GSA awarded a contract to three vendors to provide E-Gov Travel Services (ETS) and each federal agency was required to make a selection by December 2004. The three vendors that are available for selection are Carlson Wagonlit Government Travel’s E2 Solutions, EDS’s FedTraveler, and Northrop Grumman Mission System’s GovTrip. Each of these vendors had to meet the same requirements yet each system is very different.
The ETS is made up of several components such as:
- Authorizations
- Reservations
- Vouchers
In our agency, the authorization is created by either the traveler or a document preparer. The authorization consists of the trip dates, where the traveler is going, and an estimate of the expenses they will incur. Also included in the authorization are the reservations. Our agency uses an imbedded travel management center (TMC) which is partnered with our ETS vendor. Once the traveler has entered their basic trip information, they can search and reserve flights, hotels, and/or rental cars. After everything on the authorization is complete, it is signed and electronically routed to the approving official for signature. Once the authorization is approved, it is interfaced to the accounting system.
When the traveler returns from their trip, they are supposed to voucher within five days. In our ETS, the traveler creates a voucher from the authorization. All expenses from the authorization are populated on the voucher. The traveler can update or delete any of those expenses and they can also add any additional expenses that they incurred. After their voucher is complete, they attach the receipts and then sign and route the voucher to the approving official. Once approved, it is interfaced to the accounting system and the payment is received within 3 business days.
By Kim Fordyce
Disclaimer: The contents of this message are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the Government or my agency. Use of this equipment is consistent with the agency’s policy governing limited personal use.