How do I use the "Summary" section of the Pre-Approval?

The summary page presents a recap of all estimated expenses entered under transportation, lodging/food and fees/misc. As itemized expenses are entered under each category, they will display on the summary page and total at the bottom under “Total Estimate”.

All estimated expenses must be accounted for under a valid budget account combination (distribution of charges, also known as a chart string) before the Pre-Approval will move forward to DocuSign.

If Non-UMBC expenses are included, they will be deducted from the “Total Estimate” to calculate the Total Estimated Pre-Approval Amount.

The Total Estimated Pre-Approval Amount must be fully accounted for in the Total Distribution of Charges (using one department, or across multiple departments) before the Pre-Approval is submitted to DocuSign.

Adjust Distribution of Charges must equal $0, by adjusting the value on the chart string line(s), or adjusting estimated expenses. The text on this line will change to red when the funding sources are inadequate to satisfy the Total Estimated Pre-Approval Amount.

Distribution of Charges

Each chart string has at least one “approver”, possibly a “second approver” if the department so chooses, and a “next higher authority” to approve international travel requests. Each approval level, for each department, must sign-off during the DocuSign process.

Click “Add Distribution of Charges” to add multiple chart string rows.
Click the “x” to the left of the chart string to remove a chart string row.
When there are multiple chart strings, use the “Primary” button to select the primary account. Only ONE primary chart string/account combination may be selected at any given time.

Each chart string has an on demand “validate chart string” button. Clicking this button will compare the selected account combination against valid PeopleSoft account combinations. Valid chart string/account combinations are required before submitting to DocuSign for approvals.