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This guide provides the necessary steps to set up Security Administration and Payroll in order to take complete advantage of the benefits associated with using the leave request feature in EmployeePortal.
This guide assumes you are familiar with the basic features of the ASCENDER Business system and have reviewed the ASCENDER Business Overview guide.
❏ Ensure that all employees are set up with a user name and password, and can log on to EmployeePortal. If not, review the Employee Guide: Create Account & Login guide for additional information about user setup.
Before an employee can be set up as a supervisor, approver, or temporary approver, the employee must have a security user profile.
Personnel > Maintenance > Staff Demo > Demographic Information
❏ Create an employee record. The record cannot be a non-employee record created in District Administration.
❏ Add an email address to the employee record to allow the supervisor or temporary approver to receive automatic reply and workflow emails.
Security Administration > Manage Users
❏ Update the user's profile with the employee number that was generated on the employee's Personnel demographic record.
❏ If the employee has an existing user profile, ensure that the profile is active (i.e., not marked as deleted in Security Administration).
This setting serves two purposes, it determines the leave request approval path for the employee and allows the supervisor to access the Supervisor menu in EmployeePortal.
Payroll > Tables > EmployeePortal Supervisors > Employee/Supervisor
Notes:
A supervisor must have at least one assigned employee on the Payroll > Tables > EmployeePortal Supervisors > Employee/Supervisor tab in order to access the Supervisor menu in EmployeePortal.
Refer to the Supervisor Guide: Manage Leave Data and Requests & Set Temporary Approvers for more information about setting up temporary approvers and performing supervisor-level tasks.
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Finance > Tables > District Finance Options > Accounting Periods
Verify that the travel accounting period is accurate.
| Travel Accounting Period | Type the Travel accounting period. The field is a two-digit number from 01-12. The period can be the same as the current accounting period or the next accounting posting period. |
|---|
Note: This accounting period is incremented after completing the EOM and Fiscal Year Close processes.
Perform the following tasks to ensure that the travel reimbursement request feature in EmployeePortal is set up properly and functions as intended for employees.
Finance > Tables > District Finance Options 2
Set up the appropriate parameters to be used for the LEA's travel reimbursement requests.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Next Available Travel Request Number | Type the next available travel request number. Or, click the Next Available Travel Request Number link to automatically populate the field with the last travel request number plus one. The field can be a maximum of six characters and can be alphanumeric. If only numeric values are used, the field is zero-filled to equal six digits when a partial travel request number is entered and you tab out of the field (e.g., you entered 123, the field is zero-filled to 000123). If alphanumeric values are used, the field is not zero-filled to equal six characters (e.g., you entered ABC2, the travel request number remains ABC2). |
| Location Locking | Select to lock (disable) the Mileage (Start, Stop, and Map) fields, Point of Origin, and Destination fields on travel requests and require employees to use the Location link to select an origin and destination location from the predefined list of travel locations and distances set up on the Finance > Tables > Travel > Locations and Finance > Tables > Travel > Distances tab. The Location Locking feature is not available for extended mileage travel requests. |
| Require Start/End Times | Select to require the travel start and end times on travel requests. This option is only available for mileage travel requests. The start/end times are always required for extended travel as the times are necessary to determine meal rates and eligibility. |
| Require Odometer Start/Stop Mileage | Select to require the beginning and ending odometer readings on travel requests. |
| Mileage Reimbursement Rate | Type the mileage reimbursement rate (cents per mile). |
| New Mileage Reimbursement Rate | Type the new mileage reimbursement rate. This field is used when the mileage reimbursement rate is set to change on a scheduled date. |
| New Mileage Reimbursement Date | Type the date on which the New Mileage Reimbursement Rate takes effect. Use the MM-DD-YYYY format. This field is used when the mileage reimbursement rate is set to change on a scheduled date. When travel requests are entered in EmployeePortal, if the date the travel occurred is equal to or greater than this date, the new mileage reimbursement rate is used. |
| Breakfast Amount | Type the allowable limit for breakfast reimbursement. |
| Breakfast Eligible Depart Time | Type the time the employee must depart before in order to be reimbursed for breakfast on the first travel day. Use the HH MM format and click To be reimbursed for breakfast on the first travel day, the Departure Time on the travel request must be earlier than the Breakfast Eligible Depart Time. |
| Lunch Amount | Type the allowable limit for lunch reimbursement. |
| Dinner Amount | Type the allowable limit for dinner reimbursement. |
| Dinner Eligible Return Time | Type the time the employee must return after in order to be reimbursed for dinner on the last travel day. Use the HH MM format and click To be reimbursed for dinner on the last travel day, the Return Time on the travel request must be later than the Dinner Eligible Return Time. |
❏ Click Save.
Finance > Tables > Travel > Locations
Define a list of travel locations. These locations can be used on the Finance > Tables > Travel > Distances tab to predefine a list of distances between to/from travel locations.
If the Location Locking feature is enabled on the Finance > Tables > District Finance Options 2 page, the Mileage (Start, Stop, and Map) fields, Point of Origin, and Destination fields are disabled on EmployeePortal travel requests and employees will need to use the Locations link to select from the predefined list of locations.
This is an optional method for maintaining a list of locations.
❏ Click +Add to add a row.
❏ Click Save.
Finance > Tables > Travel > Distances
Add a list of distances (in miles) between possible predefined to/from travel locations. These locations are set up on the can be used on the Finance > Tables > Travel > Locations tab.
If the Location Locking feature is enabled on the Finance > Tables > District Finance Options 2 page, the Mileage (Start, Stop, and Map) fields, Point of Origin, and Destination fields are disabled on EmployeePortal travel requests and employees will need to use the Locations link to select from the predefined list of locations.
This is an optional method for maintaining a list of locations.
❏ Click +Add to add row.
| Origination | Click to open the Location lookup and select a starting location. |
|---|---|
| Destination | Click to open the Location lookup and select an ending location. |
| Distance | Type the number of miles from the Origination (starting) location to the Destination (ending) location. |
❏ Click Save.
Finance > Maintenance > Vendor Information > Vendor Name/Address
Create a vendor record for the employee.
❏ Click Add.
❏ Complete the applicable fields.
TIPS:
❏ Click Save.
Finance > Maintenance > Vendor Information > Vendor Miscellaneous
Add bank information for the vendor/employee.
❏ Under Bank Information:
| Bank |
Begin typing a bank code or name. As you type the data, a drop-down list of corresponding data is displayed. The bank information must exist on the Finance > Tables > Bank Codes tab. Select a bank code. If the bank code or name is not known, click |
|---|---|
| Bank Acct Nbr | Type the corresponding bank account number for the selected bank. |
| Bank Acct Type | Select the account type for the selected bank and bank account number.
2 Checking account |
| PreNote | Select to generate a prenote to the bank. |
❏ Click Copy from Payroll to copy the employee’s bank information from the Payroll > Maintenance > Staff Job/Pay Data > Pay Info tab.
❏ Click Save.
Personnel > Maintenance > Staff Demo > Demographic Information
Indicate the employee's commute distance. This information is used when calculating travel distances for travel reimbursement requests.
❏ In the Travel Commute Distance field, type the commute distance (the number of miles between the employee's home and assigned work location). Valid values are 0-999.9.
This field can also be updated by the employee via the Commute Distance Change link on the Travel Reimbursement Requests page in EmployeePortal.
❏ Click Save.
Payroll > Tables > District EP Options > EmployeePortal Options
Set up the following EP options to allow employees to view the Travel Reimbursement Request menu in EmployeePortal.
❏ Under Enable, select Travel Reimbursement Request to enable the travel reimbursement request feature in EmployeePortal.
❏ Under Messages, select Travel Reimbursement Request to enable employees to view a preset message on the Travel Reimbursement Requests page in EmployeePortal.
❏ Click Save.
After the above steps are completed, employees can submit travel reimbursement requests in EmployeePortal.
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