Finance workday workstream
FINANCE: PAST VS. NOW
Workday impacts various financial procedures at UCF, streamlining business processes and functions. These functions include accounting/Foundation Data Model (FDM), procurement, customer accounts, expenses, budgeting and more.
WORKDAY EXPENSE REPORTS
Workday Expense Reports are used for Travel Expense Reports, Expense Card Transactions (company credit card), Reimbursements Other Than Travel (ROTT) and Reconcile an Advance.
The benefits of creating Expense Reports in Workday include:
- No paper reimbursement or credit card packets,
- less manual entry,
- more guidance for preparers and approvers with an increase in instructional text,
- all approvals happen within Workday
- and employees can check the status of a Spend Authorization or Expense Report at any time.
View an example of what Expense Reports will look like in Workday by going through the slides below.
Expense Reports in Workday can be created and viewed on a mobile device. The entire Workday system is mobile-friendly and submitting receipts will be much easier with the mobile functionality.
Workday mobile allows users to submit Expense Reports with an Apple or Android device, link to Spend Authorization, edit draft Expense Reports, view errors and view “in progress” reports. View a more in-depth demonstration of Expense Reports in Workday by viewing day 3 of the Customer Preview Sessions recordings.
Take a sneak peek at the mobile functionality for Expense Reports below.
WORKDAY SPEND AUTHORIZATIONS
Workday Spend Authorizations allow supervisors to pre-approve travel requests and employees to submit requests in advance.
View the slideshow below for an inside look at Spend Authorizations in Workday.
FINANCE WORKSTREAM STRUCTURE

Common Questions
For all finance-related questions, visit our Finance Questions page.
General Finance
Do we still need an account with Staples or Amazon if we use punchout?
No, because if you’re able to create a requisition in Workday, there’s not additional login information needed. It’s all tied together.
For business processes that cross Campus Solutions to Workday like student refunds, are there plans to discuss and document those differently from purely-business processes within Workday?
There is an integration that is planned for Workday, but for now Campus Solutions, PeopleSoft and Workday will all be working together. Campus Solutions will also eventually work together with the new FDM. The long-term goal is to transition everything to Workday. We will start the analysis and examination of Workday Student/student systems in the spring of 2022.
How will asset Physical Inventory work going forward? Will our current scanning process work (CipherLab scanners) or will there be a new set of tools for Workday?
We are currently designing to work with the CipherLabs scanners. We have explored other opportunities, but at this moment, we are working with CipherLabs. There are no new design updates at this moment, but we will explore more options at a later time.
Is the function on sponsor invoices available for everyone or is special clearance needed?
Security is tied to users who can produce sponsor invoices.
Is the tax exempt certificate attached with punchouts?
Our tax exempt certificate is already included in the punchout. Therefore, tax exemption will already be in place. No need to provide when using a punchout.
Is UCF adopting the Workday method of processing subawards?
Yes, UCF will be modifying the subaward process to align with Workday functionality. The subaward process in Workday allows for more transparency to the individual subaward.
We currently use queries to pull data in PeopleSoft. How will this translate in Workday?
Workday has amazing reporting functionality! Rather than running queries, you can run delivered Workday reports to get the information for your job role, or custom reports and dashboards can be created to meet information needs. There’s a central Workday Reporting team devoted to writing custom Workday reports to replace and enhance old PeopleSoft reports.
What actions/features are only for Grants and how many are just redundant to what will be available for E&G funds as well?
Similar to our current environment in Peoplesoft, many actions/features for E&G funds could also contain a Grants element if a grant is involved. Grants will be highlighted in training and business processes for those areas as applicable.
What are the plans for keeping budget and accounting records from PeopleSoft accessible to department administrators?
We will have access to historical records beyond what records are converted and will reside in Workday. These decisions are part of the overall Knight Vision program. We anticipate having more details to share on the game plan for this reporting and analytics infrastructure by September 21, 2021.
What areas specifically in grant management will be streamlined?
We are still exploring new functionality delivered in Workday to determine features that would benefit Grants Management. Some options we are exploring are moving tasks into Workday that are currently handled manually outside of the system and creating validations to prevent invalid actions or incorrect data.
What is a punchout?
A punchout is a supplier’s link within Workday that allows you to shop on suppliers websites, while completing checkout, approval, receiving and payment processes in Workday. To learn more finance-related terms, review our glossary.
What will the COS-RA role be and will it be assigned by default like Huron?
Security roles are still being finalized. Workday delivers standard roles that are either user- or role-based, which affects how they are assigned. UCF has the option to modify them, which is being considered during business process discussions.
Will banking information be used in UCF’s version of Workday?
We will definitely be using banking information to record payments and deposits in Workday. Workday will be used to streamline bank reconciliation, which is currently a very manual process.
Will faculty have the ability to access the punchout to place orders or obtain quotes?
It’s a self-service functionality in Workday, but some decisions are still being made on that.
Will HR be involved to avoid Huron Grants (HRS) issues?
Any HR-related items that arise are brought to our attention and have been/will be shared with the HR/HCM team for consideration.
Will punchouts be available at the department/school level or only at the service centers?
It’s a self-service functionality in Workday so it’s beyond just the individuals working in the business centers. The supervisor, budget director and others depending on the requisition/expense dollar threshold or what’s being purchased will provide approvals for the purchases based on the approval workflow built into Workday.
Will the Copy Award feature be used?
Sponsored awards will continue to be created in Huron Grants (HRS) and will be pushed to Workday via an integration. No sponsored awards will be created directly in Workday and thus, the copy award feature will not be used. If a new award needs to be created, it needs to be created in HRS.
Will the sponsor invoice feature be used?
UCF will be processing sponsor invoices within Workday.
Will we need to set up DAL (department authorization list) in Workday?
The DAL will not be in Workday, but something similar with security and workflows will be set up. There will be a lot of different roles in Workday that depend on your training and current position. We are currently in the early conversations regarding the security of assigning roles.