Most of our customers who are traveling for the first time are likely surprised by the amount of information that must be entered into GovTrip. There is, however, a method to the madness. Before leaving on a trip, the traveler must submit an authorization. This is an estimate of the total costs and expenses of the trip, and also includes an itinerary, as well. The benefits of doing an authorization in GovTrip first is that since GovTrip takes the Federal Travel Regulations (FTR) into account, the document preparer and approving official are alerted to any items or expenses that could potentially be in violation of the FTR. Once the authorization has gone through the entire routing process and has received final approval, the traveler may then go on their trip. Upon returning, the traveler creates a voucher from their authorization and submits it for reimbursement. They are able to make changes to expenses or any other information that has changed. However, like the authorization, the voucher must go through the full routing process and also the pre-audit section, which will check for any potential conflicts with the FTR.
What most travelers don’t know is that there are both authorizations and vouchers in the financial system. The authorizations and vouchers from GovTrip go through an interface that pull them into the financial system, which is used to process travel reimbursements. Just as there must first be an authorization in GovTrip, there must also be one in the financial system before a voucher can be created and the traveler reimbursed. All of the information that was entered into GovTrip, such as the expenses and accounting classification, is transferred to the financial system. This allows for a smooth and seamless processing of the traveler’s reimbursement, most of which is totally transparent to them.
By Mark Hartshorn
These comments and opinions are my own and do not reflect the official views of the U.S. Government