11/21/2018

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January 28, 2014

What has Martha Kerner, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Business Services, so happy? This week marks the rollout of the new Guided Expense Tool (GET) for expense reimbursement submission. GET will become the primary campus tool for submitting expense reports over the course of the year, while e-Reimbursement remains as an alternative.

Why GET?

GET was collaboratively developed by a cross functional team of functional users, technical developers and other personnel committed to process improvement. It was developed in response to campus requests for a more intuitive, user-friendly tool for submitting travel and other expenses. GET includes some functions specifically requested by campus that are not available in e-Reimbursement, including:

-Built-in wizards for selecting funding and mileage rates

-Receipt and documentation requirement indicators

-Easier assignment of expense and billing types

-Built-in help and contact links

-Enhanced tools for alternates

How did we “GET” here?

GET is the result of a Lean Six Sigma project, managed by Administrative Process Redesign (APR) in partnership with Business Services and DoIT. Development was preceded by a thorough requirements gathering process and included an extensive pilot to ensure campus needs are met with this tool.

The pilot was a particularly unique feature of this campus project, involving more than 700 participants from 19 campus divisions over a period of seven months. As the pilot users entered over 1,100 expense reports, they also submitted feedback via an online survey. This input allowed the GET team to identify additional requirements and implement the appropriate enhancements. Features added during the pilot phase included sorting and paging functions on the report screens, improved help documentation and the implementation of a public transportation category. Customer satisfaction with the tool improved as the pilot progressed, leading to the current all-campus rollout.

“96 percent of the pilot users tell us they’ll recommend GET to their colleagues,” states Dan Langer, Controller for Business Services. “And with easier entry, we should also see shorter submission times and fewer errors, resulting in minimal send-backs and quicker approvals. It’s a win for everyone involved.”

GET can currently be used to submit the vast majority of expense reimbursement requests and enhancements will be added over time. Once the planned enhancements are in place, it is intended that only reimbursements associated with cash advances will need to be submitted via e-Reimbursement. e-Reimbursement will also continue to be the tool for approvals and auditing.

For more information and to start using GET, visit Accounting Service’s Expense Reimbursement page.