Financial Services Center officials work through challenges

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ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. (AFPN) --  The shift to processing pay and travel transactions at the newly established Air Force Financial Services Center here has caused some customers to see delays in the payments of travel vouchers and other transactions.

"We are keenly aware of the impact that long processing time has on our Airmen and how disruptive it can be for Airmen and their chain of command," said Senior Master Sgt. Edward Horsch, the travel division chief.

"We are working hard to resolve the issues that have impacted customers," Sergeant Horsch said. "The time it takes to process transactions has been significantly reduced since AFFSC's initial operations, and we are making adjustments that will further reduce processing time and virtually eliminate lost or misplaced vouchers."

AFFSC opened its doors in October 2007 as part of the largest transformation in the 60-year history of Air Force financial management. Officials hoped for a seamless transition of base-level financial transactions to AFFSC. Unfortunately, the combination of information technology system challenges and the difficulty in standardizing processes across major commands were challenges, Sergeant Horsch said.

The current processing time for a temporary duty or permanent change-of-station voucher is 10 to 15 days from when an Airman submits it to a local finance office to when the Airman receives payment. The processing time for military pay documents is less than five days.

"These processing times, especially for travel vouchers, are not what most Airmen are accustomed to, and we are implementing several technology and process fixes that are designed to reduce these times further, especially the voucher processing time," Sergeant Horsch said.

In addition, there have been instances of lost documents that have resulted in delayed processing. Improvements to the new document management information technology system, combined with process changes, should virtually eliminate lost documents, Sergeant Horsch said.

If a transaction or claim has not been processed or paid within 15 days for a military pay document or travel voucher, the Airman should visit his or her local finance office. Local finance officials can place the documents in a priority folder for placement in front of the queue. If there are still problems, Airmen should work through their chain of command to resolve the issue.

"Early notification of a delay is the best measure to ensure your claim is being processed," Sergeant Horsch said.

Airmen can also take actions to prevent delays in payments, by following these steps: 
-- Use existing automated systems such as Defense Travel System, myPay, and LeaveWeb for transactions.
-- Check accuracy and legibility of personal information such as name, grade, Social Security number, mailing address, e-mail address, phone number. 
-- On travel vouchers, ensure itinerary is correct and legible, including verification of dates traveled, places, modes of travel, reasons for stops and lodging costs. 
-- Write clearly and legibly so documents can be easily read. 
-- Have proper signatures on the travel voucher. 
-- Claim all reimbursable expenses. 
-- Have a complete set of orders when filing. 
-- Indicate the amount disbursed to the Government Travel Card. 
-- Contact the unit's agency program coordinator for travel card issues first and not the AFFSC or local finance office.

Presently, AFFSC officials reject 10 to 15 percent of documents because of incorrect or missing basic information, adding days and sometimes weeks to the processing time, Sergeant Horsch said.

"Doing a quality check before you take the documents to your local finance office will help expedite your payment," he said. "We are making progress in reducing processing times, and we want our customers to know that we remain committed to providing timely, accurate and reliable financial services."

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