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Administrator Guide
Last Updated: 2025-10-17
Steps: Map Spend Categories or Pay Components to Sponsor Expenditure Categories

Steps: Map Spend Categories or Pay Components to Sponsor Expenditure Categories

Security:
Set Up: Grants Management
 domain in the Grants Management functional area.
Sponsors require budget and expenditure reporting. Workday supports these requirements using object class mapping. When your internal spend categories don't match the sponsor cost categories, you can create object classes that match the sponsor cost categories. You can then map your internal spend categories and pay components to these object classes, and use the object classes as dimensions for financial and budgetary reporting. You can further limit the mapping of an object class to only spends with specific exception worktags.
Object class mapping is available for awards with cost reimbursable and fixed amount award lines.
  1. Access the
    Create Object Class Set
     task.
    Create a list of object class codes that match the sponsor cost categories. Add a new row for every sponsor cost category that you want to map internal spend categories to.
    Security:
    Set Up: Object Class
     domain in the Common Financial Management functional area.
  2. Access the
    Maintain Object Class Mapping
     task.
    Map the internal spend categories of your organization to the object classes in the object class set. You can map multiple spend categories or pay component groups to an object class. You don't have to map to all the object classes, only the ones that you want to process award costs for or generate financial reports with. You can create a default object class that's unmapped to capture unmapped spend categories on your spend transactions.
    When you make a change to an object class mapping, such as adding a new spend category or mapping a spend category to a different object class:
    • The change affects only new spend transactions.
    • You can't use the
      Reprocess Award Costs
       task to reassign the object class on spend transactions that Workday has already processed.
    When you find a wrong object class on a spend transaction, first identify the reasons before determining the best course of action.
    As you complete the header section, consider:
    Option Description
    Object Class
    To apply the mapping to a single object class in the set, select an
    Object Class
    .
    Exception Worktag
    To map only the spends that contain specific exception worktags to an object class, select the worktag type for the exception worktags on the spends. The worktag type that you set here determines the worktags you can select in the
    Exception Worktag
     column on the grid below.
    If you don't plan to map spends to object classes based on exception worktags, select any value in this field, and leave the
    Exception Worktag
     field in the grid blank.
    As you complete the grid, consider:
    Option Description
    Default Object Class
    There must be 1 and only 1 default object class in an object class set.
    When you select this check box, Workday maps all unmapped spend categories and pay component groups in the object class set to this object class.
    To create an unmapped object class as the default object class, delete the new subrow for
    Spend Category/Hierarchy/Pay Component Group
    .
    Having an unmapped default object class can help you identify spend categories or pay component groups that were not mapped to an object class. When you don't see an award cost that you expect to see from a cost reimbursable expenditure, you can look for the default object class in your spend transaction accounting to identify the spend category or pay component group associated with the spending that you might have overlooked in mapping.
    Spend Category / Hierarchy / Pay Component Group
    Select a spend category hierarchy to map all the spend categories under the hierarchy to the object class.
    Workday uses pay component groups instead of spend categories to assign the correct object class to payroll journals. Map the correct pay component group to the proper salary/wages or fringe-related object class.
    Exclude Spend Category / Hierarchy
    (Optional) Specify the spend categories or spend category hierarchies to exclude from a hierarchy mapping.
    Example: The
    First Aid Supplies
     spend category hierarchy contains these spend categories:
    • Bandages and Adhesives.
    • Medicine.
    • Miscellaneous First Aid Supplies.
    You want to map all the spend categories except
    Medicine
     under
    First Aid Supplies
     to the object class. Set:
    • Spend Category / Hierarchy / Pay Component Group
      :
      First Aid Supplies
      .
    • Exclude Spend Category / Hierarchy
      :
      Medicine
      .
    You can add an excluded spend category to a different object class later.
    Exception Worktag
    (Optional) Workday maps only spends in the
    Spend Category / Hierarchy / Pay Component Group
     field associated with this exception worktag to the object class. To change the type of worktags that you can select from, set the worktag type in the
    Exception Worktag
     field at the header.
    Example: You want to map only the spends in the
    Travel & Entertainment
     category that are associated with the exception worktag of
    Cost Center: 1000 Office of the President
     to the object class. Select:
    • Exception Worktag
       (header):
      Cost Center
    • Spend Category / Hierarchy
      :
      Travel & Entertainment
    • Exception Worktag
       (row):
      Cost Center: 1000 Office of the President
You can track internal spend and report on sponsor budgets and expenditures using object class mapping.
You can include the object classes in the configuration of facilities and administration cost basis types.
You can implement award budget checks for spends in specific object classes.