October Weekly Workday Supplement #1 – Expense Reports

1. Approvals
2. Itemization of lodging
3. Splitting of Costs

As a supplement to the Finance Monthly Newsletter, we are sending out a weekly email focusing on Workday information as it relates to Finance. It is intended to disseminate various tips and tricks that have been learned along the way, clarify topics that come up in our drop in sessions and communicate changes being made.

This week’s focus is Expense Reports.

Expense reports are a new concept that is replacing two WFS functions – the excel spreadsheet that was attached to the voucher and the monthly Pcard voucher download. It is important to recognize that expense reports can hold both card transactions as well as reimbursement requests. Additional training on expense reports can be found here and here

 

1. APPROVALS

The standard approval path for a supplier invoice or requisition routes to Cost Center Managers at the dollar thresholds of $500, $1,000 and $5,000 and various other approvers if there is a Designation, Designee, Gift, Grant or Project Worktag.  However, there are two approvals distinct to an expense report – the “Employee as Self” and the “Manager”. 

“Employee as Self” is a Workday term used throughout the system that basically means “You”.  An expense report is paid to an employee.  “You” are requesting that “you” be paid.  In some cases, the employee has delegated the creation of the expense report to someone else.  If that has happened “you” – the “employee as self” –  must still approve it because you are the only person who can ascertain that what has been entered is true and accurate. You have to approve it.  The reports are also currently going to the person’s “Manager” as this is considered a personal expense.

However, as of end of next week, in response to user feedback, the approval by a Manager will be eliminated.  We recognize that this role is often the same as the Cost Center Manager, or may not make sense, especially in the Academic Affairs organizational structure.  Instead, it will go to the Cost Center Manager from the first dollar. 

We have also heard that not everyone was being notified that there was something to approve.  We have discovered a small gap where that may have been true and have patched that hole.  In the meantime, we will be centrally reviewing outstanding expense reports that have been awaiting action for more than one week and we will reach out to those approvers.  However, folks should make a habit of checking their Workday task box on a routine basis.  Since Workday is a full enterprise system, there are lots of Workday tasks that may require action on their part.

 2. ITEMIZATION OF LODGING

Currently, the Lodging expense item requires the employee to split out any meals and alcohol charged to a lodging bill in the “itemization” section of the report. If there are no meals and alcohol, the employee has to actively delete these lines.

In response to user feedback,  we have eliminated the need to actively delete the meals and alcohol line. However, it does not eliminate the requirement to itemize those costs if there are meals and alcohol on the bill.  Accounts Payable will be denying expense reports that do not break out meals and alcohol from the lodging receipt. This requirement facilitates our maximum meal allowance and the requirement that we carve out alcohol for exclusion in certain compliance reports and calculations.

In addition, we have removed the requirement to enter a daily rate.  The fields are still there as options, as we believe it makes it easier for the approvers to assess reasonableness and they may even populate from credit card information, but they are not mandatory.

3. SPLITTING OF COSTS

Speaking of “itemization”, this is the Workday term that is used to split a cost on an expense report. On each line, after you enter the expense item, an “itemization” button will appear.

The idea is that there is one total, one receipt, that needs to be split between two cost centers/worktags etc. This is done on each line but it is important to note that the option does not appear until after you enter the expense item.

In addition, if you need to change the accounting on an expense report after it has been submitted you can do that with an accounting adjustment. The accounting adjustment can be found from the related actions/accounting/adjust accounting.

This has two important limitations:
• The expense report has to be in a “paid” status.
• You can only change the existing worktags. You cannot split a line with an accounting adjustment. If you need to split a line you can request a journal entry using service now.

If you have any ideas of Workday topics you would like addressed or tips and tricks that you would like to share please email finance@wesleyan.edu.