

If you assign miles/kilometers for the expense report in the Travel Detail dialog box, system checks the Currency Code field to ensure the assigned currency matches the employee's company's functional currency. If they are different, an error message displays, the employee's company functional currency is entered in Currency Code, and you cannot change it.

If a "company paid" credit card is assigned to the expense line, the currency code associated with the credit card displays in the Currency Code field for reference. In that case, you cannot select a different currency. If the credit card for an expense line is "employee paid," the Currency Code field behaves as it does when no credit card is involved.

Amount Enter the expense amount in this field.

If tax auditing is enabled, the amount in this field is used to calculate the taxes that prefill the Total Tax field in this grid. If amounts are entered in the Payment Amount and Net Amount fields, any updates that are made to those fields automatically update the amount in this field.

If you assign travel detail to the expense, and you make changes to the mileage/kilometer-related entries on the Travel Detail dialog box, Amount automatically updates accordingly.

If you use multiple currencies and the assigned transaction currency and functional currency codes are different, the Amount field is used to calculate the amount in Payment Amount as follows: Amount X Payment Exchange Rate. If a credit card is assigned to the expense line, this field displays the amount of the charge in the credit card receipt's currency.

Payment Exchange Rate If you use multiple currencies, use this field to specify the rate at which one currency is exchanged for another.

The amount in the Amount field multiplied by the rate in this field is the amount in Payment Amount. If you change any of these amounts, the others are automatically updated.

You can change the payment exchange rate if the code in Currency Code does not match the functional currency for the employee's company. If you change the assigned Currency Code, the payment exchange rate is automatically updated.

The Payment Exchange Rate displays a default rate in the following situations:

  • If the transaction currency and functional currency differ, and you use the Currency Override dialog box to specify an override other than None, the exchange rate applied is based on the assigned date or rate method on the Currency Override dialog box.
  • If the transaction currency and functional currency differ, and you use the Currency Override dialog box to specify None as the override, system applies the daily exchange rate that is entered in desktop application.
If a credit card is assigned to the expense line, the following is considered for the payment exchange rate:
  • If the expense item is linked to an imported credit card charge and the currency for the expense amount differs from the payment amount currency (the currency for the primary credit card), the Amount and Payment Amount fields are used to calculate the exchange rate. In that case, you cannot change the exchange rate.
  • If the expense item is not linked to an imported credit card charge but has a credit card assigned, and the currency for the expense amount differs from the payment amount currency, the exchange rate is recalculated if the date is changed.
Payment Amount If you use multiple currencies, this field displays the amount to be paid to the employee, in their functional currency. This is calculated by multiplying the expense amount in Amount by the exchange rate in Payment Exchange Rate after any exchange overrides have been applied. As you change these amounts, the others automatically update and are stored in the functional currency of the employee's company.

If the code in Currency Code does not match the company's functional currency, you can enter or change the payment amount. If the currencies are the same, Payment Amount displays the same amount as Amount and is not editable.

The amount in the Payment Amount field is not increased or decreased by a reverse charge tax amount if a reverse charge tax was applied to an employee expense. For example, if an expense item is $100 and it has a reverse charge tax code that has a 10% tax, the tax is calculated as $10, and the payment amount is calculated as $100.

If a credit card is assigned to the expense line, the amount in this field is the amount that will be paid to one of the following:
  • Employee: Expenses that are not company paid are made in the functional currency of the employee's company.
  • Credit card company: Company-paid expenses that have an assigned credit card are paid in the currency that is assigned to the primary credit card.
  • Merchant or vendor : Company-paid expenses that do not have an assigned credit card are paid in the functional currency of the employee's company.
The amount is the transaction amount in the credit card currency. For example, if a United States employee took a trip to Japan and used a US credit card, the amount in Payment Amount is in US currency.

If the payment amount is not in the same currency as the functional currency of the employee's company, the amount displays in a blue font. (A blue diamond also displays next to the column heading as an additional visual indicator that the column contains amounts in more than one currency.) The blue amounts are excluded from the expense report totals.

Exchange Override This field displays the payment exchange override information from the Currency Override dialog box that applies to the expense row:
  • None: No override applies to the row.
  • Date - <date>: The exchange rate for the specified date is used to calculate the payment amount in the employee's functional currency.
  • Rate - <rate>: The specified exchange rate is used to calculate the payment amount in the employee's functional currency.

If the Currency Code, Payment Exchange Rate, and Payment Amount cannot be selected for display, you cannot display this column.

Total Tax Amount If you use the Tax Auditing feature, this field displays the calculated tax amount for the expense item. Settings determine if the Total Tax Amount prefills in this field and if you have access to the icon to, which you click to open the Taxes dialog box so that you can enter tax code information.

A tax amount prefills in this field if an expense category is assigned and it has default tax codes or if a category is assigned and default tax codes are assigned Settings > Cash Management > Tax Codes. If the selected category has associated default tax codes entered on the Expense Categories dialog box, then the tax rates that are entered for those default tax codes are applied to the amount in Amount to calculate the total tax amount. You can change these codes only if Allow User to Edit is set to Yes on the Edit Expense Categories dialog box (in Settings > Expense > Categories and then click and Edit at the end of a row in the Categories for All Expense Groups grid).

When no amount prefills in Total Tax Amount and the category's settings allow, click in the field to open the Taxes dialog box. On the dialog box, view, add, or remove tax codes and recalculate the tax amount, or change the tax amount. The amount in the Net Amount field is updated automatically, unless the tax code is a reverse tax charge.

The amount in the Total Tax Amount field includes reverse charge tax amounts if a reverse charge tax was applied to an employee expense.

If you use the multiple currencies and you entered an expense line that uses a different currency, but you are not allowed to edit tax codes, an error message displays. The error message indicates that the taxes did not generate a default amount because the associated currency for the expense report is different than the currency on the expense line. in this case, when you try to open the Taxes dialog box, a similar message is also displayed and prevents you from accessing the Taxes dialog box. Contact your system administrator.

Net Amount

If you use the Tax Auditing feature, this field displays the net expense amount, which is the expense amount in Amount less the tax amount in the Total Tax Amount.

The amount in the Net Amount field is not increased or decreased by a reverse charge tax amount if a reverse charge tax was applied to the employee expense. For example, if an expense item is $100 and it has a reverse charge tax code that has a 10% tax, the tax is calculated as $10, and the net amount is calculated as $100.

You can change the amount directly in this field. The amounts in the Amount and Payment Amount fields are automatically updated.

Project and/or Project Name You can display the Project field, the Project Name field, or both.
To select a project, do either of the following in Project or, if Project is not displayed, in Project Name:
  • Enter one character from the project number or short or long name to display a list of projects that start with that character on the Project/Phase/Task lookup, or enter two or more characters to display a list of projects that contain those characters. Select the project you want and click Select. If only one project matches your search text in Project and that project has no phases, that project number is automatically entered in Project without displaying the lookup.
  • Click to display the Project/Phase/Task lookup. Scroll to locate and select the project, or enter all or part of a project number or short or long name in the search field above the list. If the project has phases, also select a phase, and if the phase has tasks, select a task. Click Select to complete the entry. Lookup results with a lighter font color are inactive.
These additional settings affect what projects are available for selection:
  • Apply Project access to: Expense Report: If selected, your access is subject to the record level access for projects defined for your security role in Settings > Security > Roles.
  • Treat inactive Projects as dormant: If this option is set to Yes in Settings > Expense > Options, inactive projects are not available for selection. If the option is set to No, you can select an inactive project.
Phase and/or Phase Name You can display the Phase field, the Phase Namefield, or both. When you select a project for an expense and that project has phases, you also select a phase in the Project/Phase/Task lookup, and it displays in Phase and/or Phase Name.
If you need to change the phase, do either of the following in Phase or, if Phase is not displayed, in Phase Name:
  • Enter one character from the phase number or name to display a list of phases that start with that character in the Phase/Task lookup, or enter two or more characters to display a list of phases that contain those characters. Select the phase that you want and click Select. If only one phase matches your search text in Phase and that phase has no tasks, that phase number is automatically entered in Phase without displaying the lookup.
  • Click to display the Phase/Task lookup and change your selection. If necessary, scroll to locate and select the phase, or enter all or part of a phase number or short or long name in the search field above the list. If the phase has tasks, also select a task. Click Select to complete the entry. Lookup results with a lighter font color are inactive.

If Treat inactive Projects as dormant is set to Yes in Settings > Expense > Options, inactive phases are not available for selection.

Task and/or Task Name Use the Task field, Task Name field, or both to identify the task associated with the expense. When you select a phase for an expense and that phase has tasks, you also select a task in the Project/Phase/Task lookup or Phase/Task lookup, and it displays in Task and/or Task Name fields.
If you need to change the task, do one of the following in Task or, if Task is not displayed, in Task Name:
  • Enter one character from the task number or name to display a list of tasks that start with that character in a drop-down list, or enter two or more characters to display a list of tasks that contain those characters. Select the task you want.

    If only one task matches your search text in Task, that task number is automatically entered in Task without displaying the list.

  • Click to display the Task lookup and change your selection. The tasks display automatically when the dialog box opens. If necessary, scroll to locate the task, or enter all or part of a task number or short or long name in the search field above the list. Select the task and click Select.

    Lookup results with a lighter font color are inactive.

If the Treat inactive Projects as dormant option is set to Yes in Settings > Expense > Options, inactive tasks are not available for selection.

Bill This check box is enabled when an expense item's project has a regular charge type. This option indicates whether or not the project's client should be billed for the expense item.
The check box prefills as selected or cleared based on the Bill by Default settings on the Time & Expense tab in the Projects hub for the expense item's project (at the lowest level of the work breakdown structure).
  • If Yes is selected for the Bill by Default settings for the project, the Bill check box for the expense item is selected by default.
  • If No is selected for the Bill by Default settings for the project, the Bill check box for the expense item is cleared by default.
  • If Category is selected for the Bill by Default settings for the project, the Bill check box for the expense item is selected or cleared based on the Bill by Default setting specified in Settings > Expense > Categories for the expense category that is entered for the expense item.
Account and/or Account Name Enter the general ledger debit account for an expense item. An account may prefill in these fields based the on the expense category that you enter for an expense item; the charge type (regular, overhead, or promotional) of the project that you entered for the expense item; and whether or not the expense item is billable to the client (the Bill check box is selected in the grid). The default account that prefills is specified in Settings > Expense > Categories. If no default account is set up for the expense category, you must enter an account in this field. Click and use the account lookup to select an account, or enter an account directly in the field. Lookup results with a lighter font color are inactive.

The accounts that you can choose from are based on the project's charge type as follows:

Project Charge Type Accounts that You Can Select
Overhead or Promotional Indirect, asset, liability, net worth, or other charges
Regular (and the Bill check box is selected) Reimbursable or reimbursable consultant
Regular (and the Bill check box is not selected) Direct or direct consultant

In Settings > Expense > Options, use the Account option under Display on Expense Report to specify whether accounts or account names display in the grid.

Receipts Use this field to associate receipts with the expense item.

If you use the Vantagepoint on-premises product, this field displays only if Transaction Document Management is configured. For more information about the configuration, see the Configuring Supporting Documents online help topic.

Select an expense item and click in the Receipts field. The Expense Line Receipts dialog box lists all receipts that are attached to the expense report. Use this dialog box to upload a new receipt file, or select the Attached to Selected Expense check box to attach one of the listed receipts to the current expense item.

When a receipt is already associated with the expense item, the is displayed instead. When you hover over the icon, a tooltip displays that shows the number of attached receipts for the expense item.

When you upload receipts in the Expense Line Receipts dialog box, an error message is displayed if the file you are uploading exceeds the file size limit that was set up by your system administrator.

Totals Fields

TheTotals fields display total amounts for the items in the Expense Reports grid. Some or all of the fields listed below may display, depending on how your system administrator defines expense settings.

If you use multiple currencies, the total amounts display in the currency in which you will be reimbursed, the functional currency for your assigned company. If one or more expense lines have a credit card assigned with a payment amount in a currency other than your functional currency, those payment amounts display in a blue font in the Payment Amount column. Those blue amounts are not included in the total amounts. A blue diamond displayed in the total fields area is a visual indicator that this has occurred.

Field Description
Total Expenses This field displays the total amount of all the expense items on the expense report as listed in the Amount column. This includes any company-paid items.

However, if you use multiple currencies, this field displays the total amount, in the functional currency of the employee's company, of all the expense items as listed in the Payment Amount column, including company-paid items.

Firm Paid This field displays the total of amounts in the Amount fields for rows in which the Company Paid check box is selected. The amount you are owed for your expenses is reduced by this amount.

This field displays if selected Yes for the Allow company paid expenses option in the Options tab of the Expense Settings form. The form is accessed from Expense under the Settings section in the Navigation Pane.

If you use multiple currencies, this field displays the total of amounts in Payment Amount for all rows in which the Company Paid check box is selected. This amount is in the functional currency of the employee's company,

Amount Advanced Enter the total amount of any advances you have received that should be applied to the expense report. Advances represent cash provided to you by your firm to cover expected expenses. An advance reduces the amount owed to you.

This field displays only if Apply Advances is set to Yes in Settings > Expense > Options.

If you use multiple currencies, the amount in this field is displayed in the functional currency of the employee's company.

Total Due This field displays the total amount that your firm owes to you for the expenses included on the expense report: Total expenses - Total company-paid expenses - Advances.