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Create Expense Report

Expense Reporting does not begin in Workday until July 1, 2026. The Expense Report process in Workday is used to reimburse employees for out-of-pocket business expenses and to reconcile corporate purchasing card (Pcard) transactions. This guide explains how to create an expense report.

Overview

An expense report can include a combination of items:

  • Out-of-Pocket Expenses: Personal funds spent on business-related costs that require reimbursement.
  • Pcard (Corporate Card) Transactions: Business expenses charged to a college-issued purchasing card. These transactions are loaded into Workday and must be reconciled and assigned to the correct Worktags on an expense report.
  • Mileage: Reimbursement for the use of a personal vehicle for business travel.

Pcard Rules and Policies

While Workday facilitates the reconciliation of Pcard transactions, all usage is subject to Macalester policies. An itemized receipt is required for all Pcard expenses. Transactions made with the Pcard will be automatically loaded into your Workday profile. You must reconcile these transactions on an expense report in a timely manner to ensure they are correctly categorized and attributed to the proper Cost Center, Grant, Project, etc.

Before Starting this Task

Before creating an expense report, have the following information available:

  • Itemized receipts for all expenses.
  • A description for all expenses.
  • The dates on which the expenses were incurred.
  • Any relevant Worktags, such as a Grant or Project, that should be charged.

Mobile Considerations: Capturing receipts is easier on mobile, but splitting lines and adjusting Worktags is more cumbersome than on a desktop or laptop.

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Create an Expense Report

These steps are best performed on a desktop or laptop for a complete view of all fields.

  1. From the Workday homepage, hover over Personal on the left, and select the Expenses Hub. 
  2. Click Create Expense Report, and complete the initial expense report form.
    • Leave the Expense Report Date as the current date.
    • The Company and Company on Expense Line should default to Macalester.
    • The Worktags are defaulted to your job position’s budget. Adjust them as desired. The Worktags used here will be applied to all expenses added to the report. 
      • Worktags can be changed on each individual expense later on if needed.
    • Under Credit Card Transactions select the Pcard transactions you want to include on the expense report.
    • Click OK.
  3. On the expense report that was just created, there are now three tabs: Header, Attachments, and Expense Lines.
    • The Header is what you just created by starting the expense report.
    • The Attachments tab should NOT be used. Receipts should be attached to the relevant expense on the expense line.
    • The Expense Lines tab is where you will reconcile Pcard transactions and add any Out of Pocket (OOP) expenses.
  4. Click Add in the upper left to add an Out of Pocket expense.
    • Add can also be used to add any Pcard transactions you forgot to select on the previous screen.
  5. For each expense line, complete the following fields:
    • Attachment/Receipt: At the top of each expense line there is a section for dropping/selecting files. Attach the itemized receipt for the expense.
      • Receipts must be attached to the corresponding expense line, not the Attachments tab in the expense report.
      • For Mileage: use a screenshot of Google (or other) maps showing the route driven and total miles.
    • Expense Date & Total Amount: Will autofill for Pcard expenses. For OOPs, enter the date the expense was incurred and the total expense amount.
    • Expense Item: Select the item that best describes the purchase (e.g., Airfare, Office Supplies).
    • Expense Activity Date: this field will appear after an expense item is chosen. It is important to fill correctly as it drives Prepaid and Postpaid expense reporting. Fill in the date based on whether the expense was for Goods or Services.
      • For Goods, use the date the goods were received.
      • For Services, use the date the service occurred (for multi-day services, use the first date). I.e. for flights, use the departure date.
    • Quantity: This field will only appear for mileage expenses. Enter the number of miles driven. The system will apply the current rate and calculate the total.
    • Memo: Enter a description/reason for the expense.
    • Worktags: Ensure the correct Grant, Project, or other required Worktags are assigned to the expense line.
      • Fund, Cost Center, and Function are ALWAYS required.
  6. Once all lines are complete and accurate, click Submit.
    • An Error message might pop up and will prevent submission of the expense report Click the Error message to view the details. Make the required changes and click Submit again.

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What Happens Next

Approval Process

  • After submission, the expense report is automatically routed for approval. It is sent to the designated manager(s) for the Worktag(s) used on the report.
  • Approvers will receive a notification in their My Tasks list.
  • Approvers have the option to Approve, Send Back for correction, or Deny the expense report.

Payment

Once the expense report is fully approved, any out-of-pocket expenses will be sent to Business Services for reimbursement via direct deposit. Payment will be issued during the next weekly check run.

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