The State Controller's Office says it needs to begin exploring alternatives that could eventually replace the system which processes travel expense reimbursements for state employees.
The California Automated Travel Expense Reimbursement System (CalATERS) went live in 2000 and was designed and built by IBM. It's used by 94 agencies and 93,000 users. The State Controller's Office recoups the cost of operating the system by charging a $4.46 a per-transaction fee to agencies.
The company recently informed the state of California that it will end support of the current system in 2016, according to state documents. IBM has offered to continue "transitional" support for CalATERS through 2020 for $2.9 million as the state considers how to build a new system.
"In 2014-15, CalATERS processed 332,632 claims with payments totaling $62,843,486, and 31,315 reimbursements to ORFs totaling $18,078,291.The workload and reimbursed amounts have increased over the years," says a Spring Finance Letter requesting $1 million to fund system planning and continuing the current CalATERS system.
Alternatives for CalATERS are being studies as part of the California Department of Technology's project approval process.
"In May 2014, IBM announced their strategic alliance with Concur. Existing IBM clients are being migrated to the Concur travel module under new service contracts. Given the state's procurement rules and processes, the SCO could not agree to move to Concur without having to go through the competitive bid process," the Spring Finance letter says.
Effective in 2016, CalATERS began accepting expense reimbursements for short-term lodging, such as Airbnb, and "transportation network" companies like Uber and Lyft.
