Using Expense Management with SyteLine

Sharing information

Employees and payroll records must be defined in SyteLine. When the employee record is sent to Expense Management, the necessary user records are created there, ensuring that the names match in both systems. However, some employee data needed by Expense Management is not sent from SyteLine and so must be maintained manually or imported from another HR system. That data includes employee default currency, location, cost center, groups, approvers, and permissions.

Transactional data from SyteLine service orders, job orders, and projects is sent to Expense Management, where it is used in expense reports and timesheets.

Codes that are used in both systems must be created and maintained only in SyteLine, and are then sent to Expense Management. These codes include departments (cost centers in Expense Management), external expense types, payment types, project cost codes, and absence reason codes. Any required additional configuration of the codes is performed automatically when the codes are received in Expense Management; for example, payment types from SyteLine are always set to the reimbursement payment method in Expense Management.

Managing the expense reimbursement process

The creation and approval of expense reports, and all post-payment recordkeeping about the reports, is handled through Expense Management. SyteLine handles the payment processing and accounting functions.

When messages that contain Expense Management expense reports are received in SyteLine, the reports can be processed either through the SyteLine Accounts Payable module or through the Payroll module. This is determined by a parameter setting.

If you choose payroll reimbursement processing, the expenses are paid through payroll payments to the employee:

• After a user creates an expense report in Expense Management, a specified activity (for example, a manager approving the report) generates a message that is sent to SyteLine. The activity that sends this message is configurable in Expense Management based on your requirements.
• When the message is received in SyteLine, if the status value in the message is set to Approved, SyteLine creates a payroll record.
• When a SyteLine user runs the Print/Post Payroll Checks utility, the expense check is printed. This process triggers a remittance advice message that is transmitted to Expense Management. Expense Management processes the message and notifies the person who submitted the report that the check was generated.

If you choose accounts payable (AP) reimbursement processing, the expenses are paid through a vendor record that is linked to the employee record:

• Any employee ID that is expected to created expense reports must be associated with a vendor record in SyteLine.
• An expense report is approved in Expense Management and a message is sent to SyteLine.
• When the message is received in SyteLine, an A/P voucher is automatically created for the associated vendor. Each expense report line creates a voucher distribution. If a line is marked as Itemized, multiple voucher distributions are created. Lines marked as Personal, Cash Advance, or Company Credit Card are ignored. Additionally, these processes are triggered:
  • For expense report lines associated with a job order, a job material record is created or updated, and a job material transaction is posted.
  • For expense report lines associated with a project order, the voucher distribution record is populated with project number, task number, and cost code information.
  • For expense report lines associated with a service order, a service order transaction (miscellaneous) is created and posted. The line's payment type is saved as the SyteLine service order transaction's payment type.
• A SyteLine user posts the vouchers and creates payments associated with the vouchers.
• A SyteLine user posts the expense payment, which triggers a remittance advice message that is transmitted to Expense Management. Expense Management processes the message and notifies the person who submitted the report that the payment was processed.

Creating and managing employee timesheets

The creation and approval of employee timesheets is handled in Expense Management. All rates and costs are maintained in SyteLine.

The Expense Management projects used in the timesheets are based on project and transaction type information that is defined and sent from SyteLine. The project hours from the timesheets are then incorporated into the associated SyteLine projects, job labor transactions (including indirect labor hours and absence hours), or service orders.