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Administrator Guide
Last Updated: 2026-06-26
Steps: Configure Worktag Balancing for Journals

Steps: Configure Worktag Balancing for Journals

  • Security:
    Set Up: Worktag Balancing
     domain in the Common Financial Management functional area.
  • Review setup considerations on worktag balancing for payroll.
You can set up the required balancing worktag type you want to use in addition to company for balancing journals, for all companies in your tenant. You can enable worktag balancing for:
  • New implementation.
  • Workday Expenses.
  • Workday Payroll.
  • Workday Student.
Not all transactions and features support worktag balancing, and only certain transactions can exist in your tenant prior to enabling worktag balancing. For more information on supported and unsupported features and transactions, see: Concept: Requirements for Worktag Balancing for Journals.
Carefully plan the business dimension that you want to use as your required balancing worktag. Once you enable worktag balancing, you can't disable it or change the balancing worktag type.
Set up the optional balancing worktag types you want to use in addition to company for balancing journals, for all companies in your tenant. You can enable worktag balancing for new implementation and existing implementation.
Optional balancing worktags aren’t mandatory on a transaction. You can add or remove optional balancing worktags. Create reclassifying journal entries when transactions that are in process no longer balance after you update the optional balancing worktag configuration.
  1. If already using Workday Expenses or Payroll, ensure the control ledger account balance nets to zero before you load beginning balance journals.
    1. Before enabling worktag balancing, complete all in-process transactions and settle payments in your tenant.
      • Fringe benefit (fringe benefit, commitments, obligations, facilities, and administration expense).
      • Expenses (expense report, expense report payment, and expense credit card payment).
      • Payroll (payroll accrual, forward accrual, payment, commitments, and obligations).
      • Settlement (prenote payment, payment return, ad hoc payment, ad hoc bank transaction, bank transfer, and intercompany payment / receipt).
    2. Create a manual journal to reverse account balances and close all prior periods.
      Closing all periods restricts modifications to historic transactions after enabling worktag balancing. If you later reopen a period for adjustment, add new transactions as opposed to changing historic details.
  2. Set up worktag balancing rules for required balancing worktags.
    1. If using required worktag balancing for financial transactions, define financial balancing rules.
      Set up how you want Workday to assign a required balancing worktag to the offset side of journals that use balancing rules.
    2. If using required worktag balancing with Workday Payroll, define payroll balancing rules.
      Set up how you want Workday to assign a balancing worktag to:
      • The deductions portion and net accumulation of gross-to-net payroll (including forward accruals).
      • Fringe benefit charges.
      If you change historic payroll transactions after you enable worktag balancing, the transactions have an error status because they don't have a balancing worktag. The
      Fix Operational Journals With Errors
       task tags the payroll accounting entries with the default worktag from the
      Worktag Balancing Transaction Rule Set
       that you entered on the company accounting details. Use the
      Fix Operational Journals With Errors
       task to resolve issues.
      See:
    3. If using worktag balancing for cash transactions, define a cash balancing rule to associate primary balancing worktags to bank accounts.
      Workday generates worktag balancing entries at the time of settlement to reflect accurate balances for cash balance checks or financial reports.
    4. Define worktag balancing transaction rule sets to associate balancing rules for required balancing worktags with applicable transactions.
    5. Configure a balancing worktag for the tenant.
      Use the
      Maintain Worktag Balancing Configuration
       task to configure the balancing worktag Workday uses to balance journals in addition to company.
    6. (Optional) Configure optional balancing worktags for the tenant.
      You can balance operational transactions and accounting journals by optional balancing worktags without setting up required balancing worktags. Use the
      Optional Balancing Worktag
       section on the
      Maintain Worktag Balancing Configuration
       task to select up to 5 of these worktag types for use when balancing company books:
      • Business Unit
      • Cost Center
      • Custom Organizations
      • Custom worktags
      • Fund
      • Gift
      • Grant
      • Location
      • Program
      • Project
      • Region
      When transactions that are in progress no longer balance after you update the optional balancing worktag configuration, create adjusting journal entries.
    7. Update account posting rules for
      InterWorktag Payables
       and
      InterWorktag Receivables
      .
      Account posting rules define where to post due to and due from journal lines for transactions between worktags.
  3. Configure the balancing worktag as required for all worktag objects on the
    Maintain Worktag Usage
     task.
  4. Load beginning balance journals from your external ledger into Workday.
For required balancing worktags, Workday:
  • Balances journals by company.
  • Uses the balancing worktag you configured to balance all journals.