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Introduction
Pre-trip approval (PTA) is a process put into place to better manage business travel by allowing a notification to be sent or submit a trip to be approved or declined before it is ticketed. It offers an automatic method of controlling travel spending by designating travel approvers who can approve or deny a user's travel request.
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Useful Terms
Primary approver: User responsible for approving or declining trips triggered by the process.
Secondary approver: User identified to take action for trips triggering the process if the primary approver does not take action within the configured amount of time.
Expired Bookings: Bookings which have not been approved or declined by the primary or secondary approvers within the configured amount of time. These are not automatically canceled.
Benefits and Limitations
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Task
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Process / Helpful Hint
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Benefit
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Robust policy capabilities – Deem uses JavaScript, which allows for creativity when configuring approvals or notifications.
Allows for offline and online approvals
Simple and quick process for Approver, simply click on the Approve or Decline button within email
Set up notifications and/or approval based on groups
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Limitations
Offline bookings – Etta is limited to what they can pull from offline bookings
Etta cannot see what the lowest logical fare was at the time of booking with an agent. Both Hotel and Air
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Benefits
Customizable: Deem utilizes JavaScripting, which allows for creativity when configuring approvals or notifications.
Allows for offline and online approvals.
Simple and quick process for Approver, simply click the Approve or Decline button within approval email.
Set up notifications and/or approval based on groups.
Limitations
Offline bookings
Limited to what can be pulled from offline bookings.
Policy violation cannot be used as a trigger for PTA when booked offline.
Example: Offline booking where the travel policy states - Require approval or notification if travel booked is $200 over the lowest logical fare, or if booking a hotel that is $250 dollars over the lowest hotel rate.
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For these examples, you would need to
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configure all offline air or hotel bookings require approval or notification.
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Approvals and notifications are completed through email only
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Another option would be to configure to trigger PTA for offline bookings based on an itinerary or profile value.
Approvals and notifications are completed through email only:
Approvals are not available within the Desktop or Mobile app.
Approval and notification emails cannot be re-generated.
TMC does not have access to approve on the behalf of the client, or to see what trips are waiting approval.
Single layer approval process
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:
Unable to require approval from more
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Let’s Get Started
Enabling PTA - Who to Contact
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Task
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Process / Helpful Hint
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Contact Deem Channel Sales Director
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Statement of Work (SOW) is required and there is an initial cost to have Pre-Trip Approval set up. Your Deem Channel Sales Director can discuss this further with you.
Deem will help you set up your first site. Once you have Pre-Trip Approval set up on your Deem company domain, you will have the ability to program PTA on each of your clients’ sites as needed.
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Open Support Ticket
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If you have Pre-Trip approval set up at the domain level
Open a Support Ticket to request PTA turned on within the client’s individual site. The Deem Configuration Team must enable Pre-Trip Approval before you deploy within your client’s site.
You can complete your programming while the ticket is opened with Deem. Once Deem has completed their process and you have completed yours, you can then go live.
Gather information
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Task
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Process / Helpful Hint
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Approvals or Notifications
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Determine if approvals will be sent to a static email or manager within the profile.
Approvals: Approval email is generated, thereby requiring a manager from the traveler’s profile or a static approver to approve or decline a reservation before being sent to the TMC for ticketing
Notification-only: Notification email is generated to manage within the traveler’s profile or static approver for notification purposes only. No action required on the behalf of the email recipient.
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Policy
Identify Policy requiring Pre-Trip approval or notifications
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Queues
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Identify processing queues
Pending/Awaiting approval
Approved/Ticketing
Declined
Expired
Ready to Configure
Let’s get Started
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Task
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Process / Helpful Hint
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Custom Field Collection
Configure pending queue under Custom PNR
Under the Service tab click on Travel Agency
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Click on Custom PNR
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Click on Mapping which you would like to update
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Move to the bottom of the mapping and click on Add PNR Line
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Under Line No. enter line number which script will reside in your mapping. In this example we are using line 159
PNR Field Type: select Pre-Trip Approval
Custom PNR Requirement: Enter Script
Requirement Type: Select Script
GDS: Click on GDS your mapping should write to
The below example Is for a Sabre client, script written to line 159 follows the screen shot. You can adjust the output based on the GDS you are writing to
PNR Script:
//Ticketing Field for PTA Pending Approval
function zeroPad(num,count)
{
var numZeropad = num + '';
while(numZeropad.length < count) {
numZeropad = "0" + numZeropad;
}
return numZeropad;
}
if ((UserPnrData.DataType=="new" || UserPnrData.DataType=="purchase_hold")&&(UserPnrData.UserBooking.PreTripApprovalInfo.CurrentApprovalState=="WAITING_FOR_APPROVAL")){with (UserPnrData.UserBooking.AgencyTransactionDate)
{
var day=UserPnrData.UserBooking.AgencyTransactionDate.Day;
day=zeroPad(day,2);
out.print("7TAW" + day + Month + "/HOLD");}}
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Approved, Ticketed/Declined and Expired Queues
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Programmed under Agency Configurations
Go to Service tab click on Travel Agency
Click on Agency Settings
Click on Setting Name to be configured
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Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on Add PTA Configurations
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Enter Pseudo-city and Queue for each Approved, Declined and Expired bookings
Enter the time window for the primary approver to approve or decline the trip, and the time window for the secondary approver. The primary approver window is best set to 4 – 6 hours, with the alternate approver well before the 24-hour void window
Tip: The time windows should total less than 24 hours. Declined flights can be automatically canceled within 24 hours of purchase. If the flight is declined within the 24-hour void window, the ticket cost can be fully refunded.
Click on Save
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Setting Passenger Name Record (PNR) Configuration
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Task
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Process / Helpful Hint
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Tip
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In order to ensure PNR scripts trigger properly
Mark the PNR Field Type as Pre-Trip Approval
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PNR and Pre-Trip Approvals JavaScript are in many cases interchangeable.
Setting Up Approvals and Notifications (Custom fields)
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Task
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Process / Helpful Hint
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Creating Custom Field Collection
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Enter the collection name into the Name field for each collection, such as PTA, pretripapproval or pretripnotification. Use a label which clearly defines the collection.
Be sure to click the checkbox for Ask for User Input on the Purchase Page. This will display on the Trip Purchase page, allowing travelers to enter additional notes to approver.
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Creating Custom Fields
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individual and then another.
Changes to approved trips will not be sent for approval.
Need to Know
Travelfusion and Instant Purchase carriers can be excluded from PTA.
Travelfusion and Instant Purchase carriers will be auto-approved.
Useful Terms
Primary approver: First user responsible for approving or declining trips triggered by the process.
Secondary approver: Second/backup User identified to take action for trips triggered by the process. If the primary approver does not take action within the configured amount of time, an approval request will be sent to the secondary approver.
Expired Bookings: Bookings which have not been approved or declined by the primary or secondary approvers within the configured amount of time. Expired bookings can be configured to auto-cancel.
Enabling PTA - Who to Contact
Statement of Work (SOW)
Submit a Statement of Work (SOW).
Deem assists with implementation of PTA for your first site.
Once you have Pre-Trip Approval set up on your Deem company domain, you will have the ability to program PTA on each of your clients’ sites as needed.
Enable PTA on additional domains
PTA can easily be enabled on additional domains. Admins only need to file a support ticket if they plan to use the travelers profiled approver.
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Open a Support Ticket with the following details:
Company Name
Site ID
Please enable Pre-Trip Approval for the above site, client is requesting manager to approval via manager within user profile
Notes:
The Deem Configuration Team will enable the ability for the approver to be set in the traveler’s profiles.
Note: If configuring a static approver email within the PTA configuration, no email to support is required.
Gather information
Approvals or Notifications
Determine if approvals/notifications will be sent to a static email or manager within the profile.
Determine if clients require approvals or notification:
Approvals Required: Approval email is generated, thereby requiring a manager from the traveler’s profile or a static approver to approve or decline a trip before being sent to the TMC for ticketing.
Notification only: Notification email is generated to manage within the traveler’s profile or static approver for notification purposes only. No action required on the behalf of the email recipient. Travelers are not alerted when notifications are sent.
PTA Triggers
Identify parameters which will drive the PTA process. Examples of parameters that can be used are:
All Trips
Trip Cost
Class of Service
Travel Policy Violations
More examples can be found here.
If you require customized scripting for PTA triggers, please submit a request via a support ticket.
Queues
Identify processing queues
Approved/Ticketing
Declined
Expired
Enable PTA and Set Queues
Queues Programmed under Agency Configurations
Select the Service tab.
Click Travel Agency.
Click Agency Settings.
Select the active settings name.
Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Add PTA Configurations.
Note: You may see Edit PTA Configuration if previously set up.
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Enter Pseudo-city and Queue for each Approved, Declined and Expired bookings.
Enter the time windows for the primary and secondary approvers to approve or decline the trip.
Notes:The first time window is the time in which a reminder email will be sent to the designated approver if they have not taken action.
The second time window is the time in which second reminder will be sent to the designated approver if they have not taken action.
Tips:
The first time window is the time in which the primary approver has to make a decision. If the primary does not approve within this window, a reminder email will be sent as well as an approval request generated to the secondary approver.
The second time window is the time in which both the primary and secondary have left to make a decision before the PTA process expires.
Best practice is to select between 11 and 14 hours total as most fares will expire by the end of day.
Click Save.
Setting Up Approvals and Notifications (Custom fields)
Creating Custom Field Collection
To configure the PTA Triggers:
Click the Services tab.
Click Custom Fields.
Click Custom Field Collections.
Click Add a New Collection.
Complete the following:
Name: Enter a name, such as PTA, PTAManager, PTAGuest. Label clearly, name in a way that it define the collection clearly. No spaces or special characters.
Label: Will prefill from what is enter in the Name field. Update as needed. Spaces are acceptable.
Description: This will be the header displayed to the user on the purchase page alerting them that the reservation requires approval. HTML is supported here if you wish to change font size or color.
Select Ask for User Input on the Purchase Page (required).
Select Save.
The Custom Field Collections screen displays to add the Pre-Trip approval notifications triggers to the collection.
Creating Custom Fields
Configure Pre-Trip Approval within Collection
Click on the Collection Name under Custom Field Collections.
Click Add Custom Field.
Complete the following:
Name: Enter Pre-Trip Approval Name. This does not display to the user.
Label: Will prefill from what is enter in the Name field, please update. Spaces are acceptable. This will display to the user above a box where the user can send additional details to the approver. Best practice is to label “Note to Approver” so the travelers know the purpose.
Field Type: Select PTA.
Click Approval required or Notification only.
Decide whether to send the approval email to the manager within the profile, or to a default approver
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Click Send approval email to traveler’s profiled approver
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Leave unchecked if you would like the approval/notification email to be sent to the default approver email, which you will need to provide in the next section
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: if manager within profile is required.
If the setting for "Send approval email to traveler’s profiled approver" is used, the default approver email value is required.
Notes:The default approver is ignored unless the traveler doesn't have a profiled approver
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. The default approver will be used in the case the traveler does not have an associated approver within their profile.
If approvers are to be taken from traveler profiles additional steps are required to first grant permission to approvers and then to associate travelers to approvers.
Leave Send approval email to traveler’s profiled approver unchecked if default approver required.
Enter the email addresses for the default approver and the secondary approver. If the default approver has not approved or declined the itinerary within the defined period,
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a reminder email is sent to the primary approver and an approval request is sent to the secondary approver
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Decide whether or not to automatically cancel declined itineraries
Click the box next to action you would like the system to take
Note: Offline-generated or offline-changed PNRs and itineraries with expired approvals are not auto-canceled
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Click the Advanced link at the bottom of the Field Type Preference section to enter the JavaScript criteria for this field
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Use Case JavaScripts
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PNR and Pre-Trip Approvals JavaScript are in many cases interchangeable. For further Information: JavaScript Examples
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.
Select the following options:
Auto cancel declined PNR's?: Check box if trip should be cancelled if declined by approver.
Auto approve or cancel expired PNR's?: Select action that should be taken if trip has expired. Has not been approved within desiccated time established within Agency Settings.
Note: Only online generated reservations can be auto-cancelled.
Enter message which will display on both the purchase page as well as email notifications in PTA Rules Description. This should reflect the reason the trip has been submitted for approval (out of policy, class of service, price etc.).
Click Advanced to enter JavaScript if specific conditions are required to trigger PTA.
Enter JavaScript code.
Click Save.
Use Case JavaScripts
Standard JavaScript Examples
If you need further help creating a script, please open a Support Case
Example Script
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Simple script
//
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INTERNATIONAL SEGMENT
var Int=UserPnrData.UserBooking.HasInternationalSegment;
if (Int=="Y") {out.print("true");}
else {out.print("false");}
Flying to specific airport
//Alaska and Hawaii
if((UserPnrData.UserSession.AirSearch.FlightLeg[0].DestinationAirportCode=="ANC")||
(UserPnrData.UserSession.AirSearch.FlightLeg[0].DestinationAirportCode=="FAI") ||
(UserPnrData.UserSession.AirSearch.FlightLeg[0].DestinationAirportCodee=="HOM")||
(UserPnrData.UserSession.AirSearch.FlightLeg[0].DestinationAirportCode=="JNU") ||
(UserPnrData.UserSession.AirSearch.FlightLeg[0].DestinationAirportCode=="HNL") ||
(UserPnrData.UserSession.AirSearch.FlightLeg[0].DestinationAirportCode=="KOA") ||
(UserPnrData.UserSession.AirSearch.FlightLeg[0].DestinationAirportCode=="LIH") ||
(UserPnrData.UserSession.AirSearch.FlightLeg[0].DestinationAirportCode=="ITO"))
{out.print("true");}else
{out.print("false");}
Add to Custom Field Set
Once you have completed programming PTA collection, you will then need to add it to the custom field set
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Add PTA Collection to the appropriate Custom Field Set.
Click Back to Custom Field Configuration.
Navigate back to Custom Field Configurations
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and
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click Custom Field Sets.
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Select which Set to add PTA.
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Click on Add Collection to Set.
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Click the check box next
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You can adjust the order in which the fields appear and select Save
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Confirm you have Service Rules updated as well
Ensure you have the correct custom field sets assigned to the correct groups
Commit Changes shown at the top of the screen
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Please be sure to test.
Setting up Permissions
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Task
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to collection you would like to add to the set and click Add.
Optionally, adjust the order in which the fields appear and select Save.
Confirm Travel Service Rules are updated properly, by ensuring you have the correct custom field sets assigned to the correct groups.
Commit Changes shown at the top of the screen.
Select the changes not applied link at the top right of the page which opens the Commit Changes page.
Click Commit.
Note: Once the Commit button is selected, the updates are made to production. There is no undo button.
Test your settings thoroughly.
Configuring a Custom PNR
Configure pending queue under Custom PNR
Click the Services tab
Click Travel Agency.
Click Custom PNR.
Select mapping to be configured.
Navigate to the bottom of the mapping and click Add PNR Line.
Enter or select values for the following:
Line No.: Enter line number which script will reside in your mapping. In this example we are using line 159.
PNR Field Type:
For the “Pending Approval” remark select Accounting ID.
For “Approved,” ”Declined,” and “Expired,” remarks, select Pre-Trip Approval.
Custom PNR Requirement: Enter Script.
Requirement Type: Select Script.
GDS: Select the GDS your script writes to.
Click Save.
Standard PTA scripts can be found here.
Add approvers and associated travelers in bulk
Approvers and associated travelers can be added manually (one at a time - see the next section), or they can be added in bulk following this process.
Download the approvers template from this webpage (Deem_Approvers.csv) and complete the spreadsheet with the approver’s externalID.
Download the travelers template from this webpage (deem_appassociation.csv) and complete the spreadsheet with the traveler’s externalID and the associated approvers. The TravelApproverID also needs to be the approvers externalID.
As an admin, log into the console and navigate to the Profiles tab.
Select Schedule Profile Upload.
Navigate to the File Options and select:
File Source: Upload from local file
File Format: CSV
Click Choose File and select your Deem_Approvers.csv file.
Navigate to Load Options and select Update Only (ignore new users) and Ignore empty double quotes. Do not select any other boxes.
Setting up Permissions
Designating Approver Status Manually
Click
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the User tab.
Click
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Account Permission.
Click
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Travel Approver Permission.
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Click Save.
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Assigning Manager Manually to Traveler Profile
Click
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the Users tab.
Click
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Personal and Employee Info.
Click
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Travel Approver Name.
Select
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an approver from list.
Click
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Save.
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Upload Approver
You can upload a file to establish user-approver relationships. Templates
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Before preparing your profile upload, consider, as a profile upload can be damaging if not managed correctly. See Preparing a Profile or Delegate Upload File, and keep in mind the following:
Save the upload file template as a new file before adding or changing rows and columns
Follow the template instructions to enter information in the new file
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Follow these general steps when assigning the approver role to any profile:
Consulting the User Profile Fields page, locate the Role column (roleSet.role) in the new file for each approver
Enter ROLE_TRAVEL_APPROVER in the Role column (roleSet.role) for each user to be designated as a travel approver. Other roles may also appear in this column, such as ROLE_PURCHASE_APPROVER and ROLE_APPROVER (for Expense).
Upload this new file to establish the approvers in your site
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Follow these general steps to assign approvers to users:
After uploading the file to establish approvers in your site, you can then assign approvers to users
Consulting the User Profile Fields page, locate the Travel Approver ID column (userInfo.travelApproverID) in the new file for each user
Enter the external ID of the approver for this user, defined previously as ROLE_TRAVEL_APPROVER in the Role column (roleSet.role). For example, if the userInfo.travelApproverID value is 28846, then the user whose external ID is 28846 should already have been uploaded and already have been assigned the role of Travel approver (ROLE_TRAVEL_APPROVER) in the Role column (roleSet.role).
Upload this new file to establish the approver-user relationships
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Ensure that all custom fields, corresponding collections, and custom field sets are created first before uploading profiles containing custom fields. If not, the upload will possibly fail.
pre-trip Offline booked PNRs
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Task
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Process / Helpful Hint
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Steps
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Agent books reservation and sends to mid-office
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are available under the Profile tab.
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You may need to upload two separate profile uploads to establish an approver roll, and then a file to assign an approver to the user’s account. If you upload all files at the same time, there may be random issues with one of the files.
Note: Column Header and role is case sensitive
To create an upload and establish Approver Role (See attached template), the following is needed:
externalID
userInfo.userName
userInfo.firstName
userInfo.lastName
userInfo.email
roleSet.role_1: Value ROLE_TRAVEL_APPROVER
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To create upload to assign manager to user profile (See attached template) the following is needed:
externalID
userInfo.userName
userInfo.firstName
userInfo.lastName
userInfo.email
userInfo.travelApproverID: Value externalID of manager
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Note: Ensure all custom fields, corresponding collections, and custom field sets, are created first before uploading profiles containing custom fields. If not, the upload will fail. Follow the same procedures as you would when uploading the Profile Upload.
siteid_upload.csv
Example: acme_deem_upload.csv (acme_deem is the SiteID of my demo site)
csv (comma delimited)
See HR Feed with Pre-trip Approval for more information.
Pre-trip Offline booked PNRs
The Agency queues the PNR to PNR Synchronization queue listed in Agency settings
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There is not a separate queue for those reservations out of policy and those that are in policy, all PNRs are sent to the PNR Synchronization queue
Note: This is the same queue you should be sending all offline booked and changed/canceled bookings
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Deem processes reservations based on PTA set up on site
Reminder: Not all offline bookings can be processed through Deem PTA, below are an example
If fare is $200 over the lowest logical fare require approval, DEEM does not know what the lowest logical fare was at the time of booking
You would need to create a PTA script to call all air bookings out of policy and require approval, if they want to capture for offline PTA
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If reservation is not out of policy it will be sent back to ticketing queue for processing
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.
Note: Deem does not have an independent queue for for Pre-Trip Approval.Deem will determine if the reservation requires approval via the PTA configurations:
If trip is does not require approval, the TMC is responsible for sending to the ticketing queue..
If trip requires approval an email will be sent to the approver.
Once approved or declined it will be sent back to the
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designated queues for processing.
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Note: In the event the fare
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expires, the hotel is within the cancellation policy, or a trip will commence within the first approvers time window, the system will auto-approve the
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trip. This is not a configurable item
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.
Pre-trip approval messaging
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Process / Helpful Hint
Pending Approval Message
To Traveler – ‘Your trip is pending approval for travel. You will be notified once it is approved, and the trip will be sent to [agency name] for processing. Online changes are not allowed until the tip is approved for travel, please contact your agency directly for changes.’
To Approver 1 – Pre-trip approval required [rules description]
Reminder Approval Message
To Approver 2 – Pre-trip approval required. Primary approver did not respond within the expected timeframe. [rule description]
Approval Message
To Traveler – ‘Your trip has been approved for travel.’ Existing confirmation message – Your
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trip has been completed.
To Approver 1 – Pre-trip approval has been received and the trip has been sent to [agency name] for processing
To Approver 2 – Pre-trip approval has been received and the trip has been sent to [agency name] for processing
Declined Message
To Traveler – Your trip has been declined for travel. The trip has been sent to [agency name] for processing.
To Approver 1 – This trip has been declined for travel and sent to [agency name] for processing
To Approver 2 – This trip has been declined for travel and sent to [agency name] for processing
Declined Auto Cancel Message
To Traveler – Your trip was declined for travel and auto canceled. [existing auto cancellation message]
To Approver 1 – This trip was declined for travel and auto canceled
To Approver 2 – The trip was declined for travel and auto canceled
Expired Approval Message
To Traveler – Pre-trip approval was not received for this trip. The approval process has expired, please contact your agency for further assistance.
To Approver 1 – Pre-trip approval was not received for this trip and the approval process has expired.
To Approver 2
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Notification Only Email
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To Approver 1 – You are being notified that this trip has been sent to [agency name] for processing. [rule description]
Pre-trip Status
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Task
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Process / Helpful Hint
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Waiting for Approval
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Bookings have not been approved or declined and are within the configured amount of time for review
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Trip Declined
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Bookings have not been approved or declined and are within the configured amount of time for review
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Canceled
Bookings have been canceled either manually or by the pre-trip approval process if pre-trip approval has been configured to auto-cancel
Note: Remember to manually cancel any expired trips if pre-trip approval is not configured to auto-cancel. Although the air ticket is not issued, the trip is not auto canceled and could incur hotel penalties.
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Pending Approval
These trips have been canceled either manually or by the pre-trip approval process if pre-trip approval has been configured to auto-cancel
Note: Remember to manually cancel any expired trips if pre-trip approval is not configured to auto-cancel. Although the air ticket is not issued, the trip is not auto canceled and could incur hotel penalties
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Confirmed
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Bookings which have been approved by primary or secondary approver and sent to ticketing
– Pre-trip approval was not received for this trip and the approval process has expired.
Notification Only Email
To Approver 1 – You are being notified that this trip has been sent to [agency name] for processing. [rule description]
Pre-trip Status and Explanations
Waiting for Approval: Bookings have not been approved or declined and are within the configured amount of time for review.
Trip Declined: Bookings has been declined by the travel approver.
Canceled: Bookings have been canceled either manually or by the pre-trip approval process if pre-trip approval has been configured to auto-cancel.
Note: Remember to manually cancel any expired trips if pre-trip approval is not configured to auto-cancel. Although the air ticket is not issued, the trip is not auto canceled and could incur hotel penalties.
Confirmed: Bookings which have been approved by primary or secondary approver and sent to ticketing.
Suggest to add section with instructions for approvers to action approval email. Calling out ability for approver to send message back to the traveler once the decision has been made.
Instructions for Approvers
When a trip is submitted for approval, the approver gets an email with the traveler’s comments and link embedded where they make the decision on the trip.
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Everything needed to approve or decline the trip is embedded within the email.
If an approver is going to be out of office, they can manage themselves by setting up an Outlook rule to forward approvals needed to their substitute.
Once they return to the office they simply remove the rule.
To make the approval:
Click the Approve or Decline Trip link in the email to open the approval page.
Optionally, write a note to the Traveler.
Select Approve or Decline.
The email to the traveler will look similar to this:
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