Workday Finance Glossary

This guide contains a list of Workday Finance terminology with accompanying definitions.

Foundation Data Model (FDM)

Workday Term

Definition

Foundation Data Model (FDM) Data structure used for accounting and financial reporting; contains elements known as worktags. Formerly known as Chart of Accounts in Kuali. Worktag Keywords assigned to transactions that define their business purpose, create relationships, and drive reporting. Organization Structural units that define hierarchy and categorization of business operations (i.e., cost centers, gifts, grants, projects, and programs). Formerly known as Account in Kuali. Cost Center A collection of revenues and expenditures based on hierarchal, legal, and functional units, including departments and divisions. Cost centers include workers and are long-term in nature. Formerly known as Account in Kuali. Fund A self-balancing set of accounts including revenues, expenditures, assets, liabilities, and net assets accounts (i.e., general operating fund, designated fund). Formerly known as Sub-Fund in Kuali. Revenue and Spend Categories Formerly known as Object Code in Kuali. Worktags used to categorize income or expenditures. Spend categories include personnel costs and benefits, supplies and services, and capital purchases. Revenue categories include ticket sales and rental income. Division A high-level organizational unit that is part of the cost center hierarchy in Workday. Formerly known as Responsibility Center in Kuali. Department A functional unit in the organizational hierarchy and part of the cost center hierarchy in Workday. Formerly known as Organization in Kuali.

Accounting & Budgets

Workday Term

Definition

Accounting Journal – Expense Reclassification A manual journal entry used to move or reclassify expenses from one account, cost center or worktag to another. They are commonly used when expenses are charged to the wrong account or department, or a correction is needed after a transaction has been posted. The reclassification is not tied to a specific operational transaction (like a supplier invoice) which would otherwise be handled through an Accounting Adjustment. Budget Amendment Change to a budget. There are three types of budget amendments can be either temporary or permanent. Budget Check A process that verifies whether a transaction's spending is within the available budget for the specified cost center or budget pool. Warnings or errors issued by Budget Check when a transaction amount exceeds the available budget or when there is no budget. Budget Plan Structures Structures for budget plans are grouped into two categories: Fiscal & Duration Budget Plan Structures. Fiscal Budget Plan structures include these three types: Financial Operation, Position and Capital Appropriation Funds. Duration Budget Plan structures include Grants and Capital budget plans.

Procure to Pay

Workday Term

Definition Requestor Person requesting the requisition (may be different from the initiator). This person is typically responsible for receiving the goods or services if $5K or greater. Initiator Person starting any business process, including a requisition, in Workday. Purchase Requisition A formal request to procure goods or services, initiated before a Purchase Order (PO) is created. Receipt A document that confirms receipt of goods or services against a purchase order. Required only for purchases of $5K and greater. Requisition Type A required classification that determines the purpose or category of the requisition. Types include General, Animal, Capital Assets, Capital Projects, Gases/Chemicals, Leases/Rentals (short-term and long-term), Computer Hardware & Software purchases, Research Subawards, Prepaids (greater than $5K) and Radioactive. Supplier An entity that provides goods or services. Formerly known as Vendor in Kuali. Supplier Invoice Request A tool used to request payment for goods or services from a supplier for non-PO purchases. Formerly known as Disbursement Voucher in Kuali. Three-Way Match An automated process initiated by submitting the receipt that matches the PO, Receipt, and invoice.

Assets

Workday Term

Definition

Capital Asset An acquired or constructed item with a cost (including shipping and installation) of $5,000 or more and an economic life lasting more than one year. Capital assets include buildings, equipment (fixed or movable), infrastructure, campus improvements, and software. Movable/Taggable Assets

Assets that can be easily relocated (e.g., laptops, office furniture, lab equipment, or vehicles).

These assets are tagged, often with RFID tags, to track and identify them for accounting purposes.

Non-Movable/Non-Taggable Assets Assets that are fixed or not easily relocated (e.g., buildings, large machinery, or infrastructure). Because these items are immovable, physical tagging is not required.

Projects

Workday Term

Definition

Project (Driver Worktag) Funding for Capital Improvement and Facilities initiatives over a specific time period. Projects are sub-divided into phases with their own multi-year budgets. Project worktags default data. Project Plan The project budget loaded by the total budget.