Managing Aging and Outstanding Expense Transactions

Purchasing Card (PCard) transaction aging starts at the SU Credit Card Posted Date and ends when it completes local approval, which immediately causes the charge to post to a PTA and be cleared from the aging report. To follow policy, transactions should be cleared as soon as possible and within 60 days of the credit card posted date. For more information, visit Administrative Guide Policy 5.3.3: Purchasing Cards.
 
The OBI Credit Card Transactions - Aging report displays PCard transaction amounts in aging buckets.

Consequences of repeated force cleared transactions on a PCard may result in card suspension.

Workflow: PCard Transaction Processing

The following graphic shows stages of PCard processing, who is responsible at that stage and how aging is applied.

1. Verify PCard transaction
   This is done by the PCard verifier and includes transactions with the status of New or Returned. Refer to How to: Verify PCard Transactions. 
2. Approve or return
   This is done by the approver(s) when the status is Pending Approval.
3. Posted
   Once a transaction is fully approved it will post to the PTA(s), the status will show Approved, and the transaction will no longer appear in aging reports.

Managing Aging PCard Transactions

Several tools are available to help preparers, approvers, and finance staff manage aging transactions:

Find and Monitor Aging PCard Transactions

• Transaction preparers and approvers: In a single place, view all financial transactions where they are included in the workflow using Pending Transactions (available under OBI Financial Inquiry Tools).
• Financial managers and analysts: Use the OBI Credit Card Transactions - Aging Report to identify and monitor aging PCard transactions.

Clear Aging PCard Transactions

Prepare, verify, and approve PCard transactions in a timely manner.

• Verify PCard transactions; see Purchasing Card System How Tos.
• Approve PCard transactions; see How To: Review, Approve, or Reject PCard Verifications.

Manage Credit Card profiles using:

• OBI SU Credit Card Custodian Report to find the card’s custodian and verifier.
• Credit Card Profiles Change Request Tool to find or update the card verifier or change the credit card profile.

For further assistance:

• If you have questions or need help clearing an aging transaction, please submit a support request.
• If you need help with a PCard, submit a PCard/TCard support request.

Managing Force Cleared PCard Transactions

After FMS force clears the aging PCard transaction, it will post charges to the credit card guarantee PTAE.

Departments should take the following actions after an aging PCard transaction is force cleared.

Find Force Cleared PCard Transactions

See How To: Find Force Cleared PCard and TCard Transactions

Determine and Repay Amounts Owed to Stanford

1. Determine the business amount charged: Amounts expended for Stanford business should be explained in the business purpose and any remaining amounts should be defined as for personal use and repaid to Stanford.
2. Collect any personal amounts: Determine and collect any amounts owed to Stanford for personal expenses.
3. Request a check from the card holder and deposit it. As with returning unused advance funds, send the check to the Payment Services team.
4. Submit a support request to Card Services stating that a personal expense that was force cleared has been repaid. Include the following information in the support request: Last four digits of the PCard, transaction ID, and proof of deposit.
5. Upload documentation showing the deposit took place.
   1. Create and store documentation set
      1. Create a business purpose and scan the receipt (if the receipt is missing, create a document explaining the reason).
      2. Find the credit card transactions in Oracle Financials and upload the documents.
   2. Upload the backup documentation for the final deposit to the transaction that was used to force clear the charge. This documentation supports audits and proves that the repayment was made.

Move Charges to Appropriate PTAE If Needed

Use iJournals to move charges to an appropriate PTAE as needed, using an unallowable expenditure type for any amounts that do not have an explicitly allowable business purpose. Attach the documentation set to the iJournal as well.

Travel Card (TCard) charges appear in aging reports a few days after a purchase is made, with aging days initially calculated based on the SU Credit Card Posted Date. If a purchase is for an activity in the future (e.g., airplane ticket for later travel), verifiers can enter an Expense End Date in the Expense Requests system (ERS) to reflect the accurate number of days of aging. For more information, visit How To: Manage Travel Card (TCard) Expense End Date.

Once a TCard charge is applied to an Expense Report, then the Expense Request End Date is used to calculate the days of aging. TCard charges will continue to appear in TCard aging reports even after they have been added to an Expense Report but will show the transaction number of the Export Report to which they have been applied. Both will be visible in aging reports until the Expense Report is posted as a charge to a PTA.

The OBI Credit Card Transactions - Aging report displays TCard transactions in age buckets matching the Expense Requests report once a transaction has been added to an expense request and shows the expense request transaction number.  Amounts are displayed in age buckets or central processing buckets to focus attention on the different kinds of actions that need to be taken.

Workflow: TCard Processing with Aging

The following graphic shows stages of TCard processing, who is responsible at that stage, and how aging is applied.

1. Make charges on TCard
   This is done by the card holder to initiate a TCard charge.
2. Apply TCard transaction to an Expense Report
   This is done by the transaction preparer and includes transactions with the status of In Progress, Withdrawn, Rejected, Returned, or Pending Resolution. Refer to How To: Create Expense Report for SU Payees.
3. Submit Expense Report
   Once all entries are complete, the preparer submits the transaction
4. Approve, request more info, or reject
   This is done by the approver when the status is Pending Approval.
5. Approve, escalate, return, or reject
   This is done by the Business Expense Processor (on the Business Expense Team) when the status is Pending Audit Review.
6. Submit for payment/reimbursement processing
   This is done by Accounts Payable when the status is Pending Payment.
7. Paid and posted
   Once an expense request is fully approved and AP has processed the payment, the transaction will post to the PTA(s), the status will show as Paid, and the transaction will no longer appear in aging reports.

Managing Aging Travel Card Transactions

Several tools are available to help preparers, approvers, and finance staff manage aging transactions:

Find and Monitor Aging TCard Transactions

• Transaction preparers and approvers: In a single place, view all financial transactions where they are included in the workflow using Pending Transactions (available under OBI Financial Inquiry Tools).
• Financial managers and analysts: Use the OBI Credit Card Transactions - Aging Report to identify and monitor aging TCard transactions.

Clear Aging TCard Transactions

Prepare and approve TCard transactions in a timely manner.

• Submit Expense Reports for TCard transactions; see the Expense Reports and Travel Card (TCard) Charges How Tos.
• Approve TCard transactions; see How To: Approve, Request More Info, or Reject an Expense Report, Advance, or Non-PO Payment.

Manage Credit Card profiles using:

• OBI SU Credit Card Custodian Report to find the card’s custodian and verifier.
• Credit Card Profiles Change Request Tool to find or update the card verifier or change the credit card profile.

For further assistance:

• If you have questions or need help clearing an aging transaction, please submit a support request.
• If you need help with a TCard, submit a PCard/TCard support request.

Managing Force Cleared Travel Card Transactions

TCard transactions that have aged beyond 60 days will be force cleared by FMS. See Policy: Clearing of Aging Transactions for information about the timing and process of force clearing. Consequences for credit cards, such as card suspension and income tax reporting, are addressed in Purchasing Card (PCard) Program and Travel Card (TCard) Program pages. For each travel card, FMS will create an Expense Report, add travel card transactions that are over age limits, and then force approve the Expense Report, which will post charges to the credit card guarantee PTAE.

Departments should take the following actions after an aging TCard transaction is force cleared.

Find Force Cleared TCard Transactions

Please see How To: Find Force Cleared PCard and TCard Transactions.

Determine and Repay Amounts Owed to Stanford

1. Determine the business amount charged: Amounts expended for Stanford business should be explained in the business purpose and any remaining amounts should be defined as for personal use and repaid to Stanford.
2. Collect any personal amounts: Determine and collect any amounts owed to Stanford for personal expenses.
3. Request a check from the card holder and deposit it. As with returning unused advance funds, send the check to the Payment Services team.
4. Submit a support request to Card Services stating that a personal expense that was force cleared has been repaid. Include the following information in the support request: Last four digits of the TCard, transaction ID, and proof of deposit.
5. Upload documentation showing the deposit took place.
   1. Create and store documentation set
      1. Create a business purpose and scan the receipt (if the receipt is missing, create a document explaining the reason).
      2. Find the credit card transactions in Oracle Financials using  and upload the documents.
   2. Upload the backup documentation for the final deposit to the transaction that was used to force clear the charge. This documentation supports audits and proves that the repayment was made.

Move Charges to Appropriate PTAE If Needed

Use iJournals to move charges to an appropriate PTAE as needed, using an unallowable expenditure type for any amounts that do not have an explicitly allowable business purpose. Attach the documentation set to the iJournal as well.

Advances are funds paid directly to faculty, staff, or students via the Expense Requests system  to support specific business activities. Examples include advance travel funds and payments to  human subject study participants. The advance ages until it is applied to an Expense Report that is approved and posted to a PTA. Clearing should occur within 60 days of the completion of travel or the expected clearing date, and unapplied advance amounts must be repaid to Stanford to clear the transaction from the aging report. For more information, visit Administrative Guide Policy 5.4.1: Expense Advances. The OBI Advances - Aging report does not reflect that an advance has been applied to an expense report until the expense report is fully approved.

The OBI Advances - Aging report displays advances that have not been completely cleared. Each amount applied from an advance to an Expense Report is listed on a separate line showing the Advance Related Expense Request Transaction Number and the total shows the remaining unapplied amount. The report displays the advance dollar amounts in buckets, based on their number of days beyond the Advance Expected Clearing Date.

Workflow: Advance Transaction Processing

The following graphic shows the stages of ERS transaction processing with associated statuses, who is responsible at that stage, and how aging is applied.

1. Apply advance to an Expense Report
   This is done by the transaction preparer when an advance is being applied to a new Expense Report in ERS. Refer to How To: Request and Clear an Advance.
2. Approve, request more info, or reject
   This is done by the approver when the status is Pending Approval.
3. Approve, escalate, return, or reject
   This is done by the Business Expense Processor (on the Business Expense Team) when the status is Pending Audit Review.
4. Submit for payment/reimbursement processing
   This is done by Accounts Payable when the status is Pending Payment.
5. Cleared and posted
   Once the expense request(s) that an advance or partial advance amount has been attached to completes its workflow, the advance amounts will post to PTA(s) as part of the expense request(s). If an advance is only partially applied, it will continue to appear in aging with rows showing amounts for each expense request it is applied to. Once the full amount of the advance has been applied, it is considered cleared and no longer appears in the aging report.

Note: The status of an advance shows “Paid” once the requester has been paid the advance funds, but this status does not change or reflect the status of the Expense Report to which the advance has been applied.

Managing Aging Advances

Several tools are available to help preparers, approvers, and finance staff manage aging transactions:

Find and Monitor Aging Advance Transactions

• Transaction preparers and approvers: In a single place, view all financial transactions where they are included in the workflow using Pending Transactions (available under OBI Financial Inquiry Tools).
• Financial managers and analysts: Use the OBI Advances - Aging Report to identify and monitor aging advance transactions.

Clear Aging Advance Transactions

Prepare and approve advances in a timely manner.

• Submit Expense Reports for advances; see How To: Request and Clear an Advance in Expense Requests.
• Approve advances; see How To: Approve, Request More Info, or Reject an Expense Report, Advance, or Non-PO Payment.

For further assistance:

• If you have questions or need help clearing an aging advance, please submit a support request.

Managing Force Cleared Advance Transactions

Advances that have aged beyond 60 days will be force cleared by FMS. See Policy: Clearing of Aging Transactions for information about the timing and process of force clearing.

FMS will create and post an offsetting AP Invoice transaction with the same transaction number as the advance but appended with “FC” that charges the remaining balance to the AP Default PTA.

Find Force Cleared Advances

Please see How To: Find Force Cleared Advance Transactions. The force cleared amount and any prior reimbursements from the traveler will both appear in the ERR Advances report as the Employee Advance Returned Amount, but in the OBI Advances - Force Cleared report earlier reimbursements will appear with the advance transaction number appended with RUM while the force cleared amount is appended with FC.

Determine and Repay Amounts Owed to Stanford

1. Determine the business amount charged: Amounts expended for Stanford business should be explained in the business purpose and any remaining amounts should be defined as for personal use and repaid to Stanford.
2. Collect any personal amounts: Determine and collect any amounts owed to Stanford for personal expenses.
3. Collect a check from the payee and deposit it. As with returning unused advance funds, send the check to the Payment Services team.
4. Submit a support request to Card Services stating that a personal expense that was force cleared has been repaid. Include the following information in the support request: Last four digits of the PCard, transaction ID, and proof of deposit.
5. Upload documentation showing the deposit took place.
   1. Create and store documentation set.
      1. Create a business purpose and scan the receipt (if the receipt is missing, create a document explaining the reason).
      2. Find the advance transaction number using the Expense Request search and upload the documents.
   2. Upload the backup documentation for the final deposit to the transaction that was used to force clear the charge. This documentation supports audits and proves that the repayment was made.

Move Charges to Appropriate PTAE If Needed

Use iJournals to move charges to an appropriate PTAE as needed, using an unallowable expenditure type for any amounts that do not have an explicitly allowable business purpose. Attach the documentation set to the iJournal as well.

This section addresses aging Expense Reports in the Expense Requests system (ERS). For more information, see  Topic Overview: Reimbursements and Expense Reports.

Aging is the number of days between the Expense End Date, which is the date of the latest transaction in the expense report, and the current date up until full local approval, when aging stops. After that, the transaction is considered outstanding but still requires local monitoring until it posts to a PTA. Note that the 60 day timeline used to determine if the expense should be treated as taxable income ends once the transaction has been prepared and submitted for local approval. More information on handling transactions with regard to taxability can be found in Topic Overview: Reimbursements and Expense Reports.

Transactions that have been submitted for approval and have no rejections are typically processed in a matter of days. However, in some cases a transaction can stop progressing in its workflow. See Resource: Resolving Aging Expense Requests for guidance on how to resolve problems based on the current status.

Note: Expense Report transactions that have been saved but never submitted by the transaction preparer (status in ERS is “Saved”) do not appear in Oracle Business Intelligence (OBI) but are still considered aging.

The OBI Expense Request - Aging & Outstanding report shows transactions that have been submitted and are in process but not yet posted to a PTA as an expenditure.  Each ERS transaction age is calculated and displayed in age buckets or central processing buckets to focus attention on the different kinds of actions that need to be taken.

The report displays the transaction dollar amounts in columns based on the number of days from the Expense Request End Date up through local approval, at which point the Outstanding columns indicate where it is in central processing.

Workflow: ERS Transaction Processing

The following graphic shows the stages of ERS transaction processing with associated statuses, who is responsible at that stage, and how aging is applied.

1. Initiate and prepare transaction
   This is done by the transaction preparer and includes transactions with the status of In Progress, Withdrawn, Rejected, Returned, or Pending Resolution.
2. Approve, request more info, or reject
   This is done by the approver when the status is Pending Approval.
3. Approve, escalate, return or reject
   This is done by the Business Expense Processor (on the Business Expense Team) when the status is Pending Audit Review.
4. Submit for payment/reimbursement processing
   This is done by Accounts Payable when the status is Pending Payment.
5. Posted to PTA
   Once an expense request is fully approved and AP has processed the payment the transaction will post to the PTA(s), the status will show as Paid, and the transaction will no longer appear in aging reports.

Managing Aging Expense Requests

Several tools are available to help preparers, approvers, and finance staff manage aging transactions:

Find and Monitor Aging Expense Requests

• Transaction preparers and approvers: In a single place, view all financial transactions where they are included in the workflow using Pending Transactions (available under OBI Financial Inquiry Tools).
• Financial managers and analysts: Use the OBI Expense Requests - Aging Report to identify and monitor aging expense request transactions.

Clear Aging Expense Requests

Prepare and approve expense request transactions in a timely manner.

• Submit Expense Reports including travel card charges and advances; see Expense Requests How Tos.
• Approve financial transactions; see How To: Approve, Request More Info, or Reject an Expense Report, Advance, or Non-PO Payment.

For further assistance:

• If you have questions or need help clearing an aging expense request, please submit a support request.
• Financial managers and analysts can use the OBI Expense Request Efficacy (ERE) Dashboard to effectively analyze, manage, and improve expense request processing in their school or unit.

Use these charts to find information about the status of credit card transactions, advances, and expense requests. Access to this information varies by role.

How to Find Aging and Force Cleared Transactions

How to Find Transactions in Any State and a Summary of Activity

OBI Dashboard Landing Page

The Expense Requests and SU Card Activity Dashboard includes reports about aging and cleared credit card transactions, advances, and expense requests.