{"id":2417,"date":"2026-06-22T20:19:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T20:19:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/workday-support\/?page_id=2417"},"modified":"2026-06-22T21:52:33","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T21:52:33","slug":"spend-authorizations","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/workday-support\/spend-authorizations\/","title":{"rendered":"Spend Authorizations"},"content":{"rendered":"<section class=\"introduction block-container\" >\n    <div class=\"introduction__content\">\n    \t        \t<p class=\"introduction__copy\">Expense Reporting does not begin in Workday until July 1, 2026.\r\n\r\n\r\nThis guide outlines the process for creating a Spend Authorization. The most common use is to request a travel advance. A spend authorization is specific to one employee and cannot be shared or used by others. <\/p>\n    \t    <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n<section class=\"link-group block-container\" >\n        <div class=\"link-group__links-row\">\n        <ul class=\"link-group__link link-group__link--2up\">\n                            <li class=\"link-group__link-item\">\n                    <a class=\"base-cta-featured\" href=\"#create-spend-auth\" target=\"_self\">\n\t\t\t\t\t    Create a Spend Authorization\n\t\t\t\t\t    <svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"base-symbol base-cta-featured__arrow\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t    <use xlink:href=\"\/wp-content\/themes\/macalester-2020\/dist\/svgs\/symbol-arrow.svg#icon\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n                <\/li>\n                            <li class=\"link-group__link-item\">\n                    <a class=\"base-cta-featured\" href=\"#reconcile-spend-auth\" target=\"_self\">\n\t\t\t\t\t    Reconcile Spend Authorizations\n\t\t\t\t\t    <svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"base-symbol base-cta-featured__arrow\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t    <use xlink:href=\"\/wp-content\/themes\/macalester-2020\/dist\/svgs\/symbol-arrow.svg#icon\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n                <\/li>\n                            <li class=\"link-group__link-item\">\n                    <a class=\"base-cta-featured\" href=\"#manage-spend-auth\" target=\"_self\">\n\t\t\t\t\t    View, Edit, Cancel Spend Authorizations\n\t\t\t\t\t    <svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"base-symbol base-cta-featured__arrow\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t    <use xlink:href=\"\/wp-content\/themes\/macalester-2020\/dist\/svgs\/symbol-arrow.svg#icon\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n                <\/li>\n                            <li class=\"link-group__link-item\">\n                    <a class=\"base-cta-featured\" href=\"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/workday-support\/review-expense-reports\/#review-spend-auth\" target=\"_self\">\n\t\t\t\t\t    Review Spend Authorizations for Approvers\n\t\t\t\t\t    <svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"base-symbol base-cta-featured__arrow\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t    <use xlink:href=\"\/wp-content\/themes\/macalester-2020\/dist\/svgs\/symbol-arrow.svg#icon\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n                <\/li>\n                    <\/ul>\n    <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Overview<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Spend Authorizations are used to request travel advances for anticipated expenses if an employee does not have a Pcard or would rather use the travel advance method. Spend Authorizations are distinct from Expense Reports, which are used to report expenses that have already occurred. When using a Spend Authorization, an Expense Report is still needed post-travel to reconcile the actual spending against the pre-approved amount in the Spend Authorization. The key distinctions of a Spend Authorization are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Funding<\/strong>: It claims funds to ensure they are set aside, which helps with budget management.An expense report can include a combination of items:<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Timing<\/strong>: A Spend Authorization is created before incurring expenses. An Expense Report is created after incurring expenses.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Purpose<\/strong>: A Spend Authorization seeks approval to receive a travel advance for future spending on a specified trip. An Expense Report details how the travel advance was used.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"create-spend-auth\">Create a Spend Authorization Request<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Navigate to the <strong>Create Spend Authorization<\/strong> task using the search bar.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Fill in the <strong>Spend Authorization Information<\/strong> and <strong>Spend Authorization Details <\/strong>sections.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Enter the <strong>Start Date<\/strong> and <strong>End Date<\/strong> of the trip.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Description<\/strong>: Provide a concise purpose for the travel advance.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Justification: <\/strong>Can be used to add any lengthier details if desired.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Business Purpose<\/strong>: Leave blank.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Reimbursement Payment Type<\/strong>: Defaults to Direct Deposit if you have that payment election set up. If you do not have direct deposit set up, you will receive a check. \n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>To maintain your payment elections, click <strong>Payment Elections<\/strong> in the <strong>Expenses Hub<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In the <strong>Spend Authorization Lines<\/strong> section, select <strong>Add<\/strong> to itemize the estimated costs.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>For each line, select the appropriate <strong>Expense Item<\/strong> (e.g., Airfare, Lodging, Meals) and enter the estimated <strong>Total Amount<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The <strong>Budget Date<\/strong> will default to the Start Date entered on top. Leave this as is.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In the <strong>Memo<\/strong> field, enter a short description for the specific line such as, \u201cAirfare for 4 students\u201d or \u201c3 meals per day for 4 students.&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Check the <strong>Cash Advance Requested<\/strong> box for ALL spend authorization lines.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The <strong>Worktags<\/strong> will default to your department. Adjust them as needed to the department\/grant\/gift that is funding the spending<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Optional: On the Attachments tab, attach any supporting documentation such as conference info or travel itineraries.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Click <strong>Submit<\/strong> to send for approval.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>If you are not ready, you can use <strong>Save for Later<\/strong>.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Drafts can be found by running the <strong>My Spend Authorizations<\/strong> report.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Happens Next<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Approval Process<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>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.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Approvers will receive a notification in their <strong>My Tasks<\/strong> list.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Approvers have the option to <strong>Approve<\/strong>, <strong>Send Back<\/strong> for correction, or <strong>Deny<\/strong> the expense report.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Payment<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"#top\">Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"manage-spend-auth\">View, Edit, Cancel Spend Authorizations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>View<\/strong> <strong>a Spend Authorizatio<\/strong>n<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Search for and run the <strong>My Spend Authorizations<\/strong> report using the Workday search bar. This report will display your spend authorizations and their current status (e.g., <strong>Draft<\/strong>, <strong>In Progress<\/strong>, <strong>Approved<\/strong>, <strong>Closed<\/strong>).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>To view, select the specific authorization to view its details, approval history, and any associated expense reports.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ul id=\"block-a70d5ac7-269f-4c0c-ac12-06c5119489ab\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Edit or Cancel a Spend Authorization<\/strong> Before Payout<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Search for and run the <strong>My Spend Authorizations<\/strong> report using the Workday search bar. This report will display your spend authorizations and their current status (e.g., <strong>Draft<\/strong>, <strong>In Progress<\/strong>, <strong>Approved<\/strong>, <strong>Closed<\/strong>).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Locate the spend authorization you want to change.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Select <strong>Actions<\/strong>, then select \n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Change Spend Authorization<\/strong>: Make the necessary edits to the lines, amounts, or worktags. Select <strong>Submit<\/strong> to save the changes and resend for approval.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Cancel Spend Authorization<\/strong>: Select <strong>OK <\/strong>to finalize the cancellation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Cancel a Spend Authorization After Payout<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>If a trip is canceled after you have already received a travel advance and none of the advance has been spent, contact pcard@macalester.edu.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Purchasing and Accounts Payable staff will need to manually close the Spend Authorization.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Return the travel advance amount to the Purchasing and Accounts Payable office.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Only <strong>checks<\/strong> or <strong>exact cash<\/strong> are accepted. You can get change from the Student Accounts Office first during their walk-in hours if needed.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Place your repayment in a <strong>clearly labeled<\/strong> envelope with your name and the Spend Authorization number.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"#top\">Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"reconcile-spend-auth\">Create Expense Report to Reconcile Spend Authorizations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>After your travel is complete, you must <a href=\"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/workday-support\/create-expense-report\/\">Create an Expense Report<\/a> to detail how the travel advance was spent. This is a required step to account for the funds that were set aside and to process reimbursement (if overspent) or repayment (if underspent).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Use the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/workday-support\/create-expense-report\/\">Create Expense Report<\/a><\/strong> task.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>On the <strong>Expense Report Information<\/strong> page:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Select the <strong>Creation Option <\/strong>called <strong>Create New Expense Report from Spend Authorization<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Choose the desired spend authorization from the dropdown list.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A travel advance must be reconciled <strong>in full<\/strong> on <strong>one<\/strong> expense report. Do not submit the expense report until you are ready to report all spending related to the travel advance. When ready, check the <strong>Final Expense Report for Spend Authorization<\/strong> checkbox.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Select <strong>OK<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Add an expense line to the report for each trip expense.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Make sure all expenses for the trip are added before submitting the expense report. Once ALL expenses for the trip have been added, select <strong>Submit<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Reimbursement for Overspending<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If the expense report total is <strong>more<\/strong> than the travel advance received, the expense report will calculate the amount owed to you. After the expense report is approved, the reimbursement will be processed with the next weekly Accounts Payable payment run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Repayment for Underspending<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If the expense report total is <strong>less<\/strong> than the travel advance received, the expense report will calculate the amount you must return to Macalester.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Return the calculated repayment amount to the Purchasing and Accounts Payable office. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Only <strong>checks<\/strong> or <strong>exact cash<\/strong> are accepted. You can get change from the Student Accounts Office first during their walk-in hours if needed. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Place your repayment in a <strong>clearly labeled<\/strong> envelope with your name and the Spend Authorization number.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"#top\">Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n<section class=\"link-group block-container\" >\n        <div class=\"link-group__links-row\">\n        <ul class=\"link-group__link link-group__link--2up\">\n                            <li class=\"link-group__link-item\">\n                    <a class=\"base-cta-featured\" href=\"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/workday-support\/create-expense-report\/\" target=\"_self\">\n\t\t\t\t\t    Create Expense Report\n\t\t\t\t\t    <svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"base-symbol base-cta-featured__arrow\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t    <use xlink:href=\"\/wp-content\/themes\/macalester-2020\/dist\/svgs\/symbol-arrow.svg#icon\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n                <\/li>\n                            <li class=\"link-group__link-item\">\n                    <a class=\"base-cta-featured\" href=\"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/workday-support\/\" target=\"_self\">\n\t\t\t\t\t    Back to Workday Support\n\t\t\t\t\t    <svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"base-symbol base-cta-featured__arrow\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t    <use xlink:href=\"\/wp-content\/themes\/macalester-2020\/dist\/svgs\/symbol-arrow.svg#icon\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n                <\/li>\n                    <\/ul>\n    <\/div>\n<\/section>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Overview Spend Authorizations are used to request travel advances for anticipated expenses if an employee does not have a Pcard or would rather use the travel advance method. Spend Authorizations are distinct from Expense Reports, which are used to report expenses that have already occurred. When using a Spend Authorization, an Expense Report is still [&hellip;]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1491,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2417","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/workday-support\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/workday-support\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/workday-support\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/workday-support\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1491"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/workday-support\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2417"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/workday-support\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2417\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2443,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/workday-support\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2417\/revisions\/2443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/workday-support\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}