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.
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.
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.
All Expense Reimbursements must be submitted within 90 days. Divisional approving authorities can approve payments submitted after 90 days by attaching a signed approval form to the Expense Reimbursement. Upon approval, these Expense Reimbursements are reviewed by Accounting Services and reported as taxable income to the recipient unless the documented circumstances surrounding the Expense Reimbursement made timely submission impossible.
Procedure #3024.7; 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
For reimbursable expenses to be considered non-taxable income, expenses must be submitted within the time frame of 90 days set forth in the University’s Accountable Plan. Expense Operations Leads have the authority to grant exceptions for employees to allow for expense reimbursement when the Accountable Plan requirements are not met by approving a Policy Exception Request Form completed by the expense claimant. The approved Policy Exception Request Form must be uploaded to the expense report. Upon approval for payment, expense reports with Accountable Plan violations are reviewed by Accounting Services and reported as taxable income to the recipient, unless the documented circumstances surrounding the expense report made timely submission impossible.
Expense lines for out-of-pocket or shared liability card transactions that violate the Accountable Plan submission requirements will cause a Page Alert (denoted by a yellow triangle with an exclamation point) to appear in Workday Expenses.
The Page Alert indicates the expense report line is greater than 90 days old and that a spend authorization is required to be approved and attached to the expense report. UW–Madison does not process and approve exceptions via the spend authorization functionality in Workday Expenses.
Upon receiving this 90-day Page Alert during report creation, UW-Madison claimants seeking reimbursement for transactions that do not comply with the Accountable Plan must file for an exception to allow for reimbursement via the Campus Policy Exception Approval Request Form. The exception request must document the circumstances regarding the delay in submission. Instructions for Claimants/Submitters on how to fill out the Campus Policy Exception Approval Request Form can be found here.
On the Campus Policy Exception Approval Request Form question “Which policy was violated? Be sure to select “Accountable Plan (90-Day) Exception.”
Accountable Plan non-compliance may also be identified after a report has been submitted during the policy compliance review by the Expense Partners. If Accountable Plan non-compliance is identified by an Expense Partner, the Expense Partner will send back the report or expense lines and request that the claimant remove the expenses or attach an approved Campus Policy Exception Approval Request Form to allow for reimbursement.
Expense Operations Leads have delegated authority to approve Campus Policy Exception Approval Request Forms to allow for reimbursement of Accountable Plan non-compliant transactions due to extenuating circumstances. Extenuating circumstances for employees may be defined as a serious illness or other unforeseen emergency out of the control of the employee. Employee negligence is not considered an extenuating circumstance. Employees are not entitled to reimbursement after 90 days. Reimbursement requests should be denied without documented extenuating circumstances.
If the Campus Policy Exception Approval Request Form is approved, the approval notice PDF must be attached to the expense report. The expense report may then be (re)submitted into workflow.
If the Campus Policy Exception Approval Request Form is denied, the noncompliant transactions may not be submitted for reimbursement.
Accounting Services reviews all expense report transactions flagged for Accountable Plan non-compliance once the expense reports are approved for payment.
All Accountable Plan non-compliant transactions are reported as taxable income to the recipient, unless circumstances surrounding the expense report made timely submission impossible.
External Committee Members
External Committee Member (nonemployee guest or student) reimbursement requests in excess of the 90-day requirements cannot be processed in Workday Expenses and must be submitted using a Supplier Invoice Request. The payment will be taxable to the External Committee Member (claimant).
Employee/claimant: Responsible for submitting expense reports in a timely fashion. Responsible for filling out the Campus Policy Exception Approval Request Form when seeking reimbursement of Accountable Plan non-compliant transactions.
Expense Partners: Responsible for identifying instances of Accountable Plan non-compliance on expense reports and ensuring an approved Campus Policy Exception Approval Request forms are attached to expense reports.
Expense Operations Lead: Responsible for approving or denying Campus Policy Exception Approval Request Forms.
Claimant: individual claiming reimbursement for expenses.
Campus Policy Exception Approval Request Form: Electronic form used to request policy exception approval to allow for reimbursement of noncompliant transactions. Once submitted, the form is automatically routed to Expense Operations Leads for approval.
Expense report: Electronic submission to request reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses and/or to submit card-product expenses for approval.
Workday Expenses: The Workday module used to create, submit, and approve expense reports for out-of-pocket, Shared Liability Card, and Purchasing Card transactions.
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.
This procedure explains how to review and approval expense reports in e-Reimbursement, the Expense module of the Shared Financial System (SFS), from the perspective of an Approver or Auditor.
All Purchasing Card, Shared Liability Card, and out-of-pocket transactions must be reconciled by submitting an expense report in Workday Expenses. Expense reports are reviewed by an Expense Partner (policy compliance) and Driver Worktag Manager (budget/funding) prior to payment. Approval routing is based on the Driver Worktag referenced in the funding allocation for each expense line. When an expense report has been approved by an Expense Partner, the report will route to the Driver Worktag Manager(s) assigned to the driver worktag(s) on each expense line. Driver Worktag Managers will receive a Workday Inbox task and bell-icon notification prompting them to take action on expense reports. Driver Worktag managers must review expense reports for sufficient budget and appropriateness of funding.
This document details the required procedures for Driver Worktag Managers to review and approve an expense report in Workday Expenses.
To get started, log into Workday. If there are expense reports awaiting your approval, a notice will appear in the section Awaiting Your Action. To view expense reports waiting for your approval in My Tasks in your Workday inbox, click the link Go to My Tasks or click the inbox icon in the upper right corner of the screen.
Navigate to an individual expense report awaiting Driver Worktag Manager approval
In My Tasks, all items awaiting your action will appear. To see only expense reports awaiting your action, type “expense report” into the Search This will narrow your results to only expense reports (pictured below).
Click on an expense report in the search results.
Click on the arrows icon to expand the screen.
Review general report information; navigate to the Expense Lines tab for review
On this screen, Driver Worktag Managers should review general report information prior to navigating to expense lines for individual transactions.
View the top section of the expense report for claimant/cardholder name and dollar amount totals for the expense report.
Pay to – Name of the claimant/cardholder
Status – Indicates the current workflow step
Personal – The total dollar amount of any expense lines marked personal by the claimant/cardholder. A purchasing cardholder or shared liability cardholder will mark a transaction Personal to identify accidental personal purchases. Purchasing card transactions marked personal create a receivable for the employee for the amount owed back to UW-Madison.
Company Paid – The total dollar amount of all purchasing card and shared liability card transactions included in the report. (not including those marked as Personal).
Prior Balance Applied – A dollar amount will show here if an employee has elected to deduct the amount owed for a purchasing card transaction marked Personal.
Cash Advance Applied – The dollar amount of a Spend Authorization for a Cash Advance that has been attached to the current expense report.
Reimbursement – The dollar amount the claimant will receive for out-of-pocket transactions.
Total – The sum total of the expense report.
Navigate to the tabs section (middle of the page)
Header – Click on header to view header-level details. See Appendix I. below for detailed explanation of header fields.
Attachments – Attachments at the header-level are not required but may be found on this tab. Attachments are required at the line-level.
Business Process – This tab contains information about the business process history of the expense report, including prior approvals and any future-required approvals.
Expense Lines – Click on this tab to view individual expense lines. Funding review will start in this tab. There are two methods for funding review that are discussed in the following section, and Driver Worktag Managers will need to utilize one or both, depending on whether a transaction is Itemized.
Review funding on the report
The first way to review funding is by filtering Driver Worktags in the Expense Lines This method is preferred for lines that do not have itemization (e.g. split billing). This section will review how to filter an expense report by Driver Worktag and identify itemization on an Expense Line.
It is recommended to expand the viewing pane as you review the expense report. Click the double arrows to the right of the gear icon.
From this expanded screen, click the Expense Lines tab.
Click Worktags to filter based on your assigned Driver Worktag.
For Value, select the Driver Worktag(s) for which you are a manager.
Click the Filter button.
The resulting view will show transactions allocated to the Driver Worktag(s) selected.
The primary responsibility of the Driver Worktag Manager is to assess the funding entered on every expense line for appropriateness, allowability and sufficient budget. The expense report will show the details of the first expense line clicked on.
Expense Item – A sub-classification of Spend Category, used to categorize and track specific expenses within an expense report.
Charge Description/Memo – For out-of-pocket and Shared Liability Card transactions, this field may contain additional detail about the expenses claimed. For purchasing card transactions, a complete justification with the business purpose and benefit to UW should be enumerated here.
Total Amount – Total dollar amount for the Expense Line (transaction).
Expense Report Line Date – Transaction date
Itemization – Indicates whether a line has been itemized (e.g. split billed, hosted meal, per diems). Note: If “Yes”, there are additional instructions for viewing itemized funding in Section B.
Worktags – The Foundational Data Model (FDM) values are located in the Worktags Review each dimension of the FDM values to ensure that the Program, Grant, Gift, or Project has budget and funds available for the expense listed. Confirm expenses are allocable to and allowable on the listed funding and that other elements of the FDM are accurately presented.
Cost Center – Financial or operational unit.
Function – Identifies the general purpose of a transaction (e.g., instruction, research).
Fund – Identifies the funding source to facilitate financial reporting.
Driver Worktag – Every expense line will require a driver worktag. The cost center, fund, and function will flow from the selection of driver worktag.
Additional Worktags may be present, such as Expenditure Treatment for Grants.
Once review of the first funding line is completed, scroll to the next listed expense line.
The next expense line in this example is ITEMIZED. If a Driver Worktag Manager sees indicators of Itemization on an Expense Line when reviewing, they must go into the detailed view of expense lines to review the funding. Indicators visible on the report include: the column Itemized will say “Yes”; the Worktags will be blank; and the Outline Icon is present. See below for these indicators of an itemized Expense Line.
If no itemization is present in the report, proceed to Section E. to Approve, Send Back, or route to an Ad Hoc approver.
Review the funding on detailed expense lines (for itemization)
To enter the detailed view of an itemized Expense Line (such as per diem, hosted meals or split-funded expenses), hover over the Expense Line until the cursor changes and click to enter the detailed view of the Expense Line.
Click the View Details button to open a pop-up showing all funding lines.
The pop-up screen will contain a series of funding allocations. Each one must be reviewed sequentially for budget and funding by scrolling through the entries.
Once all itemized lines are reviewed, click Done to exit itemization.
Click the left-facing arrow in the upper-left corner of the expense report (on the red banner) to return to the main section of the expense report, where you will take action on the report based on your funding review.
Driver Worktag Managers have the following options for acting on an expense report:
Approve – If the funding is correct on all expense lines/itemizations, click Approve. The report will advance either to the next stage of approval (if there are Foundation Expense Items) or it will have fully completed the approval process with shared liability card transactions and out-of-pocket transactions approved for payment. Approved expense reports for purchasing card transaction reconciliation will post to the general ledger, as payment of purchasing card balances is handled separately by the institution and is not connected to the final approval of the expense report.
Send back – If the funding on a report or on an expense line is incorrect, the report must be sent back to the initiator or a prior approver. Click on the To field to identify who to send the report back to. Choices will include the initiator (claimant, cardholder, Expense Data Entry Specialist) or a prior approver (Athletics Approver, Expense Partner). The Reason field should provide direction to the claimant, cardholder, Expense Data Entry Specialist, or prior approver selected in the To field that the funding must be changed/updated prior to resubmission/approval. Indicate the new funding string for relevant expenses (if known).
In the example below, the expense report is being sent back to the Expense Partner. The Expense Partner can be identified by the language “Review Expense Report” next to their name. The Reason should identify the expense line (e.g., by Expense Item, dollar amount) that requires a funding change as well as the appropriate Driver Worktag and/or other FDM values that should be updated. Once the recipient (To) and the Reason are filled in, click Submit to execute the send back.
More Actions Menu (approving and adding an ad hoc approver) – The Driver Worktag Manager may approve the expense report and manually route it to a Cost Center Manager or Expense Operations Lead for further review by clicking the “…” icon next to Send Back.
This launches the Add Approver pop-up. Note: This should only be done if all expenses are on the correct funding and sufficient budget is available to cover the costs, as ad-hoc-routing to a Cost Center Manager (CCM) or Expense Operations Lead (EOL) will record a full approval of the report for the Driver Worktag Manager first. Identify the Additional Approver by clicking the icon of three bulleted bars (see below). This will open a menu to select the assigned CCM or EOL. Add a Comment to indicate why the report is being sent to an additional approver. Click Approve and Send to Approvers. The approval step is complete, and the report will route to the selected CCM or EOL.
After clicking Approve, Send Back, or completing the More Actions approval and ad hoc routing, the Driver Worktag Manager’s task is complete.
Cost Center Manager: May be responsible for ad-hoc approval of an expense report.
Driver Worktag Manager: Divisional/Departmental staff responsible for reviewing Workday Expenses transactions for budget and funding. Driver Worktag Managers may send an expense report back to the Expense Partner or expense report initiator to update the funding on an expense report.
Expense Operations Lead: May be responsible for ad-hoc approval of an expense report.
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: Person who creates an expense report. The initiator may be an employee claimant, employee cardholder, or Expense Data Entry Specialist. The initiator is responsible for entering the appropriate funding on an expense report and may be responsible for updating the funding on an expense report if it is sent back by the Driver Worktag Manager.
Expense Item: A sub-classification of Spend Category, used to categorize and track specific expenses within an expense report.
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.
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.
The Header tab of an expense report contains the following informational data fields:
Expense Report Number – System-assigned numerical identifier for the expense report.
Memo – May be used for the title of the expense report. May be used for a general justification for related out-of-pocket or Shared Liability Card expenses. This field should not be used to enter justifications for Purchasing Card transactions. Purchasing Card transactions MUST utilize the Expense Line-level Memo field for justifications. Field is not required at the header level.
Company – Identifies the business unit as University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Expense Report Date – Claimant/cardholder entered date.
Business Purpose – Claimant/cardholder selection that identifies the general category and purpose of the expense report.
Reimbursement Payment Type – Identifies the payment method for the expense report, if applicable (e.g., Direct Deposit).
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.
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
An e-commerce website is a method of accepting online payment transactions for merchants to sell products or services online. All e-commerce merchants must be approved by their dean’s office and Cash Management within the Division of Business Services.
Transact/Cashnet is the contracted comprehensive solution for campus-wide e-commerce payments.
Also permitted are Transact/Cashnet-ready partners or approved third-party service providers with contractual agreements including appropriate Payment Card Industry (PCI) language. This program is used where external vendors can pass payments to Transact/Cashnet securely in a Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) compliant manner.
Transact/Cashnet storefronts may also be built for a simple category of items. These are hosted by and exist entirely within the Transact/Cashnet Store. The site appearance is somewhat fixed and has character limits for item descriptions. Business Services will update product information and prices upon request.
Do not sign a click-through contract with any vendor or third-party service provider that could impact the credit card environment.
All merchants are required to complete the annual PCI requirements listed in Policy UW-3031. These PCI requirements are validated annually by the PCI Compliance Team.
This procedure applies to all UW–Madison merchants that accept payment cards online. This procedure should be understood by all Divisional Business Representatives (DBRs), Site Managers, and relevant staff of the merchant accounts.
The Divisional Business Representative (DBR) receives an email with the submitted request. The DBR is required to approve the new merchant account.
Payment cards accepted are American Express, Discover, MasterCard, and Visa.
Authorized staff within Cash Management will review the submitted Card Merchant ID Request Form and contact the Site Manager to facilitate setting up the merchant account and related systems.
Each person that requires access to Transact/Cashnet will be set up with a unique operator ID.
Provide a departmental logo for the checkout page for e-Commerce Transact/Cashnet set-ups.
The PCI Site Manager must establish card handling procedures and a contingency plan for processing transactions should the primary system be unavailable. Once complete, email these policies and procedures to Cash Management (pci-help@bussvc.wisc.edu).
Elavon, the merchant card processor, will review the website prior to deploying the new merchant account. When the merchant account is approved, Elavon will assign a merchant ID number. Appropriate merchant staff will be required to have access to merchant account activity in the secure online portal, Payments Insider, to ensure they have access to all merchant account activity used in reconciliation.
Before moving the e-commerce merchant account into production, a final PCI review is required. The review will be performed by staff in Cybersecurity and Cash Management and assist with completing the Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ).
Once the account is in production within Transact/Cashnet, the storefront website may be used by customers.
The PCI Site Manager is required to track all live websites in use that redirect to the payment page. Contact pci-help@bussvc.wisc.edu to close the websites that are no longer used for payment.
Annually, ensure the current Attestation of Compliance (AoC) is obtained from all merchants using a Third-Party Service Provider directly involved in processing, storage, transmission of cardholder data, or services that could impact the security of their cardholder data environments.
Reminder: All employees who process payment cards or may impact the security of the cardholder environment, must complete annual UW PCI Training.
Merchant account fees
All fees associated with the merchant account and activity will be charged directly to the related merchant monthly. Fees include a monthly account maintenance fee of $5.00, Elavon processing fees passed on by the card brands, approximately 2.5% of each transaction, $7.50 for chargeback fees, and any other system fee involved in the process.
Cashnet/Transact – A third-party, e-commerce service provider contracted by the University of Wisconsin that is used to process credit card payments.
Divisional Business Representative (DBR) – An individual within the dean or divisional office. This individual has the highest level of PCI responsibility, including approving the initial merchant account request and annually reviewing the SAQ as the executive officer.
Merchant – The school, college, or department responsible to manage the daily operations of the merchant account(s) activity and is the legal entity required to maintain PCI compliance.
Payments Insider– An online customer portal from Elavon, the credit card processor, which displays transactional activity and monthly statements used for reconciliation and other merchant account business needs.
Site Manager – This required role for the merchant account is an individual who is the point of contact for the merchant account(s) and should have influence to establish procedures for the day-to-day handling of payment cards to ensure compliance.
Jan. 19, 2021 – Changed Procedure Number to 3031.A from 404.A
November 17, 2025 – Clarifying procedural steps, including workflow, accepted card brands, and customer portal information.
The University of Wisconsin–Madison can accept payment card payments from customers to pay for goods and services in person. A payment card terminal is used for processing payments in person or over the phone by a merchant at the point of interaction. In some cases, payments can be made via fax communication if proper security is in place and is properly documented.
This procedure applies to all UW–Madison departments that accept payment cards via payment card terminals. This procedure should be understood by all Divisional Business Representatives (DBRs), site managers, and operators of the merchant accounts.
Below are the steps for opening a merchant account that uses an approved Payment Card Industry (PCI) P2PE or an approved EMV payment card terminal with no electronic cardholder data storage:
The Divisional Business Representative (DBR) must approve the new merchant account.
The DBR will receive an email upon completion of the Card Merchant ID Request Form. The DBR should then sign into the portal to approve the request.
The DBR should determine which card brands the new merchant will accept.
The standard set up for a new merchant account includes MasterCard, Visa, and Discover. Should the department decide to choose to accept American Express cards, an additional reconciliation and an additional connection is required.
Cash Management will review and approve the submitted Card Merchant ID Request Form and contact the Site Manager to facilitate setting up Payments Insider access.
Cash Management will provide information on payment card machines, including pricing information. Standalone payment card machines will ship directly from Elavon to the campus department. The cost of the new payment card machine will be charged directly to the merchant account.
Each person who logs into Payments Insider for settlements and monthly statements is required to have a unique operator ID.
Complex Point of Sale Systems will require additional PCI review and approval, signed contracts, and annual AoC documentation. Please contact pci-help@bussvc.wisc.edu for additional information.
The PCI Site Manager is required to establish card handling procedures and a contingency plan for processing transactions should the primary system be unavailable. Once complete, these policies and procedures shall be submitted to Cash Management via email (pci-help@bussvc.wisc.edu).
Cash Management will schedule a PCI site visit with the Site Manager once a Merchant ID (MID) is assigned by Elavon. During the PCI site visit, Cash Management will review the department business policies and procedures and assist with completing the Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ).
When the equipment is received, verify the machine has the correct address, merchant name, and MID on the machine.
The PCI Site Manager is responsible to document:
Make and model of the device(s)
Physical location of the device(s)
Device Serial number(s) or other methods of unique identification
Call Elavon Training at (866) 451-4007 to schedule a training on how to use the payment card terminal; training includes daily transactions and settlements. Note: the payment card terminal will not auto-settle unless the terminal is turned on.
Elavon terminals are factory shipped and contain incorrect information on each terminal. The merchant is required to add the correct information directly on the terminal containing this information:
Equipment problems – Relationship Premier Services: (800) 725-1245
Supplies such as thermal paper – Customer Service Center: (800) 725-1243
Elavon Training: (866) 451-4007
Merchant account fees
Any fees associated with the acceptance of payment cards in a campus department will be charged to the related merchant on a monthly basis. These fees will post to Workday on the first of the month for the prior month’s transactions. Expenses include a monthly account maintenance fee of $5.00, Elavon processing fees of approximately 2.5% of each transaction, and in some cases $7.50 for chargeback fees (rare). American Express charges a fee of 2.1% of each transaction.
Requirements to manage a Merchant Account
Annual completion of a Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) every calendar year.
Participation in assessments of your environment by the designated PCI Compliance Analyst and/or Internal Security Assessor.
Completion of mandatory annual payment card industry (PCI) merchant training.
Maintaining documentation of employees who have participated in the annual training, with the ability to produce to the PCI Compliance Analyst upon request.
In some instances, maintaining relationships with third-party vendors for departmental specific payment applications, to receive compliance documentation from the vendors (AOCs, ASV Scans, etc.).
Maintain accurate lists of individuals within your organization directly involved in the credit card processing environment.
Ensure reconciliation of the transactions for the merchant account is being completed by a department deposit and cash sale specialist and ensure the appropriate personnel have access to relevant systems.
Campus Merchant Department – Manage the daily operations of the merchant account(s) and maintain PCI compliance.
Divisional Business Representative (DBR) – An individual within the divisional or dean’s office. This individual has the highest level of PCI responsibility, including approving the initial merchant account request and annually reviewing the SAQ as the executive officer.
Payments Insider – An online tool from Elavon, the credit card processor, which displays transaction activity and monthly statements.
Site Manager – This individual is the point of contact for the campus department merchant account(s) and should have influence to establish procedures for the day-to-day handling of payment cards to ensure compliance.
Jan. 19, 2021 – Changed Procedure Number to 3031.B from 404.B
Sept. 14, 2023 – Small tweaks related to language change (terminal vs. machine) and added a section with what is needed to manage a merchant account.
Nov. 19, 2025 – Language updates to reflect the move from WISER to Workday.
