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Administrator Guide
Last Updated: 2023-06-23
Create Spend Authorizations

Create Spend Authorizations

  • Set up payment elections for all payee types.
  • Set up Workday accounts for nonworkers.
  • Configure the
    Spend Authorization
     business process and security policy in the Expenses functional area. See Steps: Set Up Spend Authorizations.
Spend authorizations are expense transactions that payees can create to request preapproval for estimated expenses, such as upcoming business trips.
You can create and submit spend authorizations for yourself, or on behalf of nonworkers and other workers.
  1. Access 1 of these tasks:
    • Create Spend Authorization
    • Create Spend Authorization for Non-Worker
    • Create Spend Authorization for Worker
    On the
    Create Spend Authorization for Non-Worker
     task, you can create spend authorizations only for workers in External Committee Member (ECM) roles.
  2. As you complete the task, consider:
    Option Description
    Position
    Displays when you:
    • Enable spend authorization routing for workers with multiple positions.
    • Select a worker who has multiple positions from the
      For
       prompt on 1 of these tasks:
      • Create Spend Authorization
      • Create Spend Authorization for Worker
    Company
    When you use the:
    • Create Spend Authorization
       task, Workday displays your company automatically, but you can select any company to which you have access.
    • Create Spend Authorization for Non-Worker
       task, select the company that expects to report the expense.
    • Create Spend Authorization for Worker
       task, select a company that you and the worker can both access.
    When you submit spend authorizations or save them for later, you can't change the company.
    Start Date
    Select the date that you expect the expense to occur.
    Spend Authorization Total
    Enter the estimated amount.
    Workday corrects estimated amounts to match the total of the spend authorization lines that you create later.
    Example: When you set a spend authorization estimate at 100 USD and the subsequent spend authorization lines total 80 USD, Workday updates the estimate.
    Reimbursement Payment Type
    Select a reimbursement payment type, which is based on your defined payment elections.
  3. (Optional) On the
    Spend Authorization Lines
     tab, add expense transactions for the spend authorization. As you complete the tab, consider:
    Option Description
    Budget Date
    Select a date to determine which budget Workday applies the total spend authorization line amount to.
    Workday only displays this field if you configure:
    • Commitment accounting for your tenant.
    • Budget dates to display on your actuals ledger.
    Cash Advance Requested
    Select to request a cash advance for the specified expense item.
    Create a separate spend authorization line for each cash advance request.
    Worktags
    Use worktags as keywords to more easily classify and find transactions. Configure the allowed worktag types on the
    Maintain Worktag Usage
     task. When you select a worktag type that has related worktags, Workday automatically populates transactions with the related worktag values.
    If you enable manual overrides for an expense item, you can change worktags manually by selecting from a list of configured values.
  • The spend authorization routes for approval and when approved, you can include it on expense reports.
  • If you enable commitment accounting, you can link an approved spend authorization to multiple expense reports until its balance equals zero. For accounting purposes, spend authorizations don’t generate accounting entries or issue payments against them.
You can access the
My Spend Authorizations
 report to view your spend authorizations.