Process:
The traveler or their travel assistant submits a travel request through the save-and-send-for-approval function. TRAVELTracks will check budget and activate workflow, with the first step in the workflow directed to the account manager. At the time the request was saved a statistical encumbrance is created. A statistical encumbrance does not actually consume any budget. However, the travel amount will be reflected in the B2A report AND the Budget Balance report. Since the encumbrance is statistical, the system balance will be greater than the B2A balance by the amount of the statistical encumbrance. And, because the budget is actually still available, other offices (such as payroll, purchasing, AP, accounting-IDTs, etc.) could post to the account and consume the budget “statistically set aside” for the travel request. The Travel Office is the last step in the travel approval workflow, so there is a chance that when they go to approve a request, they will get an overbudget notification. Travel Office staff will coordinate with Budget Office staff when this occurs. The Budget Office staff may contact departments to resolve budgeting issues.
Once a travel request's workflow routing is complete, meaning the Travel Office has approved the request, the statistical encumbrance is eliminated and a real encumbrance is posted.
Reporting:
The B2A and Budget Balance reports will reflect a statistical encumbrance immediately when the creator hits “save.” To determine which encumbrances are statistical from the budget to actual, you must drill down into the documents in the encumbered column in GL 710096 – 710099. When you drill down from B2A, you’ll see the document numbers and from there you’ll drill down to the actual request in PDF form. The document has possible three statuses that you can see immediately upon opening them:
♦ Saved (NOT released for approval) - Statistical
♦ Released for Approval - Statistical
♦ Approved - Real
Another way to view the actual document in SAP is with the All Postings report (ZFMRP_RFFMEP1AX):
Choose the particular range of GLs (710096 – 710099) and Value Type 52 (Business Trip Commitments) and enter the account you’re looking at. Enter /STATTRAVEL as the layout. This layout subtotals by document number and has a specific column for the statistical indicator. If there is only one line for that document with an X in that column, the posting is statistical. A real posting will have, by document number, a minimum of three lines: a positive and a negative line with the statistical indicator, and then a posting line with that column blank.
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