Expenses may be charged to the Wisconsin Foundation Alumni Association (WFAA) when appropriate. E-Reimbursement Approvers are responsible for entering WFAA funding. Upon approval of the expense reimbursement, the claimant receives one payment from the University. Accounting Services then bills WFAA for their portion.
Procedure # 3024.8; Rev.: 2 (Effective June 30, 2025) Related Policy:UW-3024 Expense Reimbursement Policy Functional Owner: Accounting Services, Division of Business Services Contact: Expense Reimbursement Program Manager – Allie Watters, expensereimbursement@bussvc.wisc.edu, (608) 263-3525
Out of pocket, shared liability card, and purchasing card transactions reconciled in Workday Expenses may be billed to the University of Wisconsin Foundation (UW Foundation). Claimants, cardholders, and/or Expense Data Entry Specialists are responsible for assigning Foundation Expense Items to transactions and entering UW Foundation funding details prior to report submission. Accounting Services bills UW Foundation weekly for fully approved UW Foundation charges in Workday Expenses.
An Expense Item is a sub-classification of Spend Category, used to categorize and track specific expenses within an expense report. Expense Items are entered into an expense line (at the line level or within itemization) to identify the type of expense. The Foundation Expense Item Group contains Expense Items used to identify expenses to be charged to a University of Wisconsin Foundation (UW Foundation) account.
The Foundation Expense Items are:
Alcohol (Foundation) – to be used for alcoholic beverages at hosted meals and events within specified UW-Madison limits ($50/person alcohol).
Meals-Hosted/Event Food and Drink Overage (Foundation) – for Hosted Meal and Event food and drink expenses which exceed UW allowable amounts and are to be charged to a Foundation account.
Non-Travel (Foundation) – Non-travel expenses to be charged to a Foundation account which do not belong in another Foundation expense item. Note: Non-travel expenses require justification for billing UW Foundation in lieu of UW-Madison.
Other Business Meal/Event Expense (Foundation) – Meal- or Event-related expenses other than food and drink to be charged to a Foundation account. Note: We do not anticipate this category to be frequently utilized by UW-Madison.
Travel (Foundation) – Travel-related expenses to be charged to a Foundation account. Note: Routine, allowable travel expenses must be paid by UW-Madison. Policy non-compliant expenses may not be billed to UW Foundation. There must be justification and approval from UW Foundation for billing travel expenses to UW Foundation.
When a Foundation Expense Item is assigned to a transaction at the expense line level, the Foundation Account Number must be added in the Item Details panel. The Foundation Account Name is not a required field but should be added for data validation purposes.
Expense reports with Foundation Expense Items will require an additional approval by an Expense Foundation Specialist prior to payment. This is to ensure accurate, appropriate, and allowable billings to University of Wisconsin Foundation in Workday Expenses.
Navigate to the Expense Lines tab of the expense report and begin entering required line-level documentation and details:
Drop and/or select files to add to the attachments. This should include, at minimum, a receipt, as well as any other relevant documentation. For items split-billed to UW Foundation, a business meal calculator should be attached showing how the claimant or cardholder arrived at the amounts to be billed to UW-Madison and UW Foundation.
Enter required Expense Line details. In the example below, directions are provided for a hosted meal to be split billed to UW-Madison and UW Foundation utilizing the Itemization capability.
For Expense Item, enter Meals-Hosted. Note: The Foundation Expense Items will be added at the Itemization step to assign part of this transaction to UW Foundation. However, if an expense is to be billed entirely to UW Foundation, with no portion assigned to UW-Madison, the appropriate Foundation Expense Item may be added at this step instead.
For Total Amount, enter the total dollar amount of the meal.
In the Memo section, write a business purpose for meal.
Enter and/or update the funding on the expense line by adding the appropriate Program, Grant, Project, or Gift.
When the Expense Item Meals-Hosted is added, a panel on the right side of the screen titled Instructions pops up. Additional Item Details need to be added, and the Itemization functionality will be utilized to bill to UW Foundation.
For the Attendees section, search for and/or add all attendees. Manually add all attendees if the total number is under 25. For attendees at or exceeding 25, an attendee list can be attached instead (with the Number of Persons field updated to reflect the total number of attendees).
For Destination, begin typing the city/town where the meal took place. Press Enter to search and select the correct location.
For Number of Persons, enter the number of attendees at the meal.
For Merchant, enter the name of the establishment or restaurant.
After completing all Item Details, click Add in the Itemization section.
A pop-up window will appear that allows you to add additional funding lines to the Meals-Hosted expense line, including amounts to be billed to UW Foundation.
The amount entered into the first itemization will be the allowed amount on UW-Madison funding. For Total Amount, enter the amount allowable on UW-Madison funding (in example image, $46 x 4 attendees equals $184). For Memo, type “UW-Madison allowed meal costs.” After accounting for the amount on UW-Madison funding, we can see that we still have $226.60 to expense (see Remaining for the dollar amount remaining to itemize at the top of the page). Click Add to initiate the next entry.
The next itemization is for UW Foundation meal overage. To assign a line to UW Foundation, update the Expense Item to the appropriate Foundation Expense Item. For meal overage, the Foundation Expense Item is Meals-Hosted/Event Food and Drink Overage (Foundation). For Total Amount, enter the dollar amount of the overage. For Memo, enter “Foundation meal overage.” On the right side of the pop-up, enter the Foundation account number in the field Account Number. Enter the name of the Foundation account in the field Foundation Account Name. Click Add to initiate the next entry.
The last itemization (if applicable) is for UW Foundation alcohol charges. Update the Expense Item to the appropriate Foundation Expense Item, Alcohol (Foundation). For Total Amount, enter the dollar amount spent on alcohol. For Memo, enter “Alcohol-related charges.” On the right side of the pop-up, enter the Foundation account number in the field Account Number. Enter the name of the Foundation account in the field Foundation Account Name.
Review all itemization entries for errors/missing information. Then, click Done to complete the itemization process
Click Submit to submit the report for required approvals. Expense reports with Foundation Expense Items will route to a Expense Foundation Specialist after the Driver Worktag Manager for review of Foundation data entry
Payment/Reimbursement and UW Foundation Billing Process
Purchasing card transactions are paid to U.S. Bank in full by the University, even when charged in part or entirely to UW Foundation. Claimants filing expense reports for out-of-pocket or Shared Liability Card transactions will receive full payment upon approval of the report, even when items are charged in part or entirely to UW Foundation.
UW Foundation is billed on a weekly basis for the Workday Expenses receivables created by entry and approval of Foundation Expense Items. UW Foundation then pays the University back for the expenses.
UW Foundation has the final authority to approve or deny any billings for payment, which could require reimbursement from the claimant/cardholder if the billing is denied.
Claimant/Expense Data Entry Specialist: Responsible for understanding and complying with Business Meals, Hosted Events, Official Functions and University travel and purchasing policies. Responsible for entering Foundation Expense Items, number of attendees and their names and affiliations, Foundation account numbers and Foundation account names. Responsible for ensuring amounts split between UWF and UW funding are accurate and providing sufficient justification for Workday Expenses approvers and UWF personnel to approve expenses.
Driver Worktag Manager: Divisional/Departmental staff responsible for reviewing Workday Expenses transactions for budget and funding.
Expense Foundation Specialist: Central audit team in the Division of Business Services responsible for reviewing and approving Foundation Expense Items in expense reports prior to payment. Responsible for initiating the billing process to UW Foundation for approved Foundation Expense Items on a weekly basis.
Expense Reimbursement Program Manager: Oversees the UW Foundation billing process for UW-Madison and reconciles the Foundation receivable account on a monthly basis.
Claimant: individual claiming reimbursement for expenses.
Cardholder: the UW–Madison employee whose name appears on a UW credit card product and who is responsible for all purchases made with that card.
Expense Data Entry Specialist: An Expense Data Entry Specialist (EDES) is a security role in Workday Expense that grants the ability to create, edit, and submit expense reports on behalf of employees, external committee members, and pre-hires.
Expense Foundation Specialist: Central audit team responsible for reviewing card activity and out-of-pocket transactions allocated to the University of Wisconsin Foundation.
Expense Item: A sub-classification of Spend Category, used to categorize and track specific expenses within an expense report.
Expense Item Group: An organized set of related expense items.
Foundation Expense Item: Used to identify expenses to be charged to a University of Wisconsin Foundation (UWF) account.
Expense report: Electronic submission to request reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses and/or to submit card-product expenses for approval.
University of Wisconsin Foundation (UW Foundation): The University of Wisconsin Foundation raises, invests and distributes funds for the benefit of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. UW Foundation pays back UW-Madison for allowable Foundation expenses billed via Workday Expenses.
Workday Expenses: The Workday module used to create, submit, and approve expense reports for out-of-pocket, Shared Liability Card, and Purchasing Card transactions.
Spend Authorizations for Cash Advance requests are submitted via Workday Expenses. Cash Advance requests are approved by a Driver Worktag Manager and an Expense Advance Repayment Specialist. Employee travelers must fully reconcile Cash Advances within 30 days of the end of the trip.
Cash Advance Approval: Cash advances are approved by a Driver Worktag Manager and an Expense Advance Repayment Specialist.
The Driver Worktag Manager must ensure the funding for a cash advance is appropriate and that sufficient budget exists to support a cash advance payment.
The Expense Advance Repayment Specialist will review the business purpose and confirm estimated expenses are policy-compliant, reasonable, and properly justified by supporting documentation.
Reconciliation: Cash advances must be fully reconciled within 30 days of the end of the trip. The Expense Advance Repayment Specialist monitors outstanding cash advance balances, follows up with employees regarding repayment, records repayments, and reconciles the cash advance general ledger account on a monthly basis.
Employee Traveler – Employee travelers are responsible for requesting cash advances via a Spend Authorization, reconciling cash advances within 30 days of the end of the trip, and refunding any unused portion of the cash advance.
Driver Worktag Manager – Upon submission, cash advance requests are first reviewed by the Driver Worktag Manager for budget and appropriateness of funding.
Expense Advance Repayment Specialist – Expense Advance Repayment Specialists are responsible for reviewing cash advances for policy compliance and for reconciling refunded payments related to cash advances.
Cash Advance – Funds disbursed to an employee in advance of UW business travel to offset expenses expected to be incurred out of pocket during the course of travel.
Expense Report – A report submitted by a cash advance recipient to account for use of advanced funds. The cash advance balance must be applied against expenses in the expense report to reconcile the original cash advance.
Spend Authorization – A request submitted in Workday Expenses that can be used to obtain approval for a cash advance.
Workday Expenses: The Workday module used to create, submit, and approve expense reports for out-of-pocket, Shared Liability Card, and Purchasing Card transactions.
July 23, 2019 – Updated instructions for depositing refund checks
Jan. 19, 2021 – Updated Procedure Number to 3025.2 from 321.2
July 1, 2025 – Updated to reflect Workday procedures
Cash Advance requests are submitted via a Spend Authorization in Workday Expenses. This Cash Advance Spend Authorization should be initiated at least 7 – 10 business days prior to the travel start date to ensure adequate time for approvals and receipt of funds. ACH deposit for approved cash advances may take up to 5 business days. Employees must submit an expense report after travel to account for their expenses. Any excess advance must be refunded to the university. Cash advances must be fully reconciled within 30 days of the end of the trip.
Click Create Spend Authorization (button under “Tasks”).
Note: If an Expense Data Entry Specialist (EDES) needs to create a Spend Authorization with cash advance for an employee traveler, the EDES will utilize the Search bar to find the task Create Spend Authorization For Worker.
The only difference between the employee traveler doing this and the EDES completing this step to initiate the Spend Authorization is that the EDES will have to search for and add the name of the claimant to header section of the request.
Enter header information for the Spend Authorization:
Spend Authorization Information (first column on the pop-up screen)
Company – This field will default to UW-Madison.
Start date – Departure date for business travel for which the cash advance is requested.
End Date – Return date for business travel for which the cash advance is requested.
Description – Utilize this field to explain what the cash advance is for and why advance funds are needed to cover expenses. Include a business purpose and benefit to UW.
Business Purpose – Select the appropriate business purpose from the drop-down menu.
Spend Authorization Details (column to the right on the pop-up screen)
Reimbursement Payment Method – This will default to direct deposit for employees. This may be modified to Check Payable (mailed check) or Manual (Expenses ONLY) for wire payment. The default direct deposit is the recommended method of payment for employee cash advances.
Justification – Additional information may be entered here if necessary to clarify the reason for travel or request for advanced funds. This field is not required.
After completing the header-level detail for the Spend Authorization, the employee traveler will click the Add button to add Spend Authorization lines to the expense report listing the Expense Types, descriptions, and dollar amounts for which advanced funds are requested.
Edit and review fields for the Spend Authorization expense line:
Expense Item – search for the appropriate item for which funds are being requested in advance (e.g., lodging, per diem).
Total Amount – Enter the estimated total cost for the Spend Authorization line.
Budget Date – This date will auto-fill from the start date entered in the header level of the expense report. This date does not need to be adjusted.
Memo – Enter any supporting details regarding the request for advanced funds for this anticipated travel expense.
Cash Advance Requested – This box MUST be checked in order to receive advanced funds.
Worktag – Enter a Driver Worktag (Program, Grant, Project, or Gift).
Item Details – The panel on the right side of the screen may have additional details to fill out depending on the Expense Item Complete these additional details.
Repeat steps 6-7 to include additional Spend Authorization lines.
Once all Spend Authorization lines have been entered, scroll back up to view the tabs Spend Authorization Lines and Attachments. Click Attachments to view the screen where attachments are uploaded. This section may be utilized to upload necessary supporting documentation (e.g., agenda/itinerary, cost/pricing documentation, estimated budget for trip).
Once all Spend Authorization lines have been entered and attachments have been uploaded, review the Spend Authorization for accuracy and completeness.
To view the total dollar amount of the cash advance review the following summary totals along the top of the Spend Authorization:
Cash Advance Requested – The total dollar amount of expense lines with the Cash Advance Requested box checked.
Spend Authorization Total – The total dollar amount of all Spend Authorization lines. Note: If the Spend Authorization dollar amount is higher than the cash advance requested (see above), one or more of the lines do NOT have Cash Advance Requested checked. Always be sure that the Cash Advance Requested amount MATCHES the Spend Authorization Total.
In the below example, all lines have now been updated with the box checked for Cash Advance Requested. Note that the dollar amounts now match.
Click Submit to advance the Spend Authorization to the approval workflow. Spend Authorizations with cash advance requests are approved by a Driver Worktag Manager and an Expense Advance Repayment Specialist. Alternately, click Save for Later to be able to complete the Spend Authorization at a late date/time.
Reconciliation: Cash advances must be fully reconciled within 30 days of the end of the trip.
View Cash Advance Balance Owed: Settlement (payment) of the approved cash advance creates a receivable balance for the employee traveler. An employee traveler can view this outstanding balance in their Expenses Hub.
Create an Expense Report from Spend Authorization: Account for the use of advanced funds by creating an expense report from a Spend Authorization and adding expense lines. Follow the directions in Procedure 3024.1 Creating and Submitting an Expense Report to create a new expense report. On the Create Expense Report page, under Creation Options, select Create New Expense Report from Spend Authorization. Utilize the drop-down menu to select the correct cash advance Spend Authorization to reconcile. If this is the final expense report to reconcile the cash advance Spend Authorization, check the box Final Expense Report For Spend Authorization.
As expense lines are added to the expense report, the report will record the balance accounted for in the section Cash Advance Applied.
Refund Excess Advanced Funds: Any advanced funds not utilized must be promptly refunded to the University. The employee traveler may elect to have the amount owed deducted from a future paycheck, or the employee traveler may write a check back to the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Upon submission of the final expense report for Spend Authorization, the employee traveler will receive a questionnaire to fill out if there is a balance due back to the University (example below). For a cash advance balance owed, the employee traveler has the opportunity to select either Payment withheld from next paycheck or Payment by check or cash. Click Submit to record the choice.
Note: Employees with unreconciled amounts owed greater than 30 days from the end of the trip may be subject to automatic payroll deduction for unreconciled cash advances/unpaid balances. Employees with outstanding cash advance balances will be reminded of the 30-day reconciliation deadline at 20 days and will be notified in advance of payroll deduction if the 30-day deadline is passed without reconciliation.
Employee Traveler: Employee travelers are responsible for submitting cash advance requests in a timely enough manner to allow for approvals and payment. Employee travelers are responsible for reconciling Cash Advances within 30 days of the end of the trip. Travelers must not seek excessive cash advances and must refund any excess advancements promptly.
Driver Worktag Manager: Upon submission, cash advance requests are first reviewed by the Driver Worktag Manager for budget and appropriateness of funding.
Expense Advance Repayment Specialist: Expense Advance Repayment Specialists are responsible for reviewing cash advances for policy compliance and for reconciling refunded payments related to cash advances.
Cash Advance: Funds disbursed to an employee in advance of UW business travel to offset expenses expected to be incurred out of pocket during the course of travel.
Expense Report: A report submitted by a cash advance recipient to account for use of advanced funds. Expense report initiators will utilize the Create New Expense Report from Spend Authorization option when creating a cash advance reconciliation expense report. The cash advance balance must be applied against expenses in the expense report to properly account for the funds advanced to the traveler.
Spend Authorization: A request submitted in Workday Expenses that can be used to obtain approval for a cash advance.
Workday Expenses: The Workday module used to create, submit, and approve expense reports for out-of-pocket, Shared Liability Card, and Purchasing Card transactions.
Non-employees are reimbursed for out-of-pocket travel expenses through e-Reimbursement. Expense Reimbursements for non-employees must be created and submitted by Alternates. Non-employees are paid via paper check unless they are setup to receive a wire transfer.Non-employee Profile Setup Forms are routed through the Dean’s Office or Divisional Business Office to the UW-Madison Travel Office. Alternates are notified via email when the non-employee profile is complete and they can being preparing Expense Reimbursements.Non-employees are subject to the same travel and reimbursement policies as employees.
Procedure # 3024.5; Rev.: 2 (Effective July 1, 2025) Related Policy:UW-3024 Expense Reimbursement Policy Functional Owner: Accounting Services, Division of Business Services Contact: Expense Reimbursement Program Manager – Allie Watters, expensereimbursement@bussvc.wisc.edu, (608) 263-3525
External Committee Members (ECMs; non-employees) are reimbursed for out-of-pocket travel and business expenses through Workday Expenses. Expense Data Entry Specialists request profiles for new External Committee Members and then create and submit expense reports on their behalf. ECMs will receive a mailed check for payment unless the payment method is modified to wire transfer on the expense report.
Expense Data Entry Specialists utilize the Create Request task to request a new non-employee profile in Workday Expenses. These requests are typically processed by the Division of Business Services within three business days. Expense Data Entry Specialists receive a Workday inbox notification when the External Committee Member profile has been set up, at which point they can begin preparing expense reports for the ECM.
Confirm whether an External Committee Member profile already exists prior to submitting a new request.
Before requesting a new External Committee Member profile, check if one already exists for the recipient. If one does exist, use this search to find the profile.
Utilize the main Search bar at the top of the home page to search for a profile. Type the name or portion of a name for the External Committee Member. Press Enter.
If the External Committee Member exists, the record will populate under the section People. See below for an example with External Committee Member “Tina Ballerina”:
Click the hyperlinked name of the ECM to view the profile. Due to security reasons, Expense Data Entry Specialists cannot currently see the Contact information or Personal information sections in the example profile below (updates are planned to security settings for Expense Data Entry Specialists to allow them to view this). If the contact information needs to be validated, the Expense Data Entry Specialist should contact expensereimbursement@bussvc.wisc.edu to verify current address, email address and/or phone number on file for the ECM.
A portion of the contact information can be validated (city, state) by running the report External Committee Member List (UW). Once run, it delivers a list of current External Committee Members and includes their city and state from the contact information. This is a good starting point for verifying the correct ECM has been found. Expense Data Entry Specialists may contact expensereimbursement@bussvc.wisc.edu with any remaining questions.
Once the profile has been confirmed, the Expense Data Entry Specialist may initiate an expense report for the ECM by searching for the Workday Task Create Expense Report for Non-Worker in the Search bar at the top of the page. After clicking on the task Create Expense Report for Non-Worker, the expense report entry page will pop up. Payee Type should be set to External Committee Member. The ECM’s name can then be put into the Pay To line, and the remainder of the report can be filled out on behalf of the ECM. For more comprehensive instructions on how to create and submit an expense report, see 3024.1 Creating and Submitting an Expense Report Procedure.
If the search yields no matching results, proceed to the following section of the procedure to initiate a new request for an External Committee Member.
Request External Committee Member
Type “Create Request” into the search bar. Press Enter to view search results, or just click the task Create Request, which appears under the search bar.
A pop-up will appear to Create Request. Under Request Type, click the menu icon to see Request Types by Workday Object, then click Committee, then click to select External Committee Member. Alternately, you may start typing “External Committee” in the Request Type box and hit enter for External Committee Member to populate. Click OK.
In the box Describe the Request, write the name of the guest or student.
Note: When the request is processed, the Expense Data Entry Specialist who filled out this Create Request form will receive a notification regarding the status that references the text in this box, and this will be the only field available to connect the request with a specific ECM name.
For Request Type, select Add New External Committee Member to add a new ECM.
In the section Expense Dates, enter the first date of expenses for the ECM. This should be the earliest date for expenses claimed by the ECM in Workday Expense.
A Date of Last Expense may be entered if desired. This field is optional.
In the section titled Please select the appropriate Committee Affiliate, select Madison-Guests and Students. This is the UW-Madison group for guests and students.
Under Please select the membership type, identify whether this ECM is a Guest or Student.
In the section ECM Name, enter the ECM’s legal name in the following fields. First name and last name are required.
Prefix
First Name (Required)
Middle Name
Last Name (Required)
Suffix
In the section Contact Information, enter the ECM’s phone number, email address, and mailing address.
Provide a phone number and/or email address for recipient (required). It is recommended to provide both phone number and email address in order to distinguish between ECMs with common names, but only one of the two is required. This information would be used to contact the ECM regarding the payment.
Address line 1: Enter Street address. (Required)
Address line 2: Enter additional information (e.g., apartment or unit number) (Not Required)
City: Enter name of city/town. (Required)
State: This field is only required for US and Canada addresses. For addresses outside of the US and Canada, enter “N/A.” (Required)
Postal Code: Enter the postal code (Required)
Country: Enter the country for the address (Required)
The section Document Review contains details regarding appropriate documentation for departments to obtain and keep on file for non-resident alien guests and students. This documentation is not required to be submitted to campus but must be kept on file by the department. In this section, the EDES filling out the form must complete an attestation regarding this paperwork. If the ECM is a non-resident alien, the department must obtain and file the paperwork, and then select Yes-I have obtained and reviewed the required documents. If this requirement does not pertain to the ECM request, select No-Not applicable.
The Comments section is not required.
Click Submit. The CreateRequest > External Committee Member form will be sent to a Division of Business Services External Committee Partner for profile setup. After submitting, the Expense Data Entry Specialist who submitted the request will receive a bell-icon notification in the upper-right corner of the Workday homepage when the request is closed with one of the following responses:
Done– The request has been accepted and the profile has been created.
Denied – The request has been denied and the profile will not be created. The initiator will be notified and a reason for denial will be included in the comments of the task.
Duplicate – The request is a duplicate and will be denied. The initiator will be notified and a reason for denial will be included in the comments of the task.
Request an Update to an Existing External Committee Member Profile
Type “Create Request” into the search bar. Press Enter to view search results, or just click the task Create Request, which appears under the search bar.
A pop-up will appear to Create Request. Under Request Type, click the menu icon to see Request Types by Workday Object, then click Committee, then click to select External Committee Member. Alternately, you may start typing “External Committee” in the Request Type box and hit enter for External Committee Member to populate. Click OK.
In the box Describe the Request, type the name of the non-employee, their ECM ID number, and a description of the change(s) being requested.
Note: When the request is processed, the Expense Data Entry Specialist who filled out this Create Request form will receive a notification regarding the status that references the text in this box, and this will be the only field available to connect the request with a specific ECM name.
For Request Type, select Update Existing External Committee Member.
Note: If requesting a change to an existing ECM profile, this may require entering information that is not being changed, but which is necessary to identify which profile to update.
In the section Expense Dates, enter the first date of expenses for the ECM. This should be the earliest date for expenses claimed by the ECM in Workday Expense.
A Date of Last Expense may be entered if desired. This field is optional.
In the section titled Please select the appropriate Committee Affiliate, select Madison-Guests and Students. This is the UW-Madison group for guests and students.
Under Please select the membership type, identify whether this ECM is a Guest or Student.
In the section ECM Name, enter any updates to the ECM’s legal name in the following fields. First name and last name are required.
Prefix
First Name (Required)
Middle Name
Last Name (Required)
Suffix
In section Contact Information, you are prompted to enter the ECM’s phone number, email address, and mailing address.
Provide an updated phone number and/or email address for recipient (required). It is recommended to provide both phone number and email address in order to distinguish between ECMs with common names, but only one of the two is required. This information would be used to contact the ECM regarding the payment.
Address line 1: Enter Street address. (Required)
Address line 2: Enter additional information (e.g., apartment or unit number) (Not Required)
City: Enter name of city/town. (Required)
State: This field is only required for US and Canada addresses. For addresses outside of the US and Canada, enter “N/A.” (Required)
Postal Code: Enter the postal code (Required)
Country: Enter the country for the address (Required)
The section Document Review contains details regarding appropriate documentation for departments to obtain and keep on file for non-resident alien guests and students. This documentation is not required to be submitted to campus but must be kept on file by the department. In this section, the EDES filling out the form must complete an attestation regarding this paperwork. If the ECM is a non-resident alien, the department must obtain and file the paperwork, and then select Yes-I have obtained and reviewed the required documents. If this requirement does not pertain to the ECM request, select No-Not applicable.
The Comments section is not required.
Click Submit. The CreateRequest > External Committee Member form will be sent to a Division of Business Services External Committee Partner to update the profile. After submitting, the Expense Data Entry Specialist who submitted the request will receive a notification when the request is closed with one of the following responses:
Done– The request has been accepted and updated.
Denied – The request has been denied and will not be updated. The initiator will be notified and a reason for denial will be included in the comments of the task.
Duplicate – The request is a duplicate and will be denied. The initiator will be notified and a reason for denial will be included in the comments of the task.
Requesting payment via wire transfer for External Committee Members
Non-employee payments must be made via wire transfer when the address is outside of the United States or Canada. External Committee Member profiles cannot be set to pay by wire transfer by default. Rather, payment by wire transfer must be selected on each expense report where that payment method is required.
When creating the expense report, choose Manual (Expenses ONLY) as the Reimbursement Payment Type. This requires navigating to the expense lines then back to the expense report header to be able to edit the Reimbursement Payment Type.
Once the expense report is fully approved, the expense report initiator (an Expense Data Entry Specialist for an External Committee Member or Pre-Hire, or an employee as self if selecting this for their own expense report) receives a to-do step (“Complete To Do”, pictured below) that instructs them to provide the wire transfer information:
A link to the Universities of Wisconsin Shared Services Online form will be visible in the to-do step. Users fill out the form to send the wire information to banking and settlement.
The Expense Data Entry Specialist completes the to-do step and the expense report is advanced to the payment step at roughly the same time the banking team is receiving the wire information.
Expense Data Entry Specialist: An Expense Data Entry Specialist (EDES) is a security role in Workday Expense that grants the ability to create, edit, and submit expense reports on behalf of employees, external committee members, and pre-hires.
Expense report: Electronic submission to request reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses and/or to submit card-product expenses for approval.
External Committee Member: Non-employee or guest that is getting reimbursed for UW business expenses through the Expenses module.
Workday Expenses: The Workday module used to create, submit, and approve expense reports for out-of-pocket, Shared Liability Card, and Purchasing Card transactions.
Dec. 6, 2019 – Updated links
Jan. 19, 2021 – Updated Procedure Number to 3024.5 from 320.5
June 30, 2025 – Updated to reflect Workday procedures and terminology.
March 3, 2026 – Replaced “nonemployee” email with expensereimbursement@bussvc.wisc.edu.
The My Corporate Card is a personal-liability credit card that can be used to pay for UW business-related expenses. Purchases made using My Corporate Card appear in the user’s My Wallet in e-Reimbursement. This procedure details how to use e-Reimbursement to account for your My Corporate Card activity.
Procedure # 3024.4; Rev.: 1 (Effective July 1, 2025) Related Policy:UW-3024 Expense Reimbursement Policy Functional Owner: Accounting Services, Division of Business Services Contact: Expense Reimbursement Program Manager – Allie Watters, expensereimbursement@bussvc.wisc.edu, (608) 263-3525
The Shared Liability Card is a shared-liability VISA credit card issued by U.S. Bank to a UW-Madison employee that can be used to pay for UW business-related expenses. Purchases made using the Shared Liability Card appear in the cardholder’s My Expense Transactions list in Workday Expenses. This procedure details how to use Workday Expenses to create expense reports to account for Shared Liability Card activity.
On the Workday home page, under Timely Suggestions, you will receive a notice if you have university credit card transactions that have been posted to your account:
From this notice, click Create New Expense Report. At the bottom of the Create Expense Report page, you will see a list of all open, unreconciled credit card transactions. Check the box in the column Include? to view and/or add credit card transactions to a new expense report.
The Workday Menu in the upper-left corner of the Workday home page can also be utilized to access credit card transactions in your account that have not yet been added to an expense report. Click Menu to expand options. Click Expenses Hub.
In the Expenses Hub Needs attention section, a list of Transactions to Expense will populate if a cardholder has unreconciled transactions.
Click View my Expense Transactions to see a complete list of unreconciled Shared Liability Card transactions for your account. An expense report can be initiated from this screen by clicking the button Create Expense Report.
Shared Liability Card expenses are paid directly to U.S. Bank upon approval of the associated expense report.
If a cardholder makes an accidental personal purchase on their Shared Liability Card, it must still be reconciled in Workday Expenses. The transaction will be marked “Personal Expense”, and no payment will be generated from the university. The cardholder must make a personal payment to U.S. Bank for the personal expense(s).
To avoid credit balances on the Shared Liability Card, cardholders must make efforts to avoid duplicate or incorrect payments made to US Bank.
Expense report: Electronic submission to request reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses and/or to submit card-product expenses for approval.
Expense Data Entry Specialist: An Expense Data Entry Specialist (EDES) is a security role in Workday Expense that grants the ability to create, edit, and submit expense reports on behalf of employees, external committee members, and pre-hires.
Shared Liability Card: A UW-Madison Shared Liability Card is a shared-liability VISA credit card issued by U.S. Bank to University employees for UW-Madison business use only.
Workday Expenses: The Workday module used to create, submit, and approve expense reports for out-of-pocket, Shared Liability Card, and Purchasing Card transactions.
Payments are processed within 3-5 business days of an Expense Reimbursement’s final approval. Employees who receive their paychecks via direct deposit will receive their reimbursement payments via direct deposit as well. The payment will be a separate deposit from the employee’s regular paycheck. Non-employees and employees who do not have direct deposit will receive a check in the mail.
Procedure #3024.3; Rev.: 2 (Effective July 1, 2025) Related Policy:UW-3024 Expense Reimbursement Policy Functional Owner: Accounting Services, Division of Business Services Contact: Expense Reimbursement Program Manager – Allie Watters, expensereimbursement@bussvc.wisc.edu, (608) 263-3525
Payments are processed within 3-5 business days of the final approval of an expense report. Employees are able to specify the Reimbursement Payment Type on each expense report. The default Reimbursement Payment Type for an employee will match the payroll mechanism of payment and account on file. The payment will be a separate deposit from the employee’s regular paycheck. External Committee Members and Pre-hires may be paid via mailed check or wire payment.
In the Search bar at the top of the page, type Expense Report (UW). Press the Enter key. A link to the report Expense Report (UW) will then populate under the section titled “Tasks and Reports.”
Expense Report (UW) can be used to check the approval status of an expense report. Employees can click on the hyperlink of an expense report in search results to open expense reports and view the payment information on a report.
Click Expense Report (UW) and search parameters will appear in a popup. For Company, type “UWMSN” and press the Enter key. This restricts search results to University of Wisconsin-Madison reports. Enter additional search parameters to narrow your results.
When searching for the payment status of a report for a specific payee, enter the payee’s name into Expense Report Payee.
When you have completed filling out the fields, click OK to run the search.
Review search results and column Expense Report Status. The column Expense Report Status will show whether the report is in draft status, in progress, approved or paid. To view additional details, click the hyperlinked value in the column Expense Report to view the full expense report.
If the report has been paid, navigate to the tab Expense Payment to view payment details including payment type and payment date.
If the report is in progress, click the tab Business Process to view required approval steps.
If payment was made by ACH, the claimant should review their bank history for a deposit that matches the information shown in the Expense Payment search.
Note: If multiple expense reports are paid on the same date, a cumulative ACH will be sent. The claimant should look for the cumulative total of the expense reports paid in their bank history. Individual payments for each report will not be visible.
Voiding or Reissuing an Expense Payment
Payments made via check can be cancelled or cancelled and reissued by filling out a Request to Void Non-Payroll Check. To allow time for the check to arrive, a Request to Void Non-Payroll Check should only be submitted at least 30 days after the payment date.
To initiate a Request to Void Non-Payroll Check (with or without reissue), type “Create Request” into the Search bar at the top of the Workday home page. Press Enter to complete the search.
The Workday task Create Request will populate on-screen.
Type “Void” and press enter. The Request Type Request to Void Non-Payroll Check will now be shown. Click Ok.
Fill out the required fields in the Request to Void Non-Payroll Check:
Describe the Request: Provide a brief summary of the request (e.g. void and reissue expense reimbursement check due to bad address)
What type of Payment is this? Select Expense Payment.
Name on Check: Write the full name of the claimant.
Check Number: The check number can be found on the Expense Payment tab of the expense report. The Transaction Reference number is the check number.
Date of Check: The Payment Date can be found in the Payee section of the Expense Payment tab of the expense report.
Amount: Enter the total amount of the check.
Reason for Request: Select the reason for the request to void (and reissue) the check.
Other Information: If applicable, indicate the new address for check reissue or confirm the current address is accurate (if not, they will need to update it in their Workday profile prior to the request being submitted). If the reissue is for an employee, they can also choose to add direct deposit information in their Workday profile for reissue of the payment as ACH. If an address needs to be updated for an External Committee Member for ongoing use, email expensereimbursement@bussvc.wisc.edu with the External Committee Member name and new address.
Please provide the following information as the requester: The submitter of the Request to Void Non-Payroll Check should record their contact information, including name, phone number, email address, and Universities of Wisconsin campus for which they work.
Click Submit. The request will route to a Settlement Specialist for processing and reissue, if applicable. If the payment is to be reissued, the expense report will need to be re-approved.
Employee claimant – Employee receiving reimbursement for UW-Madison business or travel expenses paid out-of-pocket. Responsible for monitoring payment status and/or reaching out to the appropriate UW-Madison Division Coordinator if payment has not been received.
External Committee Member – Responsible for reaching out to UW-Madison staff contact and/or departmental Expense Data Entry Specialist if payment has not been received.
Expense Data Entry Specialist – Responsible for monitoring payment receipt for External Committee Members. May be asked to submit the Request to Void Check on behalf of employee claimants or External Committee Members.
Department/Divisional staff – Responsible for looking up payment status of expense reports and submitting the Request to Void Non-Payroll Check, when necessary.
Expense report: Electronic submission to request reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses and/or to submit card-product expenses for approval.
Purchasing Card: University-liability credit card that is intended for low-dollar, best-judgment purchases to be paid directly by the University. The card is assigned to a specific UW–Madison employee and may only be used by that individual.
Shared Liability Card: A UW-Madison Shared Liability Card is a shared-liability VISA credit card issued by U.S. Bank to University employees for UW-Madison business use only.
Workday Expenses: The Workday module used to create, submit, and approve expense reports for out-of-pocket, Shared Liability Card, and Purchasing Card transactions.
Jan. 19, 2021 – Updated Procedure Number to 3024.3 from 320.3
June 30, 2025 – Updated to reflect Workday procedures and terminology.
November 7, 2025 – Change change for “Request to Void Non-Payroll Check” (defines type of check). Some field descriptions added for Non-Payroll Check steps.
All Purchasing Card, Shared Liability Card, and out-of-pocket transactions are reconciled in Workday Expenses by creating and submitting an expense report. Expense reports are approved by an Expense Partner and a Driver Worktag Manager. Approval routing for the Driver Worktag Manager is based on the Driver Worktag(s) referenced in the funding allocation for each expense line.
The claimant/cardholder may initiate an expense report, or an Expense Data Entry Specialist (EDES) may initiate (and submit) an expense report on behalf of the claimant/cardholder. If an expense report is submitted by the EDES, the claimant/cardholder will be the first approver on the report to confirm the expenses and attest to the accuracy of the expense report entry.
This document details the required procedures for creating and submitting an expense report.
Employees who seek reimbursement for out-of-pocket or Shared Liability Card expenses; Cardholders who must reconcile Purchasing Card transactions; Expense Data Entry Specialists who prepare, review, and/or submit expense reports on behalf of cardholders/claimants.
Type “Create Expense Report” into the Search bar at the top of the Workday home page. Click on the pop-up result Create Expense Report task.
Alternatively:
Click on Personal in the left tool bar.
Click on the Expenses Hub. The Expenses Hub allows employees to access important Workday Expenses tasks, view unreconciled Purchasing Card and Shared Liability Card transactions, and find information on expense reports in-process.
Under Tasks, click the button Create Expense Report.
Expense Data Entry Specialist on behalf of claimant/cardholder/External Committee Member:
Log into Workday.
In the Search bar at the top of the Workday home page, type “Create Expense Report for Worker” if report is for an employee claimant or cardholder OR “Create Expense Report for Nonworker” if the report is for a nonemployee External Committee Member.
Click on the Create Expense Report for Worker task for employees or Create Expense Report for Nonworker task for nonemployees. What you see as the top option will depend on your search terms entered.
If creating an expense report for an employee, type the name of the employee for whom you are creating an expense report in the field Pay To and press Enter.
If creating an expense for an External Committee Member, select External Committee Member from the list of options for Payee Type. (Note: UW-Madison is not using the Payee Type Student in this field. Also, Payee Type Candidate may be used when HR has actually set up a Candidate in Workday. However, there’s no issue with just creating an External Committee member for a Candidate). The page will dynamically update to show the Pay To field. Type the name of the External Committee Member into the Pay To field and press Enter.
Complete remaining header section data fields.
Creation Options – Select Create New Expense Report.
Memo – For out-of-pocket or shared liability card expense reports, this field may be used to enter a general justification that applies to an entire report with related expenses. Specific details may then be added on the expense lines for out-of-pocket or shared liability card expense reports. For Purchasing Card reconciliation reports, business purposes are required within the Expense Line; as such, for Purchasing Card reconciliation reports it is suggested to leave this line blank since the justification will be officially recorded within the Expense Line.
Company – This will default to UWMSN – University of Wisconsin Madison.
Business Purpose – Select the appropriate categorization for the expense report. When reconciling a series of unrelated purchasing card transactions, it is recommended users select “Purchasing Card Reconciliation.”
Driver Worktags – Enter the appropriate Program, Grant, Project or Gift that will serve as default funding for the entire expense report. Note: Entry of a driver worktag is OPTIONALat the header-level of an expense report but REQUIREDon every Expense Line. For Purchasing Card reconciliation reports, it is recommended to group transactions to be allocated to the same funding together, and assign the Driver Worktag at the header-level, so it populates for each line. Funding can still be changed or split (called Itemization in Workday) at the Expense Line level.
If reconciling Purchasing Card transactions or Shared Liability card transactions, select items to be reconciled from the Credit Card Transactions list (example image below).
Click Ok to create the expense report.
How to use the Attachments tab.
Attachments are not required in this tab; they are only required at the Expense Line-level for Expense Items. For Purchasing Card transactions, do NOT add files in the Attachments tab; it is required to add all attachments pertinent to a Purchasing Card transaction at the Expense Line The Attachments tab may be used for Shared Liability Card or out-of-pocket general attachments that apply to an entire expense report (e.g. conference agenda, itinerary), but receipts for specific Expense Items must to be added to the Expense Line-level.
In the expense report, click on Attachments.
Click Edit to view the attachment upload screen.
Drag and drop appropriate files; alternately, click Select Files to choose files for upload.
Click Save when done.
How to enter and complete Expense Lines
The Expense Lines tab is utilized to enter individual out-of-pocket transactions and/or to reconcile UW card transactions (Purchasing Card, Shared Liability Card).
In the expense report, click on Expense Lines. UW card transactions that were selected during report creation will populate on this screen.
Click Add to see options to begin entry of out-of-pocket transactions.
Click New Expense to add out-of-pocket transactions.
Alternately, click Credit Card Transactions to add more UW card transactions (if necessary). Note: If utilizing the Add functionality for Credit Card Transactions, the menu of transactions to select from includes only the date and the dollar amount of the transaction (see below).
Select an Expense Line (i.e. transaction) along the left side of the screen to begin entry or reconciliation.
Attachments: Add pertinent attachments (i.e. receipts). Click Upload to add additional attachments. Click the Trash icon to delete an attachment.
Expense Date: Transaction date. This field will pre-populate for card transactions but must be entered for out-of-pocket transactions.
Expense Item: Select the appropriate type of expense for the transaction. Depending on the type of Expense Item, additional Item Detailsmay be required (right side of screen).
Total Amount: Enter or review the total dollar amount of the transaction. Ensure the dollar amount matches the attached receipt.
Currency: Will default to US dollars. Note: Transactions in a foreign currency should be entered in US dollars with documentation of the currency conversion attached (i.e., redacted credit card statement, Oanda conversion). Purchasing Card transactions and Shared Liability Card transactions in a foreign currency will be automatically converted and do not require supplemental documentation of the conversion.
Memo: For Purchasing Card transactions, the business purpose and benefit to UW ofthe transaction MUST be entered in this field. For Shared Liability Card and out-of-pocket transactions, additional justification, context, or detail regarding the specific transaction may be entered if the general business purpose was entered in the Header
Company: Will default to UW-Madison.
Funding: Enter or review the funding for the Expense Line (funding may have been added in the Header tab already). A Driver Worktag (Program, Grant, Project, Gift) must be added to every Expense Line. The remaining worktags will auto-populate after selection of a Driver Worktag.
If a transaction needs to be allocated to multiple funding sources, click the Itemization button on the right panel under Item Details.
Enter a Memo to describe the funding allocation (e.g. 50% funding split with Grant or Meal Overage allocable to UW-Foundation).
Enter a Driver worktag (Program, Grant, Project, Gift).
Click the Add button to add an additional funding source.
Repeat steps a. – d. until the entire expense is allocated.
Click Done.
Non-Business Expense (for UW Card transactions only): For accidental personal transactions on a Shared Liability Card or Purchasing Card, check the “Non-Business Expense” checkbox. If the “Non-Business Expense” box is checked for a Shared Liability Card transaction, no university payment will be generated and the cardholder will have to personally pay the amount due to U.S. Bank. If the “Non-Business Expense” box is checked for a Purchasing Card transaction, upon submission of the expense report, the cardholder will receive a Workday Questionnaire in which this will indicate their preferred repayment method (payroll deduction, cash/check, withheld from future expense report).
Repeat steps 1 through 13 as necessary to complete additional expense line entry and/or reconciliation.
Review the expense report and resolve any errors or alerts. A critical warning, denoted with a red exclamation, is a hard stop and must be resolved before the transaction can move forward and be submitted. An alert, denoted with a yellow question mark, won’t stop a transaction from moving forward but may require further attention.
Navigate to the bottom of the expense report, and click on one of the following options:
Click Submit if ready to advance the report into the approval workflow.
Click Save for Later if the report is not ready for submission. Click the X in the upper right corner of the report to close the expense report and return to the prior screen.
Click Close to exit the editable screen for the expense report.
Next steps after submitting
Approval Workflow: If an Expense Data Entry Specialist creates a report on behalf of an active employee, the claimant/cardholder will be the first approver on the expense report to confirm the expenses and attest to the accuracy of the expense report entry. All expense reports are approved by an Expense Partner and a Driver Worktag Manager. Approval routing for the Driver Worktag Manager is based on the Driver Worktag(s) referenced in the funding allocation for each expense line.
Payment: Upon completion of all approvals, UW-Madison will directly pay U.S. Bank for approved Shared Liability Card Transactions. Approved out-of-pocket transactions will be picked up by an overnight payment process, and checks will be mailed or direct deposit will be received within three to five business days. Purchasing Card transactions are paid to U.S. Bank regardless of transaction reconciliation/approval on an expense report. When a Purchasing Card transaction is fully approved, it is posted to the general ledger.
Driver Worktag Manager: Divisional/Departmental staff responsible for reviewing Workday Expenses transactions for budget and funding.
Employee: May initiate a report; if EDES submits a report on behalf of an employee, the employee will be the first approver of the report to attest to the accuracy of the expenses entered.
Expense Data Entry Specialist(EDES): Employees assigned a security role to create and submit expense reports on behalf of employees and non-employees (External Committee Members).
Expense Partner: A member of the central audit team in the Division of Business Services responsible for reviewing expense reports for policy compliance.
Expense Report Initiator: employee claimant, cardholder or Expense Data Entry Specialist that creates expense reports for out-of-pocket expenses or to reconcile card expenses.
Business Purpose: Selection in the header section of an expense report used to summarize the official purpose of the expense report or indicate the status of the report.
Driver Worktag: The primary funding source for the transaction. Types of worktags that can be a driver are Grant, Gift, Project, or Program.
Foundational Data Model: The framework to support accounting and financial reporting in Workday.
Expenses Hub: An app that allows employees to access important Workday Expenses tasks, view unreconciled Purchasing Card and Shared Liability Card transactions, and find information on expense reports in-process.
Expense Item: A sub-classification of Spend Category, used to categorize and track specific expenses within an expense report.
Expense Line: Refers to a specific entry within an expense report, representing a single incurred cost (e.g., Airfare) or credit card transaction (e.g. Professional Services). Requires the date, Expense Type, dollar amount, and payment method of a specific expense. May necessitate filling out additional Item Details in the expense line.
Expense report: Electronic submission to request reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses and/or to submit card-product expenses for approval.
Purchasing Card: a university-liability VISA credit card issued by U.S. Bank to a trained UW-Madison employee for business-related purchases. All Purchasing Card transactions must be reconciled in Workday Expenses by submitting an expense report.
Shared Liability Card: A VISA credit card issued by U.S. Bank to a UW–Madison employee in which the liability is shared by the employee and the UW, and the card is used for business-related purchases. All Shared Liability Card transactions must be reconciled in Workday Expenses.
Workday: The cloud-based software used by the Universities of Wisconsin to manage finance and human resources.
Workday Expenses: The Workday module used to create, submit, and approve expense reports for out-of-pocket, Shared Liability Card, and Purchasing Card transactions.
Feb. 26, 2020 – added E-Re Estimated Withholding Expense Type.
Jan. 19, 2021 – Updated Procedure Number to 3024.1 from 320.1.
Oct. 4, 2023 – Added Lodging – Student section. Removed Relocation – Direct Moving Costs and Relocation – Temporary Lodging sections.
March 15, 2024 – Clarification added that justification note must indicate any personal time added, to validate only business expenses are being claimed.
January 31, 2025 – Travel Agency Services Fees definition updated.
June 29, 2025 – Updated to reflect Workday procedures and terminology.
June 22, 2026 – Updated a screenshot to reflect change in Workday home page and way to access the Expenses Hub.
Sept. 18, 2026 – Section III.C.13 language change: Personal expenses now referred to as “Non-Business Expenses” in Workday.
