On September 22, 2006 the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) was amended to mandate the use of the Receipt Management tool within an Electronic Travel System (ETS). Within the Per Diem section of the FTR a statement was added, which states that hard copy, receipts should be electronically scanned and submitted with your electronic travel claim when your agency has this capability available with the use of the ETS. Additionally it is stated that Approving Officials are now required to review the attached electronic receipts during their review/approval process.
At our agency, Travelers are responsible for making sure that their receipts are attached correctly and the attachment is legible. All receipts for air, lodging, rental car, and any single expense greater than $75 must be attached in the travelers’ ETS travel document. Within our ETS there is an automatic pre-audit functionality built in which alerts the document preparer/traveler in the event that a receipt has not been uploaded.
Our ETS users have the capability of either scanning or faxing in their receipts. Either option is a very easy process. For faxing, the user is required to print a cover sheet from the ETS. This cover sheet includes a unique bar code, which identifies to the ETS which document the receipts are to be attached to. The user simply places their receipts behind this ‘bar coded’ cover sheet and faxes the information. The second option allows users to scan in their receipts. I personally find scanning to be the easier option for me, mainly since receipts come in all shapes and sizes, I find it easier to scan my receipts at my local shared scanner, then browse and upload the file within the receipts section of my ETS.
by Brian Shears