My agency provides administrative services (i.e. accounting, human resources, procurement and travel) to other government agencies. I work in the Systems and Accounting Section of the Travel Branch. Our agency uses an E-Gov travel system in order to process authorizations and vouchers for travelers. We have some system administration rights in the E-Gov travel system, which allows us to enter/update the data. It is very important to keep the data in the system up-to-date. The system will perform better, if only the most current data is in the system. I believe some agencies do not give any attention to the information after it has been entered into the system.
A year ago, the owners of the E-Gov system made a request to all the agencies to review the information and see if any of it could be deleted. Our agency was the only agency that did not have a lot of old data in the system. We know how important it is to keep only the most current data in the system. For that reason, we process a yearly review of the data stored in the E-Gov travel system. Some of the data that should be reviewed on a yearly basis is the list of the agency’s users, routing lists, groups and accounting elements. This will help the system run faster and the travelers and document preparers will have access to only the current data.
The agencies that we service are very good about notifying us anytime a user is exiting their agency. However, once each year, we request a review of the users in the E-Gov system. We create a report of all the users for an agency and then send the list to be reviewed. The travel contacts reviews the list and verifies that everyone on the list is an active user of the system. This is a good way to catch anyone who was not exited from the system once they left the agency.
Anytime throughout the year, is a good time to have the agency travel contacts to review their agency’s routing lists and groups in the E-Gov travel system. This is extremely important anytime an agency is going through a re-organization. The agency’s organization chart is a helpful tool in establishing new and deleting out-dated routing lists and groups. The routing lists are designed according to a traveler’s division, office, and/or branch. The routing list selected in the traveler’s profile must be correct, so that their documents route through the appropriate reviewer, examiner and/or approver in a timely manner.
We usually request the review of the accounting elements in the E-Gov travel system around the first of August each year (or any time prior to the new fiscal year). A report of the accounting elements is generated and sent to the customer. The customers review the report and determine if the accounting elements listed will be used in the next fiscal year. This process helps keep the accounting data up-to-date and eliminates a lot of confusion for the document preparers and travelers. It also helps the provider of our E-Gov travel system from having to manage unnecessary data. If there are any questions about the accounting, the agency contact will consult with their agency’s budget office.
The accounting changes and the new elements are processed prior to the new fiscal year (usually the first part of September). Once the new accounting is entered, the document preparers and travelers are then able to start processing the documents for the next fiscal year.
Once the prior fiscal year documents are processed (usually around the first of November), the accounting elements that the agency contact noted as not being necessary for the next fiscal year are removed.
Anytime throughout the year, if a traveler needs to submit a voucher for a previous year’s accounting, we will enter the accounting elements. That is if the funds are still available. Since our E-Gov travel system is not a part of our accounting system. We always verify that the accounting is valid in the accounting system.
These tasks will keep the data in the E-Gov travel system up-to-date and the system will perform better. My agency takes a lot of precautions in verifying and keeping the data entered into the E-Gov travel system accurate. As we move to the ETS2 contract, this will be a good time for you to review your agency’s data, and only keep the most current information in your E-Gov travel system.
By: Pam Morton
“The views expressed are those of the author and do not reflect any position of the Government or my agency.”
My agency provides administrative services (i.e. accounting, human resources, procurement and travel) to other government agencies. I work in the Systems and Accounting Section of the Travel Branch. Our agency uses an E-Gov travel system in order to process authorizations and vouchers for travelers. We have some system administration rights in the E-Gov travel system, which allows us to enter/update the data. It is very important to keep the data in the system up-to-date. The system will perform better, if only the most current data is in the system. I believe some agencies do not give any attention to the information after it has been entered into the system.
A year ago, the owners of the E-Gov system made a request to all the agencies to review the information and see if any of it could be deleted. Our agency was the only agency that did not have a lot of old data in the system. We know how important it is to keep only the most current data in the system. For that reason, we process a yearly review of the data stored in the E-Gov travel system. Some of the data that should be reviewed on a yearly basis is the list of the agency’s users, routing lists, groups and accounting elements. This will help the system run faster and the travelers and document preparers will have access to only the current data.
The agencies that we service are very good about notifying us anytime a user is exiting their agency. However, once each year, we request a review of the users in the E-Gov system. We create a report of all the users for an agency and then send the list to be reviewed. The travel contacts reviews the list and verifies that everyone on the list is an active user of the system. This is a good way to catch anyone who was not exited from the system once they left the agency.
Anytime throughout the year, is a good time to have the agency travel contacts to review their agency’s routing lists and groups in the E-Gov travel system. This is extremely important anytime an agency is going through a re-organization. The agency’s organization chart is a helpful tool in establishing new and deleting out-dated routing lists and groups. The routing lists are designed according to a traveler’s division, office, and/or branch. The routing list selected in the traveler’s profile must be correct, so that their documents route through the appropriate reviewer, examiner and/or approver in a timely manner.
We usually request the review of the accounting elements in the E-Gov travel system around the first of August each year (or any time prior to the new fiscal year). A report of the accounting elements is generated and sent to the customer. The customers review the report and determine if the accounting elements listed will be used in the next fiscal year. This process helps keep the accounting data up-to-date and eliminates a lot of confusion for the document preparers and travelers. It also helps the provider of our E-Gov travel system from having to manage unnecessary data. If there are any questions about the accounting, the agency contact will consult with their agency’s budget office.
The accounting changes and the new elements are processed prior to the new fiscal year (usually the first part of September). Once the new accounting is entered, the document preparers and travelers are then able to start processing the documents for the next fiscal year.
Once the prior fiscal year documents are processed (usually around the first of November), the accounting elements that the agency contact noted as not being necessary for the next fiscal year are removed.
Anytime throughout the year, if a traveler needs to submit a voucher for a previous year’s accounting, we will enter the accounting elements. That is if the funds are still available. Since our E-Gov travel system is not a part of our accounting system. We always verify that the accounting is valid in the accounting system.
These tasks will keep the data in the E-Gov travel system up-to-date and the system will perform better. My agency takes a lot of precautions in verifying and keeping the data entered into the E-Gov travel system accurate. As we move to the ETS2 contract, this will be a good time for you to review your agency’s data, and only keep the most current information in your E-Gov travel system.
By: Pam Morton
“The views expressed are those of the author and do not reflect any position of the Government or my agency.”