Chrome River EMS

• Training Videos
• Chrome River web features
• Log in to web Chrome River
• Chrome River mobile apps
• Chrome River dashboard
• Chrome River definitions
• Chrome River User Support
• Financial Services Deadlines
• Create an Expense Report
• Set Allocations
• Print an Expense Report
• Record Guest Info
• Track an Expense Report
• Continue a Draft Report
• Recall an Expense Report
• Amend a Returned Report
• Email notifications
• Approve an Expense report
• Set-up Delegates
• Act as a Delegate
• PD Expense Reports
• DTA Expense Reports

 

Training Videos

The following video is available from a previously held training session:

• Chrome River Training Video

 

Chrome River web features

Chrome River is a web-based expense management system (EMS) that allows:

• Online submission of expense reports.
• Use of web browser, and Android / iPhone apps.
• Automatic routing of approvals online.
• Tracking of spending and reports online.
• Storing of receipts online.
• OCR technology to read receipts.
• Saving of unsubmitted expense reports in draft mode.
• Submitting expenses at any time.

Log in to web Chrome River

Access Chrome River online:

• Through myUFV portal.
• The Chrome River website.

Chrome River mobile apps

• Use the Chrome River mobile app which has same features as the web application.
• Use the Chrome River SNAP app to digitally capture receipts and automatically upload them to your Chrome River account.

Chrome River dashboard

• Navigation bar: Remains at the top of your screen.
• Chrome River logo: Brings you back to the Chrome River home page.
• Two main panels: On mobile, tab between dashboard (left) and UFV resource Links (right).
• Resource links: Find Financial Services policies and procedures, support e-mail addresses, help guides, and app downloads.
• Notifications and Delegate: To customize, click your name in the upper right corner of the screen.

Chrome River definitions

• Expense Report: A request for reimbursement of expenses (previously known as expense claim).
• eWallet: Location of uploaded receipts and issued advances before they are applied to a claim.
• Approvals: Expense reports awaiting approval (only visible to employees with Spending Authority).
• Allocation: Chrome River's term for index/budget code.

Chrome River User Support

• Watch Chrome River Quick-Start Welcome video.
• Find additional online Chrome River resources.

Financial Services Deadlines

General Expense Reports:

• Submit within 30 days of incurring the expense.
• Financial Services may take up to 2 weeks to process.
• Errors on submitted reports may delay processing.

PD Expense Reports:

• PD Expense reports for events must be submitted within 10 days of activity completion.
• PD Expense reports for tuition must be submitted within 10 days of payment receipt.

Create an Expense Report

An expense report can be created for:

• A single expense.
• A group of related expenses (e.g. for an event).
• A combination of expense types.

Create the Report's header section:

• The header stores your report's basic information.
• The header will then be applied to every expense in your report.

1. Go to the Expenses section.
2. Click + CREATE button.
3. Complete the following required fields:

• Report Name:
  Provide a unique descriptive name for tracking purposes:
  i.e. Ellucian Conference April 20YY
   
• Expense Report Type:
  Most common is Expense Claim Report and PD Expense Report.

• Fiscal Year:
  If applying for current year expense, leave the default date.
  If applying for prior year expense, Accounts Payable will advise.

4. Click the Save button at top right of screen.

Upload your receipts to Chrome River

• Several methods to upload receipts
  • Create an email from your UFV email.  Attach receipts and send to receipt@ca1.chromeriver.com
  • Use the Chrome River SNAP app to capture and upload the receipts digitally
  • Drag and drop receipts into the Receipt Gallery
  • From the Receipt Gallery, click Upload
• Once uploaded, Chrome River will try to match the receipt to an expense type.
• Receipts will then become available in your eWallet and Receipt Gallery.
• You can adjust the expense type once an image is applied to your expense report.
• Outstanding receipts can also still be allocated as an expense.

Attach your receipts to expenses

• To prevent a receipt from accidentally use on multiple expense reports, Chrome River removes a receipt from your Receipt Gallery once it is used on an expense report.
• If you attach receipts directly to an Expense Report, it is recommended you also use the paperclip button in the upper-left corner of the Image Viewer to also send the receipt to the Receipt Gallery which allows the receipt to reappear in the Receipt Gallery if the expense report or expense line item is deleted.

Add your expenses from Receipt Gallery or eWallet

• Add expenses to your report from the eWallet, the Receipt Gallery or manually (without receipts).
• A green dot beside an expense category in eWallet or Receipt Gallery shows the unused items or receipts available for use.

1. Go to Add Expense screen.
2. Click the +button or the +ADD EXPENSE button.
3. Click the appropriate section, i.e. Receipt Gallery or eWallet.
4. Click the check box above the receipt amount to select and mark it for addition.
5. Repeat the process to mark all the receipts you want to add to your report.
6. Click the Add button.

Create New Expenses (manual entry)

• You can manually enter expenses before adding receipts to the expense report.
• The expense account number, applicable to that type of expense and used in Banner, is tied to the expense tile.
• If a down arrow exists on the tile, subcategories exist and can be selected.
• Each expense tile has an additional related expense form window to collect standard information.
•  A parent tile cannot be added to a report but any tiles under the parent can be added.
• Select the expense tile for the desired expense type.
• If the expense type needs to be changed, while viewing the details of the expense line, click on the expense type at the top of the page to select a new expense tile.

Provide Expense Details

Fill in standard details to describe your expense types:

Date

• Change today’s date to the date when the expense was made.

Spent

• Amount that was spent.
• If needed, choose the proper country currency.
• Chrome River will convert all transactions automatically to CAD.

Location

• Choose the location where the expense was made.

Summary

• Describe the purpose for each expense to differentiate between multiple expenses for different events.

Description

• Provide details of the expense. i.e. event dates, event location, and any further details purchases.

Merchant

• The name of the business, lodging or establishment where the expense was incurred.

Tip Amount

• This field is optional.
• Provide any tips provided at time of purchases.
• Chrome River will add any Tips to the Spent amount.  

Tip Percentage

• This is a non-editable field.
• Chrome River calculates the percentage of the total of the Tip Amount field.

Allocation

• Used to determine the routing of the expense report for approval.
• Provide the index/budget code to apply against the expenses.
• Expenses will be returned if the allocation field is filled in incorrectly.
• Use the ‘Add Allocation’ button to split an expense by amount or percentage across multiple budget codes / indexes.

Attachments

• Upload supporting receipts and documentation if expense types have not been previously created from pre-uploaded receipts.
• Most expense types will require a detailed receipt to be uploaded.

Unique fields on certain expense types

Airfare

• Airline: Select the most appropriate selection based on the airline that was booked. If the airline is not listed, select “Other”.
• Class: UFV policy requires all flights to be on the lower tier available. For tiers other than “Economy/Coach” a valid reason will be required.
• Guests: This is a mandatory field.

Car Rental

• Rental Agency: Select the rental agency used. If the agency is not listed, use “Other”.
• Class:  UFV has restrictions on the type of class that can be rented.

Mileage

• Rate: The rate is determined based on the date that the mileage is being reported and cannot be changed.
• Kilometers: The ‘Calculate Mileage’ wizard must be used, or the expense cannot be submitted. The mileage wizard uses Google maps and will require a start and end point be entered.
  It will then calculate the distance traveled and automatically enter a snapshot of the route as an attachment to the expense type.  Additional destinations can easily be added within the wizard.
• Deduction: If a distance or an amount needs to be deducted from the total, this field can be used. Select ‘Distance’ or ‘Amount’ from the box next to the field and enter the deduction amount.

Hotel

• Check In Date: This is the date that the hotel was checked in to.
• Check Out Date: This is the date that the hotel was checked out from.
• Guests: This is a mandatory field. If booking lodging for yourself, ensure you add yourself to this list. The percentage/amount fields allow the lodging cost to be split among two or more guests.

Meals – Per Diem Wizard

• Start Date: The start date of the event for which Per Diems apply.
• End Date: The end date of the event for which Per Diems apply.
• Days: This field cannot be edited. It calculates the number of days between the start and end dates defined above.
• Location: The location where the Per Diems applied.
  For meals within Canada, enter the province rather than a city.
  For meals within the the United States, enter in United States then enter the City name in the textbox.
  For all other meals, enter the City name. If you are unable to find the exact City, refer to the National Joint Council for available cities within each country for per diem amounts.
• Add to Preview Button: When all the fields have been completed, click the Add to Preview button to have the wizard generate meals for each day as per UFV policy.
  The meals will be listed in the section on the right. 
  If you are not claiming a meal, ie a lunch was provided by a conference, uncheck Lunch for the specific day.

Supplies:

• Type of Supplies: Select the best match to the type of supplies from the drop-down.

Set Allocations

• The Allocation specified is used to identify where expenses will be charged. 
• The Activity Code and Location Code must also be specified in Chrome River.

Activity Code

Two situations of when to use an Activity Code (if neither of these situations apply, type 'Not Applicable'):

One: When a department has requested Financial Services to setup an Activity Code.

• These codes can be searched by entering the Activity Code sent to the department by Financial Services in the second box in Chrome River. 

Two: When an employee benefits from the expense, also known as SOFI coding.

• Enter the employee name who benefited from the expense.
• This includes, but is not limited to: Memberships; Professional Development; Travel Conferences; Meals; Per Diems; and Mileage.

Location Code

• Location Codes are only used by certain departments. 
• Type in the appropriate Location Code.
• If you are unsure if you need to use a Location Code, select 'Not Applicable'.

Print an Expense Report

1. Open the expense report and view the expense line-item screen.
2. Click the header of the expense report.
3. On the upper left-hand side of the summary screen, click PDF and chose they type of report:

• Select Cover Page
• Select Full Report
• Select Full Report with Notes and Receipts
• Select Full Report with Receipts

Record Guest Info

• The two types of guests are Internal (UFV employees) and External (anyone outside of UFV).
• An example is listing guests for airfare.
• An example of an external guest would be if you paid for a business meeting which included an external guest.
• If the expense was for yourself, include your name as an Internal guest.
• By default, the amount spent on the expense is split evenly between guests.
• You can modify the percentage or amount of the expense next to each guest.

To add expenses for Internal Guests (UFV employees):

1. Select Internal from the drop-down menu.
2. Start typing the name of the guest or your name in the text box. 
3. Select the appropriate name from the menu that appears and populates.

To add expenses External guests (anyone outside of UFV):

1. Choose External from the drop down.
2. Start typing the name of the guest or your name in the text box. 
3. If there are no external guests listed when you type in a name in the textbox, click on Add New External Guest from the drop down menu and fill in the appropriate information. 
4. If the external guest appears, select it from the menu that appears and populates.
5. This external guest will then be saved and can be selected again in the future.

Track an Expense Report

1. In the Expenses section click View All Submitted.

2. Select the expense report you wish to track.
3. Click the Tracking button in upper left corner of right section.

4. Click an individual line item.
5. Use the Routing Steps to see information about each stage approval including Approver.
6. When the status of a report is in APReview, the report is in Accounts Payable review queue.

Continue a Draft Report

1. On the Chrome River dashboard, click the ‘Draft’ link to be taken to a list of all your draft expense reports.
2. From the draft list, select the expense report you wish to continue.
3. The selected expense report will be displayed in the section on the right.
4. Click on ‘Open’ in the upper left-hand corner to edit the contents of the draft or click ‘Submit’ to submit the draft without editing.

Recall an Expense Report

• Recalling an expense report returns it to draft status and allows it to be edited again.
• This is useful if changes need to be made after a report has been submitted.

1. To recall an expense report, first click on 'View All Submitted' in the Expenses section.
2. This will show all your expense reports that have already been submitted.
3. Click the ‘Recall’ button on the top-right side of the page.
4. The expense report will be moved to your draft list.
5. Edit and re-submit the expense report.

Amend a Returned Report

1. On the dashboard, under the Expenses heading, click Returned.
2. Select the expense report you wish to amend and click Open section.
3. On the Summary page on the right of the screen, go to the Comments section.
4. Read the Comment.
5. Make the changes needed, based on the comment and then re-submit the report.

Email notifications

Approvers receive an email notifications:

• On receipt of a new report.
• On a recalled expense report.
• On a processing error (post approval).

Submitters receive an email notifications:

• On approval of an expense report.
• On return of an expense report.
• On a processing error.

Approve an Expense report

• An Approver receives an email notification when an expense report has arrived.
• Use the Reconcile button to mark line items as reviewed to help keep track of reports with many line items.

1. Go to the Approvals section.
2. Click Expense Reports to see list of expense reports awaiting approval.
3. Select the expense report you wish to approve.
4. Click Open to view the details of each expense line item.

5. If the expense report has errors that need correcting, return the expense report to the submitter and either:
   Click Return and add a mandatory comment to justify the return; or
   Select the line item requiring correction and then click Adjust and add a mandatory comment to justify adjustment.
6. If everything looks good, click Approve.

Setup Delegates

• A Delegate is a user that can be assigned to perform actions in Chrome River on your behalf.
• This is useful for when you are unavailable to submit or approve reports.

Two types of delegates:

• A Standard Delegate can submit expense reports on your behalf.
• An Approval Delegate can approve on your behalf (if you are an Approver).
• Any report submitted on your behalf by a delegate will automatically route to you for approval before going to the approver of the allocation

To setup a delegate:

1. Click your username in the top right hand corner of the screen and select Account Settings.
2. On the menu on the left, select ‘Delegate Settings’.
3. Click the ‘Add New Delegate’ or ‘Add Approval Delegate’ button in either ‘My Delegates’ for standard delegates, or ‘My Approval Delegates’ for approval delegates.
4. Search Chrome River for a user to set as a delegate.

To remove a delegate:

1. Navigate back to the Delegate setup screen.

Click the ‘X’ button next to the name of the delegate you wish to remove.

Act as a Delegate

Depending on the delegate role you were given, to act as a delegate for another user:

1. Log into to Chrome River.
2. Click your username in the top-most right hand corner of the screen.
3. From the drop down menu, select the name of the user that you want to act as a delegate.

4. Your screen will change to that of the selected user.
5. Submit, approve, return or adjust expense reports as per your delegate role.
6. When you want to switch back to your own account, open the username menu and select your own name.
7. Your screen will change back to your own account.

PD Expense Reports

• Applying for Professional Development (PD) Funds will remain the same.

• Applying for reimbursement of approved PD activity expenses is completed in Chrome River.
• PD expense report information is entered similar to General Expense Reports.

1. From the Expense Report Type drop-down menu, choose PD Claim.
2. Enter your PD Approval Number correctly in the PD Approval Number field.

3. Complete your report header and expense details and submit as explained in Create an Expense Report.
4. PD Expense reports will route through Human Resources and the PD team for approval.
5. PD Funds utilized will be updated on MyUFV once the expense reports are approved.  
6. Attend your PD event.
7. Submit your expense report for conferences, workshops, courses, and trainings.
8. E-mail your post-PD report to in-service_pd@ufv.ca within 10 days of the event.

DTA Expense Reports

• DTA can be claimed by submitting a DTA expense report, similar to General Expense Reports.

1. From the Expense Report Type drop-down menu, choose DTA Claim.
2. Complete your report header and expense details and submit as explained in Create an Expense Report.